Businesses worldwide are moving to mobile apps, creating an atmosphere where the competition is ludicrously high, and the chance of failure is more than that of success, for obvious reasons.
According to a survey conducted in the first quarter of 2018, the data revealed that more than 42% of businesses already had a mobile application while 28% had second thoughts offering it to their customers, which shows a lack of trust in mobile apps.
The Cons of Having an App for Enterprise
Having a mobile application for your business is an added advantage and a blessing, but it comes at a cost. Have a look at some of the cons of having a mobile application.
1) EXTRA INVESTMENT FOR IOS & ANDROID APPS
The first disadvantage of choosing an application is that one has to invest in both iOS and Android mobile applications. This means that you would need a separate budget for both platforms and resources to develop the applications.
Moreover, Google Play Store and Apple App Store have separate guidelines for creating applications, and there are certain design constraints as well that one has to consider while designing or building an application.
2) NOT ALWAYS A REPLACEMENT OF WEBSITE
Another disadvantage is that an application can never be a proper replacement for a website. This is because many users still opt to use the website and not mobile apps, and it is easier for them to get their stuff done this way.
In any case, a website is an ultimate requirement for a business, a primary need, and would always be preferred over an application, at least in the few decades to come. Furthermore, developing an application is an added expense, and not everyone can afford a full-fledged application.
3) MAINTENANCE & SUPPORT BILL
If you have an app or plan to develop one for either of the two most used platforms or even one, you would be paying an additional sum for its support and maintenance to keep it up and running without any problems and difficulties for the user.
These two apps would require an extra workforce for any relevant tasks, and you would also be paying for any third-party services used in your smartphone application, such as an API, plugin, or something else.
4) ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
App development is an additional task and requires additional resources to build the complete system. For example, when you decide to develop an app, you have to have developers for Android and iOS or someone proficient enough to develop the applications, a mobile solutions architect who knows how to design an app.
5) ASO REQUIRED
ASO or App Store Optimization is a process of optimizing your smartphone application for uploading it on either of the app stores. This is something like SEO (Search Engine Optimization) but still very different. SEO deals with optimizing a website, while ASO deals with an app’s optimization on the app store, and their parameters are pretty different.
There is some serious competition for smartphone apps for both iOS and Android and optimizing an application to its optimum level where it is displayed among the top is not child’s play. Doing ASO is a separate task from SEO and has to be done at an extra cost.
THE PROS OF HAVING AN APP
There are numerous advantages of having a mobile app for enterprise. Despite some disadvantages that want you to opt-out of an app’s development, the merits of an app are undoubtedly fascinating. Have a look at some of the pros of having an app below.
1) BETTER DESIGN
This is out of the question that which platform offers better design features. Smartphone apps take the lead here too, like in many other instances. Websites can constantly be optimized for mobile responsiveness, but the design is never as good as in an application.
Also, the design of a smartphone application is highly adjustable as per the users’ needs or the organization’s needs, which naturally provide a feel and ease, and comfort.
2) EASIER BRANDING
This is one of the most important factors and advantages that developers and app owners get with an app’s development. Smartphone apps offer a more personalized environment to do the branding of the application in a rather aggressive manner.
The design features and elements in a smartphone app can be more consistent and appealing that pack a punch, and it involves and indulges the users in using the app more often.
3) CUSTOMIZED ATMOSPHERE
Mobile applications are designed in a way that they can be customized in a number of ways, just as you want. There are more than 5 million smartphone applications available for download on Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and no application is completely similar to another app.
This helps enterprises provide a distinct and unique look of the application while providing all the services and retaining the users and businesses alike while increasing the revenue figures.
4) FEATURES ACCESSIBILITY
Smartphones, these days, contain the latest hardware with advanced features and services. These features can be used with the functions of smartphone applications, and mobile-optimized or mobile responsive websites are generally not good at using these device features.
Whether you have to use the camera or need guidance going somewhere through GPS or setting up the reminder, all this can be done through the application with ultimate convenience.
5) OFFLINE USE OF MOBILE APP FOR BUSINESSES
Smartphone applications have the advantage that certain features can also be used when offline, which means you can still watch the downloaded video in your YouTube app, listen to a track on SoundCloud without having access to the internet and make the most of your time doing offline activities.
Mobile websites do not offer online functionality and cannot work without an active, working internet connection.
WHAT SHOULD BE YOUR DECISION?
Developing a mobile app for the business or not is a highly subjective matter. There are some cons of developing an app, but the advantages of mobile app development overshadow the disadvantages.
However, there are some challenges to be faced first up while starting the application’s development but nothing that cannot be sorted.
Considering all the factors, merit, and demerits of enterprise app development, it is upon the business to decide if developing a mobile app would benefit them or not and if they are ready to take the leap.
