FINAL SURVEY 1.7.15

Enterprise Developers Rank Critical Requirements for Success in the Coming Mobile App Explosion

Surveying the Business Benefits of a Low-Code Platform

Geoffrey Bock, Principal

Bock & Company

January 2016

Copyright © 2016 Alpha Software and Bock & Company. All rights reserved.

Enterprise Developers Rank Critical Requirements for Success in the Coming Mobile App Explosion Surveying the Business Benefits of a Low-Code Platform

Executive Summary With mobile-optimized enterprise applications predicted to quadruple, all indications point to a

coming mobile app boom. Mobile-first consumption will continue to push us beyond the tipping-

point, as mobile surpasses laptop use in the business-to-business and business-to-employee

space. Globally, app developers have the opportunity to flourish during this boom and deliver

apps with even better user experiences, in a shorter timeframe. How can app developers accom-

plish these often conflicting goals simultaneously?

Bock & Company, sponsored by Alpha Software, surveyed 1,950 developers to learn which fac-

tors they see as critical to success in mobile app development. The majority of those surveyed,

63%, plan to develop up to five mobile apps in 2016 and 23% expect to develop six or more apps.

Developers and end-users want rapid-delivery of mobile app solutions to improve business prac-

tices, creating better experiences for their customers, partners and employees.

For developers, this means finding the right platforms to deliver security, offline capabilities and

back-end integration. It’s all about speed and improved performance, and developers are poised

to take on the coming mobile app boom successfully.

Delivering Mobile Enterprise Apps PERSPECTIVES FROM THE FRONT LINES

App developers are on the front lines of the mobile enterprise revolution. After all, they are the

problem solvers in the middle -- collecting mobile requirements from line-of-business leaders and

translating them into workable, even delightful, digital experiences. With the explosive growth in

mobile apps, developers face the ever-increasing demands to rapidly deliver business solutions

that mobilize specific tasks and transform how work gets done.

Whether they are professional programmers, enterprise IT staffers, or technically-oriented busi-

ness analysts, these mobile-savvy developers often turn to a low-code, rapid mobile application

development platform to deliver mobile enterprise apps. Low-code platforms feature rapid appli-

cation development tools and techniques, such as visual development, automatic configuration

and deployment, and user interface transcoding, that speeds delivery compared to coding. And

Critical Requirements for Coming Mobile App Explosion 2


low-code platforms support multi-channel deployment—developing an app once that can then run

across iOS, Android, and other mobile devices.

ASSESSING THE CHALLENGES

Of course, successfully mobilizing enterprise apps is no simple task. In fact, mobile app develop-

ers face multiple challenges when harnessing capabilities of a low code platform to meet end us-

ers’ expectations.

This Bock & Company survey, commissioned by Alpha Software, sets out to identify the essential

requirements for low-code platforms as determined by mobile app developers. The survey fo-

cuses on three key questions:

What do app developers think are the “must have” features for mobilizing enter-

prise apps?

What are the top functional requirements that a low-code platform should in-

clude?

From the end user’s perspective, what are the essential capabilities for a useful

mobile experience, one that meets or exceeds expectations?

To answer these questions and highlight mobile enterprise app priorities for 2016, Bock & Com-

pany surveyed approximately 1,950 mobile app developers who sought information about low-

code platforms on the Alpha Software website. With an 8% response rate, here is what the sur-

vey reveals.

A Coming App Explosion in the Enterprise Certainly, there is a rising demand for mobile enterprise apps. Developers are turning to low-code

platforms as a way to rapidly develop mobile solutions, increase their own productivity, and accel-

erate speed to market.

To begin with, 66% of the app developers surveyed are already familiar with low-code platforms.

Only 34% have not used a low-code platform and are seeking information about how these plat-

forms can solve their development challenges (see Illustration 1).



More significantly, there’s clear evidence of a coming mobile enterprise app explosion in 2016, an

event much anticipated by analysts tracking mobile app development trends. App developers sur-

veyed expect to develop many mobile apps over the coming twelve months. As shown in Illustra-

tion 2, 23% of those surveyed report planning to develop six or more apps in 2016. The majority,

63%, anticipates developing two to five apps. Only 14% are going to develop just one app in the

next year.



App developers are familiar with the business problems enterprise mobility must solve and have

opinions about what a low-code platform should accomplish. Their challenge is keeping up with

the mobile app explosion.

