Comparing the capabilities of mobile platforms for business app development

Abstract

Businesses increasingly embrace the possibilities of mobile computing. While there is broad advice for app developers in general, development of apps for enterprises is hardly covered. Business apps support internal processes and contribute to customer relationship management. The heterogeneity of platforms for mobile devices makes development difficult. At the same time, companies seek to support several platforms with their apps to maximize customer acceptance and to support the platforms best suited for their employees. Aiming at improving the knowledge on business app development, we present a framework for assessing mobile platforms. For this purpose, we have developed a distinct set of evaluation criteria and present an exemplary assessment of three platforms – namely Android, Blackberry, and iOS – to demonstrate the feasibility of our framework. Moreover, we give advice, on which strategies to follow when developing for either platform and on considerations companies should take when e.g. planning a bring-yourown-device (BYOD) policy.