More small to medium-sized businesses are following the mobile trend and understanding that an effective strategy involves more than just a mobile-friendly website.
Small and Medium Business that have developed their own dedicated mobile applications are ahead of their competitors when it comes to taking their businesses to the next level.
Building mobile apps used to be difficult, with lots of time spent on rolling out cloud services, integrating various push services, building databases and even setting up single sign-ons. It is no wonder that many SMBs just did not have the time or money to build a competitive mobile app for their business.
But now you can hand over the infrastructure that your app needs to a cloud platform that is designed to help you integrate everything to quickly build apps for any platform or device.
If you’re thinking about developing a cloud-enabled mobile app for your business, these are some of the features your service provider should offer:
Reach customers across any platform
With certain cloud providers, you can code in one language. This means you can target any device, including iOS, Android and Windows – ultimately expanding your audience and reaching more potential customers. Azure, for instance, also allows developers to build in cognitive capabilities, which enable an app to mimic human functions like speech, recognize familiar faces and emotions, and give advice.
Work online and offline
Make sure your app is functional without a network connection. When your app is in offline mode, users should still be able to create and modify data. When the app is back online, it should sync any changes with the back-end.
Build an app that responds to growth
As your business grows, it is important that your app handles a growing amount of users or an influx of information and data. Your app service should be able to handle any incoming customer load.
Push notifications to millions in seconds
Smartphones and tablets have the ability to notify users an event has occurred. Your app should be able to engage your customers with instant push notifications on any device, personalized to their needs and sent when the time is right.
Work online and offline
Make sure your app is functional without a network connection. When your app is in offline mode, users should still be able to create and modify data. When the app is back online, it should sync any changes with the back-end.
Authentication
Authentication or authorization is a feature that allows your app to log in users with no code changes required on the app back-end. It is an easy way to protect your application and work with each user’s data. Choose a service that allows you to select from a large list of identity providers, including enterprise authentication as well as social networks.