Critical Technical Capabilities for Mobile Enterprise Apps What capabilities do developers list as must-have functionality for the mobile enterprise apps they

are building? We asked developers to identify and rank the critical requirements for their apps, as

shown in Illustration 3.



At the top of the list is “easy integration with backend database” -- 96% of devel-

opers rate this as a “definitely must have” capability. The success of an overall

mobile enterprise app depends on leveraging the relevant data that the firm al-

ready collects.

Next in terms of ranking are four capabilities that make mobile apps particularly

useful within a business environment. These include “work offline” (79%), “de-

velop the app once” (78%), “easily use keyboard” (77%), and “capture photos”

(75%). Notably, these technical features and functions enhance mobile experi-

ences and move far beyond the capabilities that traditional desktop applications

deliver.

Third, are several capabilities that run directly within the mobile app. Rated as

“definitely must have capabilities” at 48% and 46% respectively are “annotate

photos” and “capture sensor data.” Notably these capabilities exploit on-device

processing power and intelligence.

Finally, fourth in terms of importance are advanced capabilities, specifically “sup-

port for ‘Internet of Things’” (31%), “support speech to text inputs” (19%), and



support for “text to speech outputs” (11%). Few developers are currently creating

apps requiring these capabilities.

From the mobile app developers’ perspective, a low-code platform should integrate with backend

databases and support end-to-end mobile experiences. Developers must be able to exploit de-

vice capabilities, such as taking photos and videos, scanning bar codes, and logging GPS loca-

tions.

Essential Business Requirements for Mobile App Development Platforms How are developers responding to the rising demand for mobile enterprise apps? Beyond the

technical capabilities are business and environmental factors--ones that translate into buying de-

cisions by line-of-business decision-makers.

With developers signaling their interest in low-code platforms to help speed development of these

apps, we next asked them to identify the essential features that any platform they consider must

offer. Again, app developers ranked the requirements in terms of their order of importance, as

shown in Illustration 4.

At the top of the list is security; 90% say that “ensuring security” is very important

to the success of their mobile apps.



Second in importance are three things related to core application development

capabilities. 78% to 79% rate “accelerate application development,” “operate off-

line,” and “connect to backend database(s)” as being very important in any low-

code platform they consider. A mobile experience is an integral part of an overall

business ecosystem. Developers need to be aware of the total solution.

Third and almost at the same level is the run-time environment supported by a

low-code platform. 71% rate the “ability to run on multiple platforms” as very im-

portant; 70% are concerned about “tuning for performance.” Not surprisingly, de-

velopers are concerned about mobile app deployment and high performing apps.

This suggests that the ability to continuously improve and update these apps is

also important – two factors that tie closely to building compelling digital experi-

ences that ensure wide user adoption.

Fourth in the rankings are three factors relating to the promise of enterprise mo-

bility. Specifically, 59% rate the ability to “incorporate mobile data” as being very

important; 57% are concerned about ways to “transform business processes,”

while 55% emphasize “mobilize enterprise applications.” When successfully de-

ployed, mobile enterprise apps lead to innovative, more efficient ways of working.

The fact that a majority of developers surveyed look to transform business pro-

cesses also indicates the sophistication that they expect in a low-code solution.

Not surprisingly, security ranks highest for mobile app development. Next, app developers are

concerned about how a low-code platform performs within the overall enterprise environment and

how it stands to transform the business. It is important to consider end-to-end experiences, how

the frontend apps affect – and are affected by – the underlying application architecture and exist-

ing backend services, as well as how workflow and business rules play a role.

Mobile Experiences from the End User Perspective As developers build mobile apps, they learn first-hand what elements are critical to success for

the line-of-business, providing unique insights into features and functions that mobilize digital ex-

periences. We asked developers to identify key end user requirements for mobile apps and to

rank order these capabilities. Illustration 5 provides a snapshot about end users’ voices for mobile

experiences, based on what app developers are hearing.



Usability and user experience of a mobile app ranks highest--92% of respond-

ents rate “ease of use – intuitive” as being most important for mobile enterprise

apps. It is worth noting that successful mobile apps must be easy to use and

meet or exceed end users’ expectations.

Second is mobile productivity. 80% to 84% of developers in the survey rank such

features as “capture data to increase accuracy,” “make mobile workers more pro-

ductive,” and “capture data to reduce lag times” as very important to their cus-

tomers.

