Why corporate mobile apps are needed

Apr 13 2023

A mobile app helps companies. Thanks to it, you can systematize information, reduce operational costs, and optimize your work routine.

The peculiarity of corporate mobile apps is that they are available only to employees of a particular organization. Closed systems are needed to unite employees, simplify routine tasks, optimize work, involve and adapt new specialists. So, what will mobile enterprise applications development give you?

Mobile enterprise applications: what they are

Such projects are usually created individually for companies. They simplify work processes and increase the effectiveness of the team and each employee. The functionality of the applications is not limited, and different tools can be added to them. Often personal cards, analytical systems, and the ability to automatically create reports autocomplete document templates, libraries of corporate information, and knowledge bases are introduced.

Corporate applications are useful for both large businesses and medium-sized organizations. They can be deployed in cases where most employees work remotely or where large amounts of data need to be processed.

How mobile enterprise applications are useful

Companies independently determine the functionality of an application, its goals, and its objectives. Most often, corporate mobile enterprise applications are created in the following situations.

Storing working information in one place: Large businesses operate with a large amount of data. Several paid services can be used for their accounting, which is not always convenient. You need to switch from different programs and search for information, and it's difficult for new employees to adapt to many tools. A single digital solution with the necessary functionality can save money on buying different paid applications and simplify the work.
Get new employees up and running quickly: The app helps simplify onboarding and training with an embedded knowledge base, video tutorials, peer contacts, and training courses. This is especially useful in a remote work format if there's no direct contact with an employee.
Performance Control: In mobile enterprise applications, you can set daily, weekly or monthly tasks; monitor their fulfillment, and analyze statistical indices. Reports are generated for a selected period for any direction and person. Sick leave, vacations, uncompleted tasks, and reassigned cases can also be recorded there.
Simplified workflow: In the applications, you can ask for and quickly generate certificates, sick leave, vacation leave, and payroll. In this way, communication between the accounting department, HR department, and employees becomes short and simple. The document flow can be simplified if the filling is automatic.
Employee motivation: The employee journey can be made comfortable, thoughtful, and engaging. The app can reward tasks completed on time and high involvement in the project. The user can receive comments from colleagues, there can be internal formal and informal correspondence, or introduce internal currency with the online marketplace.

Types of enterprise mobile applications

Corporate mobile enterprise applications differ depending on the audience that uses them.

For employees: Useful for communication between colleagues, setting project and current tasks, and notification of updates.
For departments: Applications can be created for the needs of a marketing, financial, or HR department. They can be intended for solving internal or external questions, helping in communication with customers, or in building working relationships.
For the whole company: The functionality of such applications is similar to a social network and an information repository. They differentiate access levels depending on the position of the employee and make a different set of tools for them.

Stages of creation

Stage 1: Preparation

First, the project manager holds a brief meeting with the customer, where they clarify the long-term and short-term goals. At this stage, it is important to understand whether mobile enterprise applications can solve the problems of the business and close most of the issues. After the basic details are clarified, a team is formed and concept development begins.

Stage 2 - Research

After the requirements are figured out, it is important to study the target audience of the application. A corporate application is most often used by employees of different levels and departments, so it is important to think through the user path of both the sales manager and the chief accountant.

Stage 3: Terms of Reference

To anchor the expectations of the client and the tasks of the developers, a ToR is created. This is a large file that describes the goals, objectives, functionality, and security requirements, as well as the deadlines and development tools. It is also important to include the following items.

For whom the service is created: individual departments or the entire business.
For which devices, software, and platforms the system is created.
The interface features.
The requirements for security and reliability.
The UX/UI design guidelines.
Stages and deadlines.
Documentation of the development and design stages.
How the project will be created and used.

Step 4: Prototyping

Prototyping is an important stage that helps to understand how mobile enterprise applications will look and work. It is better to create a clickable prototype, as it can be used to test the functionality immediately. On its basis, programmers write code, and designers design the interface.

Step 5: Testing

The first version of the service is always sent to testers. They look for bugs, which are fixed before the release, and evaluate the usability and interface. The goal at this stage is a stably working corporate mobile app.

Step 6: Integration

After bugs are fixed and the product is brought to release, it is integrated with the IT systems.

Stage 7: Employee training

You can record a short video lesson, write a PDF guide, or embed training inside the product to quickly teach your employees how to use all the functions of the app.

Bottom line

Mobile enterprise applications are a great help for companies. It can help organize information, reduce operating costs, optimize work routines, and increase productivity.

To make sure that the service does not cause problems, it is important to think through the following points:

how the data will be protected;
who will manage the application;
who will update the product;
how to set up integration with APIs.

A company that creates and implements digital solutions will solve these problems. It is important to choose a reliable contractor to work with to create mobile enterprise applications.

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