Cross-platform apps reflect new devices, higher expectations
The all-IP work environment is starting to provide workers with the ability to access the same applications on any device. And a confluence of new devices combined with growing demand from enterprises for on-the-go access to communications and collaboration services will provide even more opportunities for cross-platform apps and services.
The increasing importance of multi-platform access was exemplified in an announcement last May from DeviceAnywhere, which offers end-to-end mobile handset testing. The company announced that it now supports testing for the Apple iPad tablet computer and intends to expand its testing expertise to include other manufacturers' tablets, mobile internet devices (MIDs) and smartbooks.
According to Faraz Syed, DeviceAnywhere CEO and co-founder, testing for an expanded portfolio of devices is demanded because the development community has suddenly awakened to the usage possibilities inherent in multiple types of appliances. Simultaneously, enterprises are expanding their views regarding mobile computing, communications and collaboration, opening more doors for testing and monitoring products from DeviceAnywhere, which is now intensely focused on developing its business in the enterprise market segment.
"We've been waiting for this market for a long time, and it's happening right now in front of us, and we're very excited about it," Syed said.
Application development for the enterprise is occurring in a more evolved form than previously envisioned, he added. "Enterprises are working on really complex and critical applications, some internal, some customer-facing, supporting all kinds of devices, at a time when the device spectrum is expanding," Syed said.
"Even if you're just focusing on one platform" such as the iPhone, for instance, "applications, integration with the backend and more all still need to be thoroughly tested," he added.
And for enterprises that are building applications on multiple OS and/or device platforms, the testing effort naturally expands exponentially.
Cross-platform collaboration becoming the norm
A March 2010 report by Forrester Research cited 10 trends that will shape unified communications and collaboration in the enterprise over the next decade. The initial four are rapid expansion of SIP for services and applications; adoption of new devices to replace or coexist with traditional desktop phones; remote working and telecommuting growth based on secure mobile apps; and expansion of pervasive video.
The next four trends will be driven by workers who need intensified real-time collaborative communications. Mobile connectivity will become a business priority and will require features such as presence integration, support for core business functions - including Internet access--unified messaging support and access to company-tailored applications.
Trend No. 6 in the Forrester report reflects the rapid rise of social media communications by enterprises, while yet another trend highlights the need for advanced collaboration tools, including multimodal collaboration enabling ad hoc meetings using mobile devices PCs or video. The eighth emerging trend will be driven through virtual work environments, which will demand contextually aware presence indicators and enhanced security for remote connectivity.
Enterprise devices reflect changes
These trends are already being reflected in a number of new devices, such as Alcatel-Lucent's My IC Phone, a SIP-based smart desk phone that was announced in March 2010 as a complement to mobile smartphones and desktop computers.
The device provides quick access to multimedia communications capabilities and Web apps to create personalized mashups or industry-tailored applications. "Instant messaging, presence, contextual applications, integrated e-mail, and MP3 music ... can be brought together on the desktop," said Alcatel-Lucent, which has made the new phone into an application pod featuring an open API developer platform. Further, the phone, which features enterprise security and reliability, will be integrated with the vendor's next-generation unified communication services.
The final two trends noted by Forrester's report involve cloud-based services. As unified communications shift to the cloud, Forrester predicts, "Network service providers will offer communication and collaboration solutions to companies as a fee-based service offering that incorporates Web 2.0 technology with solutions from traditional premises-based providers."
Similarly, Alcatel-Lucent says its next-generation communications infrastructure, which will enable full functionality for the My IC Phone, can be made available as a Net-based solution as well as deployed at the customer premises.
The final trend cited by Forrester involves the capability of voice 2.0 to support access to PBX-like features from any location and the provision of PBX services through commercial off-the-shelf software. There will also be more voice-enabled apps available.
While the CaaS (communications as a service) environment might appear rather simple because everything is supported remotely on the Internet, enterprises will likely find that their need for cross-platform testing and support will increase when services are provided through the cloud. "That's because these various Web applications will manifest in different ways in different Web browsers, browser versions, running on different OSes and different hardware," Syed said.
The next-generations of tablet-computing devices, set-top boxes and enterprise-type devices will all have application ecosystems built around them and possess wireless and/or wired Internet connectivity, added Syed, so future testing and deployment strategies must evolve to accommodate this mounting device fragmentation.
