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Throwback Thursday: What Makes a Great Business App?

Appian Contributor
July 28, 2016

The app has transformed our lives.

Think about it. Could you go back and live your current life in 2004?

How about 1997?

1985?

Try and imagine conducting your life...coordinating your work, your family, your time without the convenience of apps.

Our devices and their growing capabilities have forever changed how we interact...how we live...how we work.

Yes, consumer apps are fantastic! But what about business apps?

The custom business app is the most hated BPM technology in any organization:

    • It is built for a unique circumstanceÖBut circumstances always change.

    • It promises to address unique challenges, perfectly...But over time, that happens less and less.

    • It is typically laser-focused on addressing a single issueÖBut that means it often operates in a silo, without access to evolving context.

Businessapps are typically tough: tough to build, tough to use, tough to change. That's why they suck the life out of internal IT, users, and executives hoping for a big impact.

But way back in March, 2015, we posted about what makes a great business app! I hope you enjoy today's edition of Throwback Thursday!

Zach Messler


What's your favorite app?

Why?

We all have apps we love. Me? I couldn't live without Pandora. It's easy to use, and it meets a need, helping me more pleasantlynavigate my daily Washington, DC metro-area commute (which has to be near the top of the worst commutes in the world...but I digress).

But, what about business apps? It's true that mobile has consumerized the workplace. We all have expectations at work these days that have evolved from our new mobile mindset. We need that immediacy, the ability to work unfettered on any device we choose at any moment of our days (or nights). Business apps have to help me get moredone anywhere, and obviously, they must be secure.What Makes a Great Business App?

Work is not all fun and games, like my Pandora app. Apps for the workplace are serious business. Certainly, they have far more requirements than keeping drivers entertained on their commutes. They must, right?

Embracing custom apps can propel an organization ahead, especially as everyone's expectations continue to evolve thanks to our mobile mindsets. So what are the attributes that make a great business app great?

Take a look at this eBook for the three you should not ignore.

Then, go find a great station on Pandora! May I recommend 'Michael Franti & Spearhead' Radio?

-Zach Messler