Architecting solutions for small, medium and large enterprises to enable Mobile channel using a Mobile Application Development Platform (MADP) that includes Mobile Enterprise Application Platform (MEAP) and Mobile Consumer Application Platform (MCAP) and server their customer for self-service facility.
Enterprise Mobility enables to open the multi-channel such as MOBILE WEB and RICH CLIENT software application which can be talk to their complex business, enterprise and middleware systems.
Mobile Web: Web Application can be accessed over Mobile browser such as Opera, Safari and Chrome. It provide the Mobile Native capability and look and feel over the mobile compatible view with respect to multiple Operating systems and different resolutions.
Rich Client: Downloadable mobile application from the respective app stores. Thick client application which can have installable App in your mobile application. These applications will talk to the enterprise backend over the wire.
Mobile web application can be developed using the technologies such as HTML-5, CSS-3, Java Script, JQuery.
Native (thick) application can be developed natively using the platform specific libraries. For Example, Native Application can be developed using iOS, Android, J2ME, BlackBerry and Windows Operating Systems and respective Software development kits.
There are various leading vendors provide MADP (Mobile Application development platform) to develop, build ,test and deploy the mobile application. Those vendors mobile enterprise/cross-platforms including Kony MADP - KonyOne and/or IBM Worklight, Adobe PhoneGap, Sencha Touch, Tagit / MOBEIX.
Any Mobile Application design include the design consideration such as in accommodating mobile platform constraints including performance variations among devices including memory, resources, application footprint as well as constraints on high volume transactions via Mobile Server for Synching, caching, aggregating etc.
MADP: Mobile Application Development Platform.
This MADP typically a combination of templating engine with Content Management integrated to design, build, preview and deploy the MOBILE Screens and application using the proprietary framework.
MADP content management covers the mobile skin (themes, styles, images) which will help the application developer to create the user friendly GUI in a mobile screens.
Best open source example is "JQuery Mobile".
MEAP: Mobile Enterprise Application Platform
This MEAP typically an Enterprise Mobility server application which will help to integrate with any small, medium and large enterprises backend systems using standard adapters or SOA integrations and enable the Mobile presentation layer components during the short span of time.
Critical MEAP platform features are handling all the life cycle management of Mobile Application such as Device Detection, Device/platform specific content creation, Security Management, Role based system, flexible integration adapters to various enterprise, protocol conversions, Operation Management, Meta data Management, Reports, Audits, Transaction, Logging, dashboard, configurations and content management.
IBM Worklight, Tagit MOBEIX, Sybase 360 and Kony provide the world leading Mobile Enterprise application platform which enables the concept of design once and deploy multiple mobile platform.
In Next Part -2, we are going to cover the Major three components of Enterprise Mobility technical layers,
Any Mobility Platform has to provide the seamless integration capability to provide world class mobile chennal enablement to any Large Enterprise. those three logical parts are:
Devices and Web (user touch points), Mobility Platform,Enterprise System (Enterprise sub systems and integrations).
About Author / Additional Info:
Arivuvel Ramu,
Enterprise Mobility Architect