In case programmers develop an app for a particular type of device, they’ll have to build a new app every time a new device of that type is released. This means that the developers will be having more and more work on a regular basis. This is one of the most common problems faced by every leading mobile app development company. However, with a rapid surge in the use of cloud computing across the global mobile app development industry, this problem can now be solved quite comfortably. One simple solution to this is by storing mobile apps and all their associated data on servers through mobile cloud rather than on the device itself. This way, users can access mobile apps and related data easily via the mobile cloud using their smartphones. With tools like HTML5 and MEAPs, developers can create an app based on this model.
What, Exactly, is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is a technology powered by the Internet wherein you can share and store large data seamlessly. With cloud computing, you can share and store data, files, and information through a wide range of online resources. Information stored on the cloud can be easily accessed at any time and from just about anywhere. Cloud computing provides a great medium to share and store data in an easy to access and reliable way. Mobile cloud computing offers a fitting solution to make life easier for both app users and the developers. It is a hybrid cloud infrastructure that offers a robust ecosystem for mobile applications. Consequently, it facilitates mobile app data processing and storage to take place outside a user’s smartphone with results displayed on the user’s device screen. Mobile cloud computing is being used actively today by most mobile app developers to deliver a rich user experience for their apps. Cloud computing and tools have simplified application development by a fair margin, removing the need to build separate apps for different devices, which saves both time and money. Coupled with cloud computing, HTML5 helps developers provide seamless service levels to their users. Another striking benefit of the cloud technology is that it cuts down the cost of mobile app development since it lessens the need for testing during app development and deployment. In addition, cloud technologies have removed the hassle associated with app server management. The server-less nature of mobile cloud computing permits improved scalability to help app developers effortlessly scale up or down wherever necessary. Cloud technologies help in implementation and integration of data analytics and several other sophisticated technologies. Mobile cloud computing is an integral part of the Internet of Things (IoT) which is certain to end key problems in mobile application development for end users as well as enterprises.
What, Exactly, is the Internet of Things (IoT)?
Internet of Things is an ecosystem in which computing devices are interconnected with everyday devices, which enables these devices to send and receive information and data. IoT is very effective for mobile application development as it makes a network of connected devices for exchanging information and data.
How Mobile Cloud and Internet of Things can Simplify Mobile Application Development
One of the major hiccups in mobile app development is the ability to develop apps that can run on different types of devices. Let’s have a look at how app developers can overcome this hurdle.
1. App Development with HTML5
Developers can leap over this hurdle by building cloud-based mobile apps with HTML5, which can ensure cross-device app development easily. HTML5 helps programmers determine what the end-user device accessing the mobile app is. It not just facilitates real-time query processing, but can also help figure out the data being sent to a smartphone using a certain specifically-defined scope.
2. App Development Using MEAPs
Though mobile applications run on mobile cloud architecture, it is essential to power the apps with support for multiple mobile devices having different attributes. These end devices won’t just be having different features and attributes, but they’ll also be coming from different hardware manufacturers. And that’s where Mobile Enterprise Application Platforms (MEAPs) can come handy in simplifying support for cloud-based mobile applications. A MEAP is one of the most popular IoT tools currently being used by almost all leading mobile app development companies. It is a suite of comprehensive services and products that enable hybrid cross-device application development. With a MEAPs platform, developers can ensure that the data from the mobile cloud is delivered seamlessly and fits in well with different mobile phones having varied screen sizes. MEAPs use a full authentication mechanism to connect mobile devices to the cloud, which comes effective in the event of a device loss.
3. Hybrid Mobile App Development
Hybrid app development truncate the hard work that goes into developing a mobile app. In this case, developers can make the most of a mobile phone’s physical attributes. It is a unique and robust technique that brings together a device’s native capabilities and architectural attributes for HTML5 app development. Hybrid apps are native downloadable cloud-based applications that are capable of running most of their UI within a mobile-embedded browser, which eliminates the need to write the code over and over again for different mobile OSs.
Benefits of Developing Mobile Apps Using IoT and Cloud Computing
The cloud computing and IoT combo work wonders to ensure developed mobile apps are secure, robust and run remarkably well on multiple mobile devices. There are several other benefits of developing apps with cloud computing and IoT, such as:
More apps can be delivered to more number of users, the world over Smartphones can access robust backend apps, given that the security of apps is maintained More enterprise apps can be delivered to business users Centralized cloud security can be implemented
In all, IoT and cloud computing can deliver extensive, extended capabilities for inspecting the security of mobile phones as most security applications can be effectively run on mobile cloud.
