Building Mobile Apps for Business

Post on 06-May-2015

259 views 2 download

Tags:

description

Mobile is for business. Every firm with a web app must now consider the visibility and sales they are losing by not having a mobile version. Every new business or software product is faced with this same concern. Responsive design only gets us so far before it’s time to build a native app for several platforms. How do we build business apps for Android, iOS, and Windows phones and tablets? Learn about the key considerations when scaling up your company’s mobile presence.

Transcript of Building Mobile Apps for Business

Building Mobile Apps Building Mobile Apps for Businessfor BusinessDan HermesMobile Consultant

Lexicon Systems

Website: www.lexiconsystemsinc.comEmail: dan@lexiconsystemsinc.comPhone: 781-526-0738Twitter: @lexiconsystemsBlog: www.itshopkeeping.com

Takeaways Takeaways Responsive Design is fast and

cheap◦Good for websites ◦OK for some lightweight apps

Most serious mobile apps are native

Cross-platform is often necessaryChoose your toolset carefully

SponsorSponsor

Why mobile? Why mobile? Americans used smartphone and tablet apps more than PCs to access the Internet.

Source: CNN, January 2014 / corroborated by Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo(Google isn’t telling.)

80-90% of U.S. adults now own a mobile phone. 50-60% of those are smartphones. Sources: various (Pew)

¼ to ½ of online searches take place on a mobile device Sources: various

And what about tablets?And what about tablets?When we were an agrarian nation, all cars weretrucks. But as people moved more towards

urbancenters, people started to get into cars. I thinkPCs are going to be like trucks. Fewer people

willneed them. And this transformation is going tomake some people uneasy... because the PC

hastaken us a long way.

Steve Jobs, 2010

Post-PC Era: 2015Mobile Phones > first world

population◦1.9B devices

Tablets > PC sales◦320M tablets vs. 316M PCs worldwide

Android devices > 3x Windows◦1.3B Android devices vs. 373M Windows

Ultramobile > 20% of PC sales◦MacBook Air, Surface Pro, etc.◦62M in 2015

Source: Gartner 2015 Device Shipment Projections (June 2014)

The UpshotThe UpshotData Consumers (Conclusive)

◦Mobile phones and tablets

Data Producers (Jury is still out)◦PCs and Ultrabooks◦Some tablets and phones◦The future of business machines

Android vs. Windows

◦Many unknowns here

What Do Data Consumers What Do Data Consumers Need?Need?

Responsive DesignResponsive Design

Images courtesy of Beacon Technologies and Arcplan

Responsive Design #FAILResponsive Design #FAIL

Image courtesy of moxy ox

Responsive Design #WINResponsive Design #WIN

Image courtesy of moxy ox

Responsive Design #WINResponsive Design #WIN

Responsive Design #WINResponsive Design #WIN

The Responsive The Responsive ExperienceExperience

Image courtesy of responsivedesign.ca

Responsive Design isResponsive Design isrecommended whenrecommended when

the app is SIMPLE and user expectation is LOW

What is a website?

a simple app

Mobile Web Toolset Mobile Web Toolset OptionsOptionsHTML5, CSS, JavaScript

and

C#/ASP.NETJavaPHP

Limitations of Responsive Limitations of Responsive Web AppsWeb AppsReduced FunctionalityUnfamiliar InterfacePoor PerformanceDecreased User Experience

THE REAL RISK?

Responsive Web App Responsive Web App #FAIL#FAIL

Older Facebook app written in HTML5

Solution#1Solution#1

1. Escape Hatch / Full Screen Button

◦ Goes to full-screen web app◦ May or may not be useable◦ Doesn’t address experience

or performance

Solution#2: Native Mobile Solution#2: Native Mobile AppAppGo Where the People Are

◦App Store StatsBetter PerformanceOptimal User Experience

PCR EssentialsPCR Essentials

On iTunes and Play StoreAndroid version by our teamWritten in Xamarin

DineBostonDineBoston

DineBostonDineBostonVIDEO

Mobile App TypesMobile App TypesMobile Web /Responsive

◦Browser-basedNative

◦iOS, Android, OR WindowsHybrid

◦Web app wrapped in a native appCross-platform

◦iOS, Android, AND Windows

Mobile App Mobile App Tools/ResourcesTools/ResourcesMobile Web/Responsive

◦HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, (C#, Java, PHP, etc.)

Native◦Objective-C, Java, or C#

Hybrid◦PhoneGap, Titanium

Cross-platform◦Xamarin (C#)

Smartphone OS Market Smartphone OS Market ShareShare(Q1 2014)(Q1 2014)Android – 81%iOS – 15%Windows Phone – 3%

What does this mean?

Source: International Data Corporation (IDC)

Single platform apps are risky

Hybrid AppsHybrid AppsWeb app wrapped in a native app

◦PhoneGap◦Appcelerator Titanium

Yes, it’s in the app storesNo, it’s not really a native app

Cross-platform AppsCross-platform Apps◦Shared Code

Code reuse

◦One technology stack Instead of several

◦Native app quality◦Native app performance◦Native phone functionality (location,

camera, etc.)

Cross-platform Cross-platform DevelopmentDevelopment

Cross-platform AppsCross-platform AppsHigh-performanceGreat user experienceFully native executableReusable codeJust one dev team

Gartner Strongly Gartner Strongly Recommends XamarinRecommends Xamarin

“Xamarin's architectural approach provides completely native UIs with better performance than other cross-

platform techniques... Xamarin uses multifaceted technology built by a cohesive team with a solid long-

term track record.”-Gartner, August 2013

Recognized as Mobile “Visionary” in 2013 Magic Quadrant for MADP

Xamarin Customers Xamarin Customers Include…Include…

Xamarin pre-3.0Xamarin pre-3.0

Layouts XAMLUIKit

Xamarin 3.0 with Xamarin 3.0 with Xamarin.FormsXamarin.Forms

Takeaways Takeaways Responsive Design is fast and cheap

◦Good for websites ◦OK for some lightweight apps

Most serious mobile apps are nativeCross-platform is often necessaryChoose your toolset carefullyNeed high-performance cross-

platform business apps?

Building Mobile Apps Building Mobile Apps for Businessfor Business

Do you want to know more?Do you need an app built?

Dan HermesMobile ConsultantLexicon Systemswww.lexiconsystemsinc.comdan@lexiconsystemsinc.com(781)526-0738Twitter: @lexiconsystemsBlog: www.itshopkeeping.com

Jonathan LaMasterDirector of SalesLexicon Systemsjonathan@lexiconsystemsinc.com(617)833-5816