How app development can meet your enterprise needs?

The year is 2018, and we are far deep into digital technology. So deep that, whether already being used or not, mobile apps within an enterprise of any size are a necessity. Some may be still be surviving without mobile apps, but that doesn’t change the fact that the need for smart solutions is loud & clear. And this hasn’t happened just of out the blue; the change has been gradual and all so predictable.

As per the findings of a survey by Appdexa, 77% mobile app development companies say that the demand for mobile apps in business applications has increased since 2016.

Apart from customer centricity, the utility of mobile apps has gone internal as well, because most of the enterprises today, use mobile apps for in-house operations and to integrate employees through a single, always-accessible solution.

The same report by Appdexa also mentions that while 69% of enterprises today are using at least one enterprise app, 27% of the enterprises are using more than 6 enterprise apps to integrate their businesses better.

The stats here speak of the potential mobile apps have in changing the game for enterprises. If you are still pondering over the importance of enterprise apps in your business, here are some of the ways in which enterprise apps can help your business:

Collaborate teams, because they should

The bigger your company goes, the more number of teams you will have to deploy. And in that case, the need for collaboration would be an inevitable need. For years, there have been Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software that have been acting as a common link between teams and departments of a company.

It has been observed that more than 3 million businesses are downloading office apps like G Suite to collaborate on various tasks.

However, so far the role of ERPs in enterprises have been of real-time record maintenance and auditability, but in terms of communication and collaboration, ERPs have been useless. This is where enterprise apps have proved to be tools for effective communication and project synchronization. Although the functionalities of mobile apps have been limited to mobile platform and are, in no way a replacement for ERP solutions, most of the enterprises today have application suites that comprises of mobile apps for dealing with each aspect of the organization like human resource, production, sales, marketing, CRM and more. But what makes these app solutions unique is that they can also be embedded with internal communication features like internal chat, meetings manager etc., to help people communicate effectively, in real-time.

Have a look at Our App Analysis: How Much Does an App like Trip Advisor Cost?

Save that money

Return on Investment is probably the easiest method to check if your money went in the right direction or not.

Studies suggest that enterprise apps can bring more than 35% ROI to a business. And better ROI means you are actually saving the money you would have spent on other components like marketing, sales and more.

Compared to an enterprise software, mobile apps are quite cheap to build, whereas the benefits are equal. Each type of department has its own workflow and the processes, in which case, developing different software solutions for each department and then integrating them with an ERP software would not be a wise thing to do in terms of efficiency as well as cost effectiveness. For all kinds of operations, an enterprise can simply get a mobile app to co-ordinate and notify employees from other departments about the changes. So basically, with a single enterprise solution, you can keep the entire workforce updated on what is going on in the organization. Isn’t that cost effective.

ERP Client apps

The reason why mobile apps haven’t forayed into providing ERP solutions is that the system requirements for such a large and complicated system are usually high and also require dedicated server. And as I already mentioned, mobile apps are not here to replace ERP systems, they are already into streaming data on-demand client request through a client window. ERP solutions providers also found mobile apps a convenient way for their clients to help them keep up with the enterprise database. This is the reason why service providers like SAP have already launched their ERP clients on Android as well as App Store.

Another perspective on this could be that if you are an ERP service provider, you can attract more customers for your product by keeping an ERP client ready when you pitch them your product.

Boost productivity

So a simple application for internal communication – what do you think it can do? We say ‘wonders’, it can do wonders. As per a survey, there is almost 16% increase in work productivity due to enterprise apps being actively used by the employees. 

For better productivity, communication is an important factor. The better the communication will be, the lesser time will be spent discussing or assimilating the information. Until the advent of mobile applications, the tiresome email conversation culture had gripped industries for years as the only solution for communication. Let us not say Skype has been around for years, because Skype is not really a good means of communication if the conversation or discussions have to be kept confidential. Most of the applications or platforms that employees use to coordinate projects are embedded with internal chat. But what about the communication on the go? Besides, you can practise full-fledged utilization of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy through mobile apps.

Develop insights

Assuming your enterprise handles multiple operations, which are dealt by different departments, there is a lot more you can do with an enterprise app, apart from just developing a tool for convenience. An enterprise app that links various departments through a single database contains a lot of data that can be used to measure performance, productivity and the efficiency of your employees. Besides, different departments can also extract required data to plan their workflow on the basis of availability of co-workers and their roster which can be displayed in the enterprise app in the goals and responsibilities section. The app can also help employees be less dependent upon authorities for data requirement. A central repository of data can be maintained for all the employees based on the access right assigned to them.

Getting an enterprise app developed is probably the best thing you can do for your company in this day & age where it is all about digital competency. Not only you can take your employees with it, but also stay informed better about your company, how it is doing and where it needs improvement. An enterprise is basically the representative of how seriously you consider the role of efficiency in your business. So if you are dead serious about it, it is time you approached the best app development companies in town to get that perfect enterprise solution.