This is an original version of my article on IBM Cloud computing news titled How a mobile development platform can help IT pros cut through clutter
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the number of mobile gadgets you see every day?
If so, you are not alone. In 2015, the total number of mobile devices worldwide (7.9 billion) eclipsed the world’s population (7.4 billion). Though smartphone manufacturers often pitch their products as if they are fashion accessories, a recent study by the IBM Institute for Business Value uncovered that companies around the globe are driving the adoption of mobile because it makes good financial sense. Sixty-two percent of the executives surveyed as part of the study said that their top mobile initiatives achieved return on investment (ROI) in 12 months or less.
Chief information officers, enterprise architects, software development managers and other information technology professionals should plan for a growing number of mobile projects.
IBM is a recognized leader in helping enterprises launch and accelerate their mobility efforts. The research report “The Forrester Wave: Mobile Development Platforms, Q4 2016,” Forrester Research Inc, 24 October 2016, “included 12 vendors in the assessment” and “evaluated vendors against 32 criteria.”
It states: “The MobileFirst Foundation on-premises offering was once the most full-featured of IBM’s solutions, but the Bluemix cloud solution is now functionally equivalent, driving IBM’s move to the Leaders category.”
According to the report, IBM MobileFirst Platform delivered from the IBM Bluemix cloud proved to be a stronger offering than services delivered on clouds from Microsoft and AWS.
Customers increasingly demand conversational interfaces for interactions with brands.
Such customer experiences are complex to implement with only traditional application development skills and tools. Companies, like Elemental Path, grand prize recipient of the Watson Mobile Developer Challenge, chose IBM Watson to simplify the task of building conversational interfaces. Availability of IBM Watson technologies for developers is just one of the features that differentiate IBM MobileFirst platform from other mobile development platforms on the market.
Forrester reported that “IBM is best fit for shops that focus on data integration, especially complex integration scenarios.”
The IBM hybrid cloud infrastructure helps mobile application developers ensure high degree of application and data isolation, security, auditability, and compliance with data privacy, as well as other regulatory requirements. According to the Forrester report, IBM “customers cited the openness of the platform as a reason for purchase, particularly its front-end tooling partnerships with Cordova and Ionic.”
IBM’s leading expertise in mobile is based in part on the experience of working with Apple in a partnership to help global businesses to transform enterprise mobility.
IBM expertise in mobile is based in part on the experience of working in partnership with Apple to help global businesses transform enterprise mobility.
As part of the Apple partnership, IBM developed and delivered more than 100 applications using the MobileFirst platform, covering 14 industries. The applications transformed work for professions ranging from wealth advisors to flight attendants.
For example, working with SAS, the largest airline in Scandinavia, IBM developed a Passenger+ app that enabled flight attendants to access a 360-degree view of each passenger’s past flight preferences, interests, and purchasing decisions. With this information, IBM MobileFirst became essential in helping SAS deliver a more elite and personalized flying experience.