As business enterprises continue to venture out into mobile productivity, it is becoming increasingly clear that those enterprises must integrate and perhaps even transform their current web-based solution into a mobile one.
Today consumers are saving time while doing more with their smartphone and tablet devices.
In the same manner, verticals across a number of industries are beginning to see the value of mobilizing their workflow in order to achieve the same results. The ability to store and access data in a secure network versus running it all through a local computer or software program provides for a more robust experience at each level of implementation within the business.
The different components of cloud computing include SaaS, PaaS and IaaS, however, recent reports revealed the SaaS market growing at 17% and had surpassed $9 billion by the end of 2009. Within the SaaS market, the fastest growing segments are Communications and Collaboration, Customer Relationship Management, Enterprise Resource Planning and Supply Chain Management.
Adding to the rise of cloud usage is the growing trend of HTML5, or web-based mobile applications. This is something to consider if enterprises wish to provide various services and constant information to users. Web-based apps are hosted in the cloud and optimized for mobile browsing.
The information on these apps can also be retrieved offline due to HTML5 support for client-side storage. In February 2011, Cisco conducted a study which revealed participants show more appeal toward apps and data stored on the Internet for three main reasons: more security than traditional phones; memory does not limit functionality and the mobile device stays more “current.”
Still, much of today’s cloud computing is driven by the desire to integrate multiple applications in order to provide a more connected user experience on different mobile devices. There is also the increased use of data center architectures and the high prospect of lower costs and increased productivity from native platforms and procedures in the cloud.
So when a business sets out to develop a mobile solution for employee use, it should remember A, E, I, O, U: Accessibility, Efficiency, Integration, Operations and Usability.