Application development platforms offer organizations a combination of flexibility and control that is increasingly important as enterprise mobility and cloud strategies rise. Widespread use of mobile devices in the enterprise is combining with greater dependence on the cloud to create new management and governance challenges for IT teams, all while asking them to innovate at a faster pace. App platforms are uniquely positioned to meet these needs.
The mobility and cloud problem
A recent IDC study found that approximately74 percent of organizations in the U.S. already offer choose-your-own-device programs, or plan to do so soon. Bryan Basset, research analyst for the Mobile Enterprise: Device Solutions department at IDC, explained that this focus on mobility forces IT teams to carefully balance risk vs. rewards.
"Cost savings and security risk mitigation are the biggest drivers of mobile device deployment strategies," said Basset. "But with 48 percent of enterprises not seeing improvement in their BYOD cost savings and 30 percent citing security problems with mobile app deployments, IT management must inspect strategies for improvements."
"Cloud apps and services can improve the potential of mobile devices."
Cloud apps and services can prove integral to improving the potential of mobile devices - providing users with access to enterprise-class solutions while giving IT teams an opportunity to maintain necessary levels of control. According to 451 Research, cloud computing is experiencing considerable growth. Approximately 60 percent of all enterprise workloads are expected to run in some sort of cloud configuration, a 19 percent increase over current rates.
This strong growth is exciting, especially as 38 percent of respondents said that they have put a cloud-first approach to operations into place.
Using the cloud to support mobility
Smartphones and tablets tend to be less secure than enterprise-class workstations, in part simply due to anti-virus and anti-malware limitations. Storing all data and housing all apps in the cloud takes the actual device issuesout of the picture, putting the focus on user authentication and backend governance.
Application development platforms can address the governance and oversight issues that IT teams face in the cloud by acting as a centralized configuration where apps reside and data workflows are managed. These solutions often work in conjunction with business process management tools to ensure data workflows align with everyday operational needs and fit in with background IT processes. The resulting environment is a place where data can flow freely between users, apps and devices, but all within parameters set within the platform by IT leaders, providing the control needed to empower mobile and cloud users.
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