Today building a basic mobile app is fairly easy, but building an enterprise-grade app that is performant, stable, scalable, secure, growth-ready and future proof is difficult. While the UX/UI is important, it represents only 10% of the proverbial iceberg. Our experience has taught us that 90% of the performance of an app occurs ‘below the waterline.’ It is essential that careful attention is paid to UX/UI, architecture, integration, clean code bases, analytics, SDKs, and the hosting infrastructure.
The Importance of the Digital Front-end and Back-end
The design and development of the front-end website and apps includes UX/UI design, branding, native code bases, SDK integrations, clean architecture, API integrations, QA testing and recommendations for the app store listings.
The front-end, also called “client-side” programming, takes place in the app or browser. There are many options when it comes to client side programming – each with pros and cons. To choose the right mobile development framework we suggest the following three steps:
1. Select the application type which can be mobile web, HTML based app or a native app.
2. Once the application type is chosen the next decision is the development framework. For example if native is selected as the application type there are four development framework options. Native – Swift/Kotlin. React Native – cross platform by Facebook. Flutter – cross platform by Google. Xamarin by Microsoft. Again there is no right or wrong and each framework has pros and cons.
3. Once the development framework is agreed, the third decision to make is what kind of architecture to use. The newest, most expandable, and the architecture that offers the highest testability is CLEAN. Many major tech companies have adopted CLEAN architecture for their own apps.
The back-end, also called “server-side”programming, happens on the server and database levels. It is the critical machinery that works behind the scenes to power those fancy features users interact with on the client-side. One of the most important considerations for a future-proofed digital strategy is to choose a digital back-end that is flexible, scalable, extendable and performant. We often see that the performance of an Enterprise app deteriorates as the number of active and concurrent users grow. This is because the back-end architecture and infrastructure are not designed to be linearly scalable and extendable. Scalability is one of the biggest challenges in designing the digital back-end which means the mobile clients, the server back-end and the infrastructure all have to be well designed individually as well as work in harmony.
Right Customer, at the Right Time, via the Right Channel
Whether we talk about in-app push, SMS or email – it is crucial to reach the right customer at the right time via the right channel. Enterprises’ goal is to rapidly create customer segments, run effective campaigns and see results in real time. With the right platform, they can:
Configure and track all campaigns by specifying the customer segment, trigger, condition and call to action or next best offer. Centralize all digital channels (SMS, email, web push, in app) in one simple control panel.
Omni-Channel Framework
This framework enables Enterprises to keep processes and user data independent from the sales and support channels (retail, website, apps). The framework allows Enterprises to modify business requirements in a single layer. This means a user can start interaction in one channel (e.g. browsing website or app) and then complete the purchase in a different channel (e.g. retail location) or vice-versa in a seamless continuous experience.
Product Validation Framework
Product Validation Framework is a systematic way to test hypotheses or assumptions that a particular product, feature or service will solve certain problems for your target market. This is essential because in the digital domain, what users say and what they do are very different. Rapidly testing product assumptions with users is critical.
Key Benefits of Digital Channels
- Dramatically improved sign-up and purchase experience – touchless customer sign-up and onboarding to replace traditional, costly retail sales channels.
- Personalized engagement with customers – highly targeted, personalized and contextual offers for customers.
- Smart multi-channel customer care – exceed customer expectations for ease, convenience, and speed of care across multiple channels while dramatically reducing cost.
LotusFlare takes a full-stack approach to designing, developing and maintaining 5 star apps for Enterprises. LotusFlare’s suite of digital products apply the playbook of the most successful Internet companies to help Enterprises grow revenue, improve the digital customer experience and accelerate time-to-market. In this new digital age “Experience is the Product.” To address these challenges and help Enterprises succeed in the digital age LotusFlare built the Digital Network Operator® platform. DNO is built from the ground up to be cloud-native and provide agility, speed, performance and reliability – with best practices applied from leading Internet companies. It is architected to unlock new pricing models and deliver a delightful customer experience. DNO supports multiple business models in both core and adjacent markets. It is highly scalable, a magnitude cheaper to operate, and supports eSIM, 5G, B2B and B2C use cases.
