Over the course of the past couple months, we’ve talked at length about determining the real value of your mobile applications through effective mobile enterprise app management. It goes beyond downloads, is enhanced by good UX, demands smart infrastructure that can deliver vital contextual awareness. But how do you know that your organization could realize these benefits?
Here are five questions worth considering. If even one sparks your interest, it might be time for a mobile enterprise app management conversation:
What are my users doing with my App?
You shouldn’t be in the dark about how your people are benefiting from (or being frustrated by) your apps in the field. Think who-what-where: Who is actually using the mobile App? Where are they using it? What pages are they accessing most/least often? Know this, and you’re developing a sharp picture of the App’s internal perception, and what you need to do to improve performance.
What platforms is my app being run on? How is it performing with different backend systems?
Knowing this is essential. From an App producer perspective, you need constant awareness of what you need to support, what you need to test. The diversity of devices, operating systems, memory etc. will inform your App optimization strategy. Even something as seemingly innocuous as keyboard layout can mean the difference between adoption and rejection.
How do I get this app out to my employees?
Within every organization, there are different, often subtle ways to push out an App. The key is to deliver Apps in a secure closed loop controlled manner, but make it easy as going to the iTunes App store or Android Marketplace to install your enterprise Apps over the air. Often, the two requirements of security and ease of use push against each other.
How fast are my users upgrading?
Adoption is obviously the cornerstone of mobile enterprise App success — and in the enterprise environment you have to motivate that adoption and get everyone on the same page. Why? The faster you move people from 1.0 to 2.0, for example, the faster you can phase out the out-dated support, reducing ops cost and R&D. That advantage speaks for itself.
How do I know when it crashes? More importantly, how can I access information that will prevent that same crash from occurring again?
As we’ve said before, crashes will happen. It’s “ugly mobile application reality.” Knowing a crash has occurred is just the beginning. More valuable is knowing the precise circumstances that precipitated that crash. What was the user doing when the App crashed? Did he or she leave it and come back? At what point? What other applications were running at the time? This is what developers need to know if they want a lasting solution rather than a quick fix.
