Enterprise applications are software solutions that improve the productivity and efficiency of business processes. Some of these include billing systems, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, or supplier relationship management systems. The overall system is large and is designed to help organisations meet challenges and proactively plan their future.
Enterprise applications provide a host of benefits to an organisation, but there are also many challenges involved when it comes to developing such a solution - as you’d expect, the greater the impact, the greater the difficulty of execution. Below are the top 5 challenges CIO’s, organisations and technical teams encounter during enterprise application development.
The Amount of Time For Development
Digital transformation was a buzz word only a few years ago, but in today’s day and age, it’s now a given and with the advantages of cloud and SaaS, we want everything yesterday and for less money than it cost us 5 years ago. New enterprise application development projects are also high-pressure due to their nature - they are often mission-critical systems expected to carry the weight of a huge portion of important company requirements, so getting the app rolled out on time, on budget and according to the design requirements tends to be done under a shining spotlight, with many company stakeholders invested in its progress.
That’s all well and good, I hear you say, but what's more challenging is that despite this high level of importance assigned to enterprise app rollouts, they tend to be given a disproportionately lower number of resources to meet the desired velocity or release date. A 2015 study by Forrester Consulting, stated how “despite the digital environment becoming more complex, companies are not meeting that increased level of sophistication with increased investment levels for their development teams.” Fifty-three percent (53%) of the respondents were not planning to increase the capacity of their development teams, and 33% were also not planning to increase the timelines for enterprise app development.
All in all, companies that invest highly in the development of their technologies tend to have more success in ontime app rollout than others.
Security Requirements
As more modern systems appear, so do modern security requirements. Large organisations have vast amounts of data stored in one enterprise application. Security of course, should be the top of the priority list.
For instance, let’s take a look at big data, which many organisations benefit from after adopting in their operations. The diversity of big data is complex since data sources range from cloud applications, servers, email files, and more. A Qubole blog explains how “the more complex data sets are, the more difficult it is to protect.”. So, the bigger the application, the more difficult it is to keep it safe and secure. This means that there is always a possibility of a leak, whether corporate documentation or customer data. Security risks such as these can cost large companies millions. Meanwhile, for small to medium-sized enterprises, it could mean bankruptcy.
In response to the higher risk of security, security requirements of enterprise applications should be more strict and complex. Some of the modern standards you should follow, includes implementing:
- Single sign on and multi-factor authorisation
- Role based access control to classified information
- Data encryption in transit and at rest
- Serverless and containerised infrastructure
- Event logging
- Secure development practices
For the jobs listed above, and especially the last one, you’ll need skilled developers who can implement preventative measures, and perform high-quality assurance tests that will eliminate potential risks and threats to your enterprise application.
Integration With Other Systems
When enterprise applications were first being developed, monolithic architecture was the traditional unified model used for designing software programs. Unlike the modular programs of today, which have loosely coupled components, monolithic systems are more self-contained, which means that their components are interconnected and interdependent. One of its greatest disadvantages is that if a component of a program must be updated, then multiple parts of the application could be affected in unknown ways and require significant regression testing. Modular programs, on the other hand, can have entire functions updated or even replaced without affecting the others. Monolithic systems, in general, are too complicated and have slowly phased out and been replaced by more modern system architectures.
With monolithic architecture, integration can be equally hard. This is a huge problem since integration with other existing systems is an excellent way to optimise the performance of your systems and processes. Through it, your organisation can update relevant information in real-time. So, having a team that is skilled in developing modern modular programs will hugely benefit your enterprise app development.
Post-release Support and Maintenance
The challenges in enterprise applications development do not end after the product release. Instead, there is a need for quality post-release support and maintenance. During development, the required steps and tests are made to make sure that the application is fast, efficient, and reliable. However, , even with the best of class requirements and