Mobile Solutions – Apps are just the tip of the iceberg

Mobile Solutions are available for just about any purpose. There are mobile apps for entertainment, productivity, facilitating processes and products that previously never existed. Then there are apps that support and complement (business) processes, etc. etc.

If an app is well implemented the experience is simple, easy and fast. Working with it should be like a simple operation and the user experience should be smooth. When all is well designed, it seems almost as if that app on your smartphone facilitates everything. Yet applications often just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Cooperation with systems

Nowadays, apps rarely work without any connection or backend.  In most cases, mobile applications connect to servers in the cloud who in turn handle communication and perform data operations between servers. This could  be for data storage, data analysis or any other interactions from which relevant data are extracted.
And then we’ve not even begun to consider all those so-called third-party services that provide an Application Programmable Interface (API) to unlock their data and functionalities.

As you can see, a good mobile solution consists of many components. However, to use the analogy of an iceberg,  when the solution is implemented optimally only the app is visible above water and the remainder is under water.

Mobile solutions – more than the sum of its parts

And it doesn’t stop there. An app is one thing, but a mobile solution is more than the sum of its parts. Creating an application, storage, functionality in the cloud and/or on-premise and the joining together of these components is only one facet.

Some other aspects that you need to take into consideration for mobile solutions:

  • Performance and Scalability of the solution;
  • Security: in the broadest sense of the word, from  storage in the app to secure communications and secure information storage in the (cloud based?) backend;
  • Statistics of user interaction with the application and monitoring of resource use;
  • Management and administration functionality: to enable data updates, user maintenance, et cetera;
  • Software Maintenance: think of compatibility with the mobile operating system and integrating new features.

These are all aspects that initially often not thought of as part of a mobile app. That’s why it is important to think in terms of a “mobile solution” and not an “app”. And think of a mobile solution as a sum of the created technical components, and the processes needed to keep that solution going.

The realization that there is more hidden behind an app on your smartphone is the first step towards awareness about what is necessary and useful for your company to create an app that adds true value.

A development partner who thinks

Do you want an app that fully contributes to your goals? Then work with a development partner who knows what’s necessary to work on, both above and under water. A good developer will help you by looking at what’s available in your business both technically and proces wise. A good deeloper can show you how to connect the solution with the goals you envision.

With the right mobile solutions can accelerate your business

The times that an app was “is nice to have” are long gone. The smartphone has become an important part of our lives and with the right mobile solution, your company could accelerate even more in the world of today and tomorrow.

This app was originally posted (in Dutch) on Valid‘s Website: http://blog.valid.nl/app-development-mobiele-apps-top-van-de-ijsberg