The decision to create a mobile software application should not be taken lightly! Having said that, there are plenty of reasons to take on that challenge. In this article, we will discuss some of the business benefits of this type of project, as well as various requirements considerations a business must include in order to ensure successful development and deployment of a mobile app.
Benefits
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There are many benefits to deploying a mobile application, whether for business or for consumer use. Here are just a few:
Consumer
- Expanding market reach and visibility
- Improving competitive response
- Acquiring and using data from sales and customer engagement to improve products, services and customer satisfaction
- Integrating workflow and processes to more efficiently complete tasks and optimize resources
- Providing mobile access to products and services to make it easier for customers to research, browse and buy
- Connecting sales, customer service, payment and marketing and upselling
Business
- Improving workflow and streamlining processes and approval loops
- Building a solid data repository and reporting mechanism
- Ensuring that all business users have timely and appropriate access to critical data
- Providing access in the office and on the road
- Providing a uniform approach and access to build data literacy and engender digital transformation
Remember that the prospect of developing a mobile application presents some complex issues and business challenges and you will need the right team and approach to ensure that you consider all of these issues as well as the myriad of other details required to ensure success. As with any other software project, the process of considering a mobile application development project must begin with requirements planning.
Requirements
Whatever you do, do NOT skip this step. It is unwise to select a solution and begin a project if you don’t have a good understanding of what you (and your customer or user) need. Take the time to develop detailed requirements. Whether you intend to take on the project yourself, or engage an expert, these requirements will become a roadmap to get you where you are going. And, if you ARE going to engage an expert, you will need to have a comprehensive understanding of your requirements so you can use these details to review skills and experience and hire the right expert.
Requirements will include:
- Who is your target audience (age, income, technical ability, interests, buying behavior) and how many devices and what kinds of devices they use?
- What kinds of features and functionality will you provide (this will ensure that you select the right framework and platform and decide on either a native app development project for iOS or Android or a cross-platform, hybrid mobile application development project?
- What volume of users do you anticipate in your first, second and third year and beyond (this will dictate performance requirements and scalability to serve more clients or users)?
- What is your current architecture and technical capacity?
- What is your budget and timeline?
This article is not designed to provide comprehensive details on the various aspects of planning and launching a mobile application. It is meant to provide a starting point and a foundation for building your requirements and presenting the various aspects of the benefits associated with building a mobile application so that your management, IT and team members can understand the potential. It is a starting point, from which team can begin the discussion and the project plan.
Whether you decide on a cross-platform mobile application, hybrid mobile app approach or a native app approach for iPhone, iPad, Smart Watch or Android, you will need a comprehensive plan to ensure business success. A trusted IT consulting partner can help you conceive and develop your mobile application and improve results for your business. For more information about mobile application development, visit our Blog.
