Enterprise App Development Trends to Watch Out For In 2017

Gone are the days when apps were only for personal use. The concept of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and incorporation of technology into business have given rise to enterprise apps. Today, enterprise apps have become an important part of a company’s digital strategy. The main objective of these enterprise apps is to make your business processes more streamlined and efficient to boost your business productivity.

Being associated with Branex, a mobile app development company in Dubai, I got a chance to have a look at the new innovations and trends that are being fervently followed and adopted by enterprise apps developers. So, without further ado, I’ll get down to business and share how the enterprise app development scenario is transforming and what are the latest enterprise app development trends that will make an impact in 2017.

1. Security Will Be Top Priority

If you ask any app developer about their app development priorities and they will tell you security comes at the bottom. Due to this, more than 85% mobile apps are facing serious authentication, access control and confidentiality issues. This makes them more vulnerable to identity theft and cyber-attacks.
Thankfully, businesses will start to take app security more seriously in 2017 and make it their top priority to establish foolproof security for enterprise apps. Not only businesses, app developers will develop the apps with security in mind. The focus would be on identifying and fixing the loopholes that undermines security of the user.

2. Data Storage on the Cloud

We have all been hearing the term “Cloud computing” for a long time now. We will see its true applications in enterprise apps in 2017. In order to enhance accessibility, reduce cost and improve efficiency, businesses will harness the power of cloud app development. Businesses will not have to purchase additional hardware to run operations.
Businesses will use cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure, Google App Engine and VMWare Cloud Foundry to develop, manage and deliver enterprise apps. It provides the flexibility businesses are looking for. With ready to use tools and fast development process, the future of cloud computing looks brighter than ever.

3. Rise of Hybrid Apps

The demand for enterprise apps will skyrocket in 2017. With billions of mobile devices, different screen sizes and multiple mobile platforms, the demand for cross platform and cross-functional apps will grow. Hybrid enterprise apps that can work on variety of mobile operating systems and deliver a native experience will come into its own in 2017. What’s more, businesses can develop hybrid apps quickly with fewer resources. This means that your hybrid enterprise apps will hit the market much quickly as compared to traditional enterprise applications.

4. Wait for Citizen Development Avalanche

Back in the day when the concept of enterprise applications was a novel idea, lack of coordination and synchronization among business units and IT departments was quite apparent, which resulted in app development delays. Today, the situation has completely transformed. Business units are following shadow IT processes with readymade apps, instead of depending on IT department to give them one.

The biggest drawback of this shadow IT application is that IT will not have any control over data and system. To overcome the issue, citizen development will pick up, where end users can build applications using shared services, fourth-generation language (4GL)-style development platforms and cloud computing services. With citizen development tools readily available, businesses can create an app without worrying about security vulnerabilities.

5. Reliance on Front-End Technologies Will Grow

We might see many enterprises ditch the client server architecture and model to make way for front-end technologies such as JQuery, Javascript and Angular JS takes center stage. You do not need to rely on high performance servers anymore. As front-end technologies evolved and web browsers become more capable, hybrid apps started using web browsers for storing data.
This resulted in a paradigm shift in the app development landscape. Tools like GitHub and programming languages and frameworks like Angularjs and JQuery are making it all possible. Extensive use of front-end technology in developing enterprise level apps will become the new norm.

Conclusion

There is no denying that the aforementioned enterprise app development trends will dominate in 2017. Enterprises riding on the waves of latest trends can take the first mover advantage and reap the benefits. If you know about any other app development trend that will dominate enterprise app development in 2017, feel free to share it with us in comments section below.