Mobile applications: Enter, the hybrid

Mobile devices are marching forward, winning their longstanding battle against the now old-fashioned PC. Research firm GFK estimates that the demand for smartphones increased by 56% in 2012, touching 720 million devices globally.

With the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend gaining momentum, enterprises will now increasingly have to leverage mobile applications across multiple platforms. But while developers would like to create applications that run across mobile devices, the biggest hurdle remains the multiple operating systems tied into these devices.

But developers seem to have found their own solution – hybrid mobile applications. These blend the portability of HTML5 with a native web container, thereby also enabling native device. If Gartner is to be believed, about 50% of mobile applications will be hybrid by 2016.

So, what makes HTML5 developers’ preferred coding solution? In a market that has many mobile operating systems, HTML5 holds the promise of bringing together a fragmented OS environment. It also provides location and context aware content, while using native device features like cameras. Further, it reduces dependencies on plug-ins, without sacrificing interactivity. In a nutshell – it is a cost-effective solution to native applications.

Moreover, organizations can use existing employee technology expertise for development, dramatically reducing enterprise mobile-enablement costs. This has the potential to further fuel mobile device adoption.

Not surprisingly, many industries have been quick to hop onto the HTML5 bandwagon. The early adopters include the travel, transportation, hospitality, banking, financial services, insurance, retail, consumer packaged goods, media, and entertainment industries.

Wipro has also used HTML5 in to provide data interactivity on mobile devices. These include a banking application with interactive charting capability for leading US banks, a CRM application for mobile employees, and an offline tablet based learning application. Clearly, HTML5 has applications across industries.

But obstacles to the adoption of HTML5 remain. The most significant one being that it still has to be formally adopted as an industry standard. Yet, with HTML5 providing organizations with the best solution for mobile enablement, the only way ahead seems to be forward. Recognizing this, social media companies like LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube have initiated application development in HTML5.

The mobility juggernaut is on a roll. There’s no turning back the clock. Has your web strategy factored in the HTML5 mobile web or hybrid apps that are transforming the future of mobility?

About the Author

Wipro Insights set up the Council for Industry Research, comprising of domain and technology experts from the organization, to address the needs of customers. It specifically looks at innovative strategies that will help them gain competitive advantage in the market. The Council in collaboration with leading academic institutions and industry bodies studies market trends to equip organizations with insights that facilitate their IT and business strategies. http://www.wipro.com/insights/

Email us at: wipro.insights@wipro.com

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