Untethered from their desktops and laptops, mobile workers are going to be en-

gaged in business tasks as they are standing up and walking around. Successful

apps are going to accommodate mobile workers when they are on the go and in

the field. Mobile apps must enable accurate and speedy data capture. Thus the

rapid growth in mobile enterprise apps will likely involve migrating from clip-

boards and paper-based forms processing to mobile forms empowering digital

business processes.



Third is the platform environment, features within mobile apps that affect busi-

ness results. 71% say that end users find “support for multiple platforms” as be-

ing very important. Almost the same percentage, 70% of developers, rate the

ability to “deliver low-cost apps with measureable ROIs” as being very important

to customers. End users are concerned about how the ever-changing landscape

for mobile devices, as well as BYOD policies, affect options for enterprise mobil-

ity.

Advanced features of mobile apps ranked last on the list of common features for

mobile apps. Developers observed that their end users rate “access data in the

cloud” (47%), “track location” (38%), “support mobile payments” (34%), and “geo-

fencing” (22%) relatively lower in importance. These are emerging capabilities

that are likely to become more relevant as end users better understand the busi-

ness benefits of enterprise mobility.

In short, mobile app developers call out a handful of few key markers for capturing successful

mobile experiences for end users. First is mobile app design, the in-app user experience, fol-

lowed by various capabilities that enhance productivity and deliver business results. These are all

familiar features that end users are likely to well understand. Mobile device features, such as geo-

location, photo, and audio capture far exceed what end users readily understand. Mobile workers

have far less familiarity with how these device features can help solve business problems. App

developers are going to have an important role evangelizing these capabilities to line-of-business

leaders, and explaining what they can accomplish when applied to a business task.

Mobile App Development Reaches the Tipping Point App developers are increasingly turning to low-code platforms to meet the rising demand for mo-

bile enterprise apps. Painstaking development using device-specific tools or native development

is giving way to rapid mobile application development platforms, capable of deploying to multiple

devices while speeding time to market.

But a next-generation development solution must do more than simply support multiple devices.

Designing for the lowest-common-denominator app is no longer sufficient. A low-code platform

must also deliver superior experiences that enable developers to produce compelling mobile apps

that meet (or exceed) end users’ expectations. These are going to be end-to-end experiences,

optimized for both on-device capabilities and access to backend information from across the busi-

ness ecosystem.

This survey highlights many common -- and some differing – requirements that developers and

end users expect in their mobile apps. Developers have moved beyond apps that simply share

information or capture basic text and numbers. To meet business demand, developers expect to

quickly and securely build sophisticated apps that run on any device, work without a connection,

leverage existing data sources, speed the input and accuracy of all types of business and mobile



device data, and evolve to meet changing end user needs. At the same time, business users ex-

pect high performance, intuitive experiences, together with the ability to quickly capture mobile

data for business.

With a mobile application development platform, app developers can tackle complex and critical

requirements for security and usability. Developers can integrate with enterprise applications, de-

liver offline functionality, and access on-device mobile capabilities at a rate where they can finally

meet line-of-business demands. IT departments, business analysts, and developers are going to

look to a low-code platform to accelerate their mobile development efforts. By adopting a low-

code platform, mobile app development is reaching the tipping point for achieving the promise of

enterprise mobility.

About Alpha Software Alpha Software products deliver significant productivity gains to developers of all levels building

cross-platform mobile and web business apps. Alpha Anywhere is a frontend and backend, low-

code, rapid mobile application development and deployment environment. Alpha Anywhere appli-

cations showcase built-in offline capability, easy integration with existing data and applications,

and advanced security. Developers and business leaders in thousands of organizations across

one hundred countries have used Alpha Software products to cost-effectively deploy enterprise

applications with outstanding user experiences. For more information, visit www.AlphaSoft-

ware.com. Follow us on Twitter at @AlphaSoftware.

About Bock & Company Geoffrey Bock, principal of Bock & Company, focuses on digital strategies for content and enter-

prise mobility. A technology analyst and consultant, Geoff has authored hundreds of in-depth re-

ports, case studies, and articles on the business impacts of content technologies. He tracks the

evolution of social and mobile channels, and focuses on how enterprises manage content for mo-

bile experiences. He advises enterprises and software companies on the essential activities for

creating, organizing, publishing, and syndicating digitized information to build customer experi-

ences. Geoff can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @geoffbock.

Press Contact Jackie Fraser or Julianna Sheridan

Matter Communications

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978.358.5840

http://www.alphasoftware.com/

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