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When app dev reaches the clouds: are you ready?

In many ways, application development in 2015 has left the building. I mean that figuratively of course, because these days, much of app dev is focused on cloud-based applications — and much of cloud application development has shifted offsite.

Source: TechValidate survey of 198 IT decision makers

Mobile apps

Consider the current importance of enterprise mobile apps , which now play a role in 73% of organizations.

The number of mobile app tools and software development kits on the market now tops 200. Not only are they getting more sophisticated and complex by the day, they’re also producing point solutions to solve mobile-specific problems.

This, as you’ve no doubt noticed, has resulted in a skills gap — one that promises to get worse before it gets better. It explains why so much mobile app development — 42% by one recent estimate — now occurs outside of enterprise IT departments. In two years, demand will drive 65% of mobile app development to external app dev providers.

The Internet of Things

Although IoT has been generating spectacular hype for the last year or two, it seems far away.

But don’t be fooled: Like the cars in your rearview mirror, IoT is closer than it appears. Sensors and devices are proliferating madly — as is the amount of data they’re collecting. That is Big Data. Big Data means enterprises will need new apps to gather, filter, and analyze data into opportunities and revenue. Already, 65% of production IoT apps are making money .

Here again, there’s a serious skills gap. Half of developers say they lack the skills and/or technology to deliver IoT apps .

In the context of the cloud

Mobile and IoT apps live chiefly in clouds. Increasingly, they’re created in clouds. This means major challenges in connecting these apps with backend systems to provide database services, push notifications, etc. These challenges are so complex that a majority of mobile-oriented cloud-based application development still depends on hand-coding from scratch or external resources.

If your organization is like most, your cloud-based application development efforts are in transition — and in need of assistance from cloud application development experts with the agility to employ leading-edge tools to create the web, mobile, and IoT cloud-based applications your business needs to stay ahead.

Finding the application development company that’s right for your organization can certainly be a challenge in itself. Even beyond your concerns about mobility apps, IoT, and cloud, it matters that you choose a provider that understands the app dev lifecycle and offers several key capabilities .

The future of your business depends on it.

Meet the Author
Tim Burke is the President and CEO of Quest. He has been at the helm for over 30 years.
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