mobile / tablet application development - what are my options?

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DATA Inc. USA72 Summit AvenueMontvale, NJ 07645(201) 802-9800www.datainc.biz

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NJTC Mobile Application Development

Conference What Are My Options?

September 20, 2012

Mobile ComputingIs it worth the

hype?

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Just the latest buzzword?

• Mainframes/dumb terminals (~1950, military, weather)

• PCs (~1980, business applications)• LANs (1983, file-sharing)• Client-Server/fat clients (late 1980’s, back to the

future)• Internet/Web 1.0 (early 1990’s, email, WWW)• Web 2.0 (2002, blogging, collaboration, social media)• Cloud Computing (late 2000’s, CPU and storage as

utility)• Mobile Computing (2007, iPhone announced)

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Were they all worth it?

• (Too) many paradigm shifts• Expensive to keep shifting

– Capital expenses– Training– Loss of focus and momentum

• What had we gained?• Where are we now?

– These are the best of times (and the worst of times?)

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Mobile impact on Top Line

• Increase business

• Drive sales

• Strengthen brand awareness

• Improve customer relationships

• New revenue opportunities

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Mobile impact on Bottom Line

• Increase worker productivity

• Improve employee communications

• Decrease production costs

• Increase responsiveness

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What are my dev. options?

•Native – iOS

• iPhone • iPad

– Android – Windows Phone – Others...

•Pure HTML 5•Hybrid

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Case Study

Financial Services Industry Client

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The Problem

• Financial Advisors did not have a convenient way to share information with their clients at on-site meetings

• All research, trades, portfolio management, etc. is performed in-office on very powerful, multi-monitor workstations

• When making a client visit, the FA would:– Print and carry reams of paper reports– Remote-control their office workstation from a laptop– Slow, inefficient, clunky

• NOT A GOOD WAY TO STRENGTHEN YOUR BRAND IMAGE IN FRONT OF A HIGH NET-WORTH CLIENT

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Solution (?)

• Reproduce the workstation experience on a mobile device

• For this application, such a device requires:– LARGE, high-quality display– Lightweight – Instant-on– Long battery life– Network connectivity (Internet, VPN)– Security

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Tablet Computer

• The perfect fit – iPad– Android-based tablet

• Why not just use a laptop?

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“Houston, we have a problem”

• Not with the hardware, but with the software• A tablet is not a desktop PC

– Limited storage– Different/limited input methods– Smaller (yet higher-res) display– Limited network bandwidth and intermittent

connectivity

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(Re-)Design/Rethink Software

• What are the unique features of the tablet?– Camera (still and motion capture)– Audio (microphone, speakers with 3D Dolby

processing)– Sensors: GPS, Compass, Accelerometer,

Bluetooth, NFC– Touch, multi-touch

• What other challenges are present in the tablet operating system software?– Apple iOS is very locked-down– Cannot share data (easily) between apps

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Consider the Use Case

• Inside the office the FA has access to 1500+ applications– Advanced forecasting, trading, esoteric

functionality

• Outside the office (during client visit) his needs are highly focused– Display portfolio positions– Display investment return– Perform what-if scenarios– Hand the tablet over to the client!

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The Correct Approach

• Find developers experienced in mobile computing– Not so easy, better to rely on a trusted

partner

• Build “apps”, not monolithic applications• Release early and often• Focus on features that users need the

most– Apple recommends 3-4 features per release

• Be constantly aware of unique features and limitations of tablet platform

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The Outcome

• First set of three apps was released to group of 40 pilot users

• After 2 months of use a survey was compiled– 97% pilot users reported being very- to

extremely-satisfied with the app features, usability, reliability, utility

– The apps were the singular talk of the town at the annual FA conference

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The Outcome

Successful execution was deemed to be a critical driver in retention of FA’s

during a very challenging business cycle

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Dedicated to your success

Download this presentation from our Slideshare account at

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Questions?