By: Kacy O'ConnellDo you need an enterprise app to improve your company's productivity but aren't sure where to begin? Let's look at what goes into custom enterprise software development and how it can help your business.
What is enterprise software development?
Let's start with the enterprise concept before moving on to development. Some individuals use the term "enterprise" to refer to any firm, although this is a misnomer. Businesses can be classified based on various factors, but enterprise refers to the scale of the company. Companies come in three sizes: small, medium, and huge, with the latter being referred to as enterprises.
Let's look at the numbers because "small, medium, and huge" are relative terms. Small businesses often employ fewer than 100 employees, whether 5 or 95. Employees in medium-sized firms range from 100 to 999. Enterprises are defined as firms with more than 1,000 employees and a significant turnaround time.
So, the number of employees determines whether a company is an enterprise, but other elements factor into the enterprise concept. For example, the word "security" is perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the term. Whether it's a healthcare, financial, educational, or governmental organization, large corporations handle a substantial amount of sensitive data. So, when it comes to commercial web development, the first thing that comes to mind is good app security.
Security is critical, but it isn't the only issue with large amounts of data. Enterprises want high-quality systems that can handle all types of data, analyze it, report on it, and perform other functions.
Other obstacles exist in addition to the enormous volume of data that the software must process. The software should handle the high load generated by a large number of active users and numerous integrations with other systems. Your enterprise app should predict all of the above, and the solution should be designed to be stable regardless of the demand.
What Kind of App Does Your Enterprise Need?
We can divide corporate app types into three categories. Developers can create apps for internal, external, or mixed-use purposes. Let's take a closer look at each choice.
Internal usage apps are those that staff solely utilize. There are three more types of apps in this category: for separate employees, for different departments, or the whole company.
- Employee apps are the most straightforward to develop. They, for example, do not have as many connections as the previous type. They also don't have to deal with a large volume of data or combine it with other software.
- It's more challenging to create enterprise web applications for specific departments. This is because they must streamline a variety of internal procedures and can also be used to connect clients with professionals.
- Enterprise apps at the company level essentially constitute their own network. As a result, such apps necessitate the highest level of security and consistent access to various databases, documents, and other resources. Different access levels specify what activities a specific user can accomplish in an app in company-level solutions.
The second form of enterprise apps is for external use. For example, they provide access to some of your company's data to B2B clients.
Finally, the mixed type is also highly prevalent. In this situation, employees and B2B clients have access to a portion of the company's information. This strategy usually seeks to make some processes easier for B2B clients.
For a mixed type, there could be one enterprise web application with multiple access levels or various apps for both sides independently.
Enterprise software development vs. General software development
Before we get into the details of business software development, it's essential to understand the distinctions between enterprise solutions and consumer ones.
Standard software development principles are always applicable and suggested, regardless of the type of program you're building. The distinction is that developers will prioritize them differently based on the app complexity, which grows in direct proportion to the company's size.
If the volume of an app's intended audience is small and the software isn't likely to be used by giant corporations, the priority list might look something like this:
- Functionality
- Learning
- Visual design
- User retention
- Monetization
- Security
As a result, apps designed for the general audience focus on a simple user interface, usability, and user retention. Because users can exit the app at any time, the last one, along with revenue, is critical for product web apps. As a result, it takes a lot of effort to keep consumers interested.
The scenario is fundamentally different when it comes to enterprise web app development. Because security, for example, is far more critical and warrants more resources, enterprise resource planning (ERP) frequently overlooks the engaging learning process. Aside from that, corporate systems often have a lot of integrations with different data sources, which takes a long time.
Let's talk about visual design for a moment. It's always nice to have a nice, smooth UI, but it's not as important for enterprise apps as it is for consumer products. As a result, functional requirements are frequently prioritized before the visual presentation. On the other hand, clients want products on schedule, and development cannot extend indefinitely. As a result, it's occasionally necessary to make decisions and prioritize certain features over others. Therefore, the development approaches for enterprise apps would be organized as follows:
- Functionality
- Security
- Integrations
- Learning
- Visual design
As can be seen, software development is appropriate for both enterprise and simple apps, but the priorities are different.
Must-have features for enterprise apps
Let's look at the basic characteristics of enterprise web applications:
Secure login. During authorization, a lot of software assaults happen. They're commonly referred to as identity theft. It's worth using multi-factor authentication to avoid this from happening. For example, it could be biometric data such as fingerprints or facial recognition. However, it makes sense to consider more complex solutions for enterprise security. For example, we developed an enterprise security solution based on an AI component that recognizes the typical speed of inputting a password, computer mouse movements, etc. It recalls this information later and compares it to the actual outcomes of each authentication. As a result, even if you have the correct username and password, you won't be able to hijack someone's account.
Simple UI. Enterprise apps have a lot of data, and it might be challenging to navigate through it all and discover what you're searching for. As a result, the user interface should make this task as simple as feasible. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of effort on the part of designers to create a user interface that allows for the storage of large amounts of data and the presentation of that data in an understandable manner.
Reporting and analytics. Any ERP system should have these qualities. Because the major purpose of enterprise-level software is to automate operations, it's no surprise that automated reporting and analytics are a must-have. They assist employees save time by focusing on more important activities.
High performance. From the beginning of the development process, enterprise software development should aim for good performance. Because the program is responsible for the entire organization's workflow, it's critical to maintain a steady connection and anticipate how system failures will be handled.
How long does enterprise software development take?
A relatively simple enterprise application can take anywhere from 6 to 9 months to develop. The length of the process will be determined by a variety of criteria, including the size of the team, the number of integrations, and the number of modules. As a result, if you're developing a complex system, the development time could take up to a year just to launch the app. On the other hand, it may also be reduced if you only require the most basic features.
Companies frequently use Agile approaches when dealing with complex procedures. Accordingly, development occurs in iterations, with the first one taking around a year on average. Because enterprise systems require regular revisions, the development of internal applications for firms with thousands of people is almost always a never-ending process that might extend for years. New versions of the app are continually being produced to solve new business difficulties.
Businesses in any industry should take advantage of the opportunity to experiment with enterprise systems. They are an effective tool for increasing business efficiency and automating procedures. In addition, they help employees save time. For example, instead of manually filling out documentation and preparing weekly reports, you'll have more time and personnel available to focus on the most important goals.