It’s clear that mobile applications will be a major component of enterprise technology in the coming years. Between employees bringing their own devices and enterprises’ desire to make employees more productive, mobile app development, device management, and integrated application management will all be top priorities of any mobile enterprise development platform.
Recognizing this, many enterprises are turning to Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): a cloud-based toolset for creating apps, in which the provider offers software development libraries, networks, servers, storage and other services, and the customer builds the software and controls deployment and configuration settings. Because of security concerns about the public cloud, most enterprises are choosing to run private versions of these platforms, managed by, and in some cases hosted by, internal IT staff. But that’s likely to change as enterprises become more comfortable with the technology.
In a ReadWrite article, Bart Copeland suggests that adoption of PaaS solutions like mobile enterprise development platforms and cloud infrastructure will be primarily driven by the desire to develop mobile apps. Copeland argues that mobile management challenges can only be solved with a PaaS and cloud approach.
Why is this happening? Because companies need apps and they need them fast.
Because of the prevalence of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs, enterprise workloads will require more mobile apps, better device and mobile application management, and better integration with systems of record. The best way to provide integrated application management across all platforms is via a private PaaS in the cloud. The flexibility and control that come with cloud-based tools allows for faster and more easily configurable connections between backend systems and front end development. This is a critical factor in supporting enterprise apps on mobile devices, as device characteristics, application demands, operating systems and firmware are constantly changing.
The advantage of PaaS is its ability to create the apps we need faster than ever. If your IT group is set on private PaaS for mobile app development and management, that’s likely the right move. If you want to learn more about the market for private PaaS for mobile (or to pass something to your IT department on the topic), this blog from Gartner’s Richard Watson provides more details.
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