It seems simple to end-users; you need a specific tool for business — why can’t you download a suitable app, just like you’d download Angry Birds?
Well it’s possible in the fast-moving world of the cloud. App stores for business apps are growing and Forrester research shows 35 per cent of enterprises (across all sizes) are, right now, using app stores to deploy some apps.
BT’s new White Paper, ‘Cloud innovation at the speed of life’, looks at the idea of enterprise app stores in the context of ways IT can use the cloud to drive and support business innovation.
It’s easy to see the appeal of the app store model.
- There’s no compromise; you choose the right app for the right need.
- Roll-out is rapid.
- It gives amazing flexibility to empower individual business units to address specific needs for tactical apps. And then, when the app is no longer fit for purpose, you get a new one.
- You get the best business functionality without the headache of integrating the technology stack that supports it.
- It’s extremely responsive and a model that’s used to almost instantaneous feedback from users, prompting fast glitch fixes, updates and improvements.
- And it couldn’t be easier to deploy — thanks to Angry Birds and the like, end-users need no training.
Can it really be that simple? Gartner sees enterprise app stores as shifting the role of IT “from that of a centralised planner to a market manager providing governance and brokerage services to users and potentially an ecosystem to support entrepreneurs”.
For this idea to really take off, enterprises need to find a way to replicate the app store environment in an IT world of varied platforms and technologies. Of course, choosing apps that are built on the same platform (and so share the same ethos) would help, but in that one step, you’re limiting the choice of business app. And what happens when you want to integrate a few apps? And how do you keep track of downloads (both on-premise and mobile) and licensing?
BT’s White Paper argues the importance of considering co-innovation — working with an industry partner to develop something bespoke rather than off-the-shelf; could this be the right route for your organisation?
Find out about how the cloud can help your IT innovate for change and growth in BT’s White Paper.
