This morning, Appcelerator released their latest version of "The State of the Mobile Enterprise," which highlights how the enterprise is approaching all types of mobile development.
Their survey of 770 enterprise leaders resulted in some interesting mobile insights. We dove headfirst into the insights from the report, and dug up three key takeaways that we believe all designers should note as we rocket more into a mobile-first world.
Mobile Development vs. Desktop Development
The first core takeaway is a necessary (and possibly obvious) one — mobile has arrived and will only continue to grow in importance. 87% of enterprise survey respondents believe that mobile app development will outpace their desktop counterparts.
Our next iteration of Foundation takes mobile first to heart, as we believe that designers will shift the way they design as more and more devices sprout up on a daily basis.
Developers Want to Develop for the Mobile Web
Platform preferences are also another key area to find nice insights. The report examined how interested the enterprise and developers were in developing for specific platforms — the mobile web being one of them.
It turns out that the mobile web is a key area of interest for many developers. 56% of enterprise respondents said they'd be "very interested" in developing for the mobile web. Developers seem even more bullish — 63% of developer respondents weighed in at "very interested."
We've outlined our thoughts on HTML5 vs. Native before, specifically highlighting Mark Zuckerberg's thoughts on the matter. We've chosen to prioritize the responsive web because we realize it won't go away, and we're confident that a well-designed responsive app that works on all devices is a great play for the mobile-first future.
Great App Design is Crucial to Remain Relevant
User experience is a highly-important factor to creating a great mobile app. The study found that 85.6% of enterprise founders believe that UX matters just as much in B2E/B2B apps as B2C. Beyond user experience, great holistic product design is crucial.
Appcelerator analyzed their findings as such:
This heralds the fact that we now live in a user-experience-centric world where beauty, functionality, and user delight triumph, whether for mobilizing internal enterprise processes or for transforming consumer relationships.
Ultimately, all this tells us that the enterprise realizes that great design is crucial, whether or not an app gets in front of a consumer's face.
If design is deprioritized or ignored in a mobile app, it's likely that users will abandon it for a better-designed, pleasant solution to use. Companies that can capitalize on design, especially with apps that target the enterprise, will quickly gain an edge on their larger, slower-moving competitors.