Mobile Application Development – Taking Over an Enterprise Near You

By David A. Kelly, Upside Research

There is no doubt that mobile has arrived in the enterprise in a big way. Beyond issues around mobile governance in the enterprise (managing the growing cadre of employees who have company-issued smart phones), mobile devices are fast becoming a replacement for significant portions of traditional application development time inside enterprise IT. This is due to a confluence of events, including the aforementioned critical mass of mobile device-enabled users as well as the increased functionality and strength of the mobile platform in general. In fact, in some verticals, the volume of mobile app development is starting to outpace traditional application development. Luckily for beleaguered IT departments struggling to keep up with the demand, Oracle has released a framework to assist with Apple and Android application development.

Specifically, Oracle recently announced the release of its Oracle ADF Mobile extension, which is an augmentation of the Oracle Application Development Framework that allows application developers to create mobile apps for Apple and Android devices in a write once, run on both environment. The goal is specifically for the enterprise development team, helping them to extend their ADF and non-ADF Java enterprise applications to mobile platforms. It includes a hybrid application development environment that combines a number of key open Web technologies including JavaScript and HTML5. The results are encouraging for enterprise apps, and the examples for potential use endless.

Think of the many enterprise applications that employees use as they go about their daily work. From field sales representatives who need to log orders, check leads, and communicate with HQ to retailers who want to boost sales associate productivity with mobile devices, mobile apps are fast becoming the primary way many employees interact with the major enterprise applications that run an enterprise. It is therefore critical for IT organizations to make the necessary adjustment internally and dedicate the appropriate resources to mobile app development. This trend is also requiring IT organizations to implement levels of infrastructure that allow them to effectively manage mobile computing applications in real-time globally, a significant undertaking. But the benefits appear to outweigh the costs. The results are often cost-savings and productivity gains, both strong incentives for enterprises to more fully adopt mobile development practices.

Oracle is not the only enterprise application development vendor to provide integrated tools for extending enterprise applications to mobile devices. Earlier this year, IBM announced Mobile Foundation, a portfolio of software and services designed to help organizations capitalize on the proliferation of mobile devices. Similarly, SAP acquired Syclo, a company that provides an enterprise mobile app platform, and integrated it with the existing SAP mobile platform. Clearly, all the players are in line to help enterprises make the move to mobile in a significant way. IT organizations need to develop a comprehensive mobile application development strategy that incorporates all the facets of traditional application development, including security, usability, and management. Ideally, many enterprises are already well down this path.