Sami Inkinen – Mobile Cloud Apps
“I’ve always been doing cloud computing” Larry Ellison.
If you want to have a widely distributed app, you should think of doing it to mobile web. Browsers are already good enough, so usually it’s safe to think of doing this.
Some figures:
- Total 325 000 web sites optimized for touch mobile usage
- 200 000 mobile apps available from iPhone, Ovi, Android and Blackberry app stores (ABI Research, March 2010)
- In 2008, already 42.8 million mobile cloud computing subscribers worldwide
Mobilization steps
1. Optimize usability for mobile
– New apps from scratch
– Migrating existing desktop Web apps
2. Make it behave like an app, not like Web page
– Fast response and response rates
3. Implement native look-and-feel
– Graphical elements and styling
– Effect libraries
Pros
- Fast and cost-effective development
- Seampless updates as software is entirely running on server
- support across phone models and OS
- Native application like look-and-feel possible
Cons
- Higher data transfer rewuirements
- Longer start-up time than with installed apps
- Slower execution than native software
- Limited offline usage
- Limited access to phone peripherals
- No app store marketing support (I don’t actually agree with this, because as I see it, it’s just a new affiliation model that is needed here)
Summary
Mobile apps based on cloud tech are a viable alternatives to native aps – for piloting and producing implementations alike.
Karri Huhtanen – Mobile cloud challenges
Scalability
- If you want to be born global, your service and apps must be built global.
- A good, scalable architecture and code from the start is even more important than before. My comment: If you fail to give a good experience from the start, it just may be that they won’t come back.
- From Slashdot effect to Facebook effect.
Endurance
Reliability is provided by the cloud, endurance and robustness must be built by you.
Internet is broken –> connection between mobiles and services are and will be unreliable.
Your app and service must handle the Interner problems while maintaining good user experience. My comment: The problem is that you must find a reliable service provider. And the user, he or she doesn’t really care: if your connection suck, you suck. Even if it’s not “your fault”.
Q&A:
Q: Have to market your native apps without things like OVI store or Apple AppStore?
A: One possibility is in building a good brand around your company or service.
– Possibly other cloud stores.
– Of course Social media: through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc. My comment: Actually it’s like in any good marketing; you have to have imagination, courage, know where your clients are and who they are, and in the top of it all: differentiate yourself from others and make an interesting product.
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