Mobile apps are often at the heart of a company's technology strategy - and it's hardly surprising. On the other hand, it's not always an automatic choice: it seems that the sense of investment depends on the purpose. We will approach a store differently, a loyalty program or a tool for a courier fleet - each case may suggest a different solution.
In this category, you will find practical information about developing and implementing mobile apps for SMEs. We'll discuss when it's worth betting on a native iOS or Android app, and when a progressive web application (PWA) is enough. We'll also compare cross-platform technologies, such as React Native or Flutter, with native approaches - and in doing so, I'll tell you which trade-offs are most often overvalued. We will analyze development costs, the process of publishing to the App Store and Google Play, and viable monetization strategies.
We will touch on technical issues: backend integration, API design, mobile databases, data security, push notification and analytics. You'll find practical tips on choosing a technology partner, project management and testing on different devices - because testing on an emulator often doesn't reflect reality, which is what determines success.
And we haven't left out application maintenance: system updates, backward compatibility, performance monitoring and crash management. In my experience, neglected maintenance is a common cause of abandoned projects, so we'll suggest how to avoid it. Finally, we'll show how mobile apps can realistically support business processes - from tools for employees to solutions aimed at end customers.