App development in itself stands on the ever-shifting ground of technology, which is known to take entirely new shape every few years. And since most of the businesses today rely on one app or another for most of their business operations, enterprise application development too has been constantly evolving over time.
Be it a new design prospect, improved technologies to offer new features, or a new security protocol to handle unexpected security threats, every aspect of an application is bound to see a major overhaul in every few years.
And it is precisely the adoption of these trends that largely determines the growth trajectory in the coming years. For instance, when enterprises switched from paper to computers in their offices, productivity and efficiency saw a massive surge. Then came mobile solutions, then cloud, and every time an enterprise failed to adopt and capitalize on the rising trends, they’ve scripted their own demise.
So, if you want your enterprise to not just grow but take the lead in the coming years, here are the latest trends you need to adopt:
Contrary to the popular perception, the trends do not only change in terms of type of applications, but also the methods through which they are developed. Here is a brief account of both in the recent times:
Trends in development methodology
- Rapid application development (RAD)
Unlike consumer apps, enterprise applications are generally mission-critical and hence, their development requires much more precise development procedures. As the name suggests, Rapid app development ensures quick deployment of such applications through early prototyping and using reusable components, while introducing coding as late as possible in the overall development cycle.
- Hybrid app development
Since most of the enterprises employ systems of all platforms and sizes, their applications too need to seamlessly adopt and synchronize with them all. This leads to hybrid app development with added benefits of low cost and quick deployment, to take the center stage in the field of enterprise application development.
Trends in development practices
- Security takes the lead role
According to a Cisco report, over one-third of businesses lost at least some part of their revenue due to cyberattacks last year. And that is something app developers are now addressing with utmost concern. From securing data storage and transmission to authentication and authorization of users, most of the enterprise applications now are equipped with finest security measures to dodge any attacks.
- Responsive design is the new normal
To put it simply, there is now no such thing as “unresponsive” design. What was once used to be a prominent feature in enterprise mobile apps, is now a standard and anything below a responsive design is simply not acceptable. Also, as client-side programming gets more and more powerful, we can expect the applications to be less reliable on servers, thereby improving speed and performance.
- Context-driven testing
Though not approved by many, context-driven testing is now rapidly gaining ground owing to its ability to help developers quickly achieve their goals. Unlike traditional testing methods that aim to achieve perfection, this type of testing tries to improve usability by improvisation. If an app perfectly does what it is expected to do, it passes the test period. Not only it prevents the development team from getting into wild goose chase but also improves the overall efficiency and productivity of the enterprise.
Now that you see how fast the app development paradigm is evolving, it’s simply impossible for most businesses to match the pace. But at the same time, not adapting to these changes can not only block the progress but may also turn out to be fatal in the long run.
The best approach to take in such cases is to hire offshore developers who are known to offer value-for-money for all tech solutions, using the latest tools and software.