Why Do EnterpriseCompanies Build Apps So Slowly?

Mobile is the New Medium

Mobile app usage officially surpassed desktop usage in 2014. Enterprise companies need a solid method to compete in this growing mobile market.

Half of companies plan to increase mobile development budgets in 2015.

Enterprise companies are facing new problems as they adapt to the emerging marketplace.

What are the problems facing enterprise mobile app development?

Research suggests a lack of strategy as the reason why mobile apps take long to develop:

“One of the major reasons organizations lack mobile strategies is fragmentation—75 percent of respondents said app development was driven by product lines and individual functions rather than by a central strategy. Another impediment to strategy reported by CIOs is the quick and challenging pace of change in mobile.”

- Katie Bascuas, reporting State of Enterprise Mobility Survey

Enterprise Problem #1: App Development Strategy

Source: http://resources.kinvey.com/docs/State+of+Enterprise+Mobility+Survey+2014+-+Kinvey.pdf

97% of CIOs cite a mobile strategy as a necessary business move.

Source: http://resources.kinvey.com/docs/State+of+Enterprise+Mobility+Survey+2014+-+Kinvey.pdf

Developers need to work hand-in-hand with client feedback instead of iterating solely based on market analysts. Adopt an effective system of communication between the developer and customer to more easily adjust an app’s market-fit.

Customer support managers are an excellent liaison between developers and clients. Using mobile support software, managers can relay customer demands weekly.

Enterprise Solution #1: Direct Access from Developer to Client

“We immediately prioritized updates which would decrease support inquiries... I’d say that 80% of issues were due to onboarding flow. So we iterated those fixes and reduced support requests by that much. We have a better product, and customers spread the word that we listened.”

-Ran Heimann, CEO of Haystack

On a weekly basis we get a summary of the tickets that have been opened and processed throughout the week. We analyze the incoming feedback to see the hotspots of things we should look at in the build. Helpshift gives us the ‘Top 5 things we should be looking at this week.’ We address the biggest concerns of our userbase for both existing users and new users.

- Kevin Henrikson, Engineering Manager at Microsoft

Case Studies for “Direct Access” Model:

Enterprise Problem #2: Agility

Enterprise companies risk being disrupted by faster development processes that reach customer needs sooner:

Enterprise companies often focus on their existing offers until a new mobile technology innovates the market. When this happens, most organizations will need at least 7 months to catch up!

“Building experiences for customers is much different than building them for internal resources. Gone are all the organizational controls that we could hide behind when things did not go well. You must embrace this, for it is here that the CIO/CTO will find her greatest value. If you are waiting for the perfect project plan to start, you will miss the party. Being agile and adaptive is the only way to answer the needs of your customer. Spend time with your enterprise’s customers: learn how they want to engage then build them an experience that exceeds expectations.”

- Leonard Couture, Forrester Analyst

Enterprise Solution #2: Focus on What Clients Want Rather Than What You Can Offer

Enterprise Problem #3: Omni-channel Support

Managing multiple app versions is a must to compete in the mobile market. In addition, certain verticals (like eCommerce) benefit greatly from having both Mobile and Web routes.

This means enterprise companies not only have to build mobile apps, but multiple apps across different operating systems to reach all of their potential customers effectively.

Without preparation, the cost of mobile support can be exponentially more than organizations expect.

Enterprise Solution #3: Omnichannel Cloud Support Services

Enterprise companies are quickly adopting omnichannel cloud solutions for their customer support. 95% plan to move IT infastructure toward the cloud, with 67% planning to move at least 11% of their IT.

An omnichannel solution allows companies to aggregate all customer contact into a single efficient platform that boosts productivity and prevents customer churn.

Source: http://www.oracle.com/us/industries/retail/retail-omnichannel-challenge-2374327.pdf

Why Investigate Omnichannel Solutions?Retailers see these gains after successfully attaining an omnichannel workflow. Other products are very likely to see similar benefits.

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Written by:Devin TurnerContent Manager@devinturndevin@helpshift.com

Interested in learning more about mobile app development for enterprise? Visit helpshift.com/blog!