FlashPoint Network

Enterprise-level Mobile Development

Submitted by Jay Almers on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 15:29 inApplication Development, Enterprise, MIT, Mobile, MobileWeb, UNC

I am currently attending the monthly University of North Carolina Webmasters' group meeting and the discussions for today revolve around our enterprise-level mobile applications and sites.  The meeting is relatively informal but the depth and breadth of expertise is pretty vast.

UNC recently unveiled their mobile site (http://m.unc.edu) and their new application for mobile devices so that they could easily link to various RSS feeds, deeper portions of the mobile site, maps of the campus, directories, etc...  After overcoming numerous obstacles such as user-interface in a mobile world, content management, and identifying the target user market, UNC has created a single page of icons that link to the most commonly requested/used content.  I think that is really the main theme behind developing for mobile devices.

1. Consider your audience and what they would consider "super-important".
   
2. Create a mobile-friendly interface.  Keep in mind, people are trying to touch your links.  Provide plenty of space, large icons, and minimalistic design.
3. Keep your content fresh.  By managing your content on a regularly basis, you are giving your visitors a reason to come back.

The software back-end for UNC's mobile site is an open-source software package originally written by MIT called MobileWeb.  It is actually designed for the higher-education markets but appears it can be adapted for smaller businesses.

In addition to developing applications and mobile sites, some UNC departments are using "QR" or Quick Response codes to inform their students of particular classroom schedules, floorplans, etc...  You may remember me speaking on "QR" codes in relation to promoting your business on Google® Places.  QR codes can be created to deliver almost any type of information to mobile devices, if the device has the necessary software to decode them.  iPhones can download software such as NeoReader to scan several types of these type of codes.  I believe BlackBerry and Android phones have native support for QR codes and if I am not mistaken, use QR codes to share personal contact information from one phone to another.

What it all boils down to is that the desktop computer is quickly becoming an archaic device and the future of online presence as well as daily activity are going to revolve around mobile, hand-held devices.  I would venture to say that most of you that have mobile technology, you consider it "developmental" or "experimental".  Think outside of the 1024x768 and turn your attention to polishing off your mobile content, it will pay off in the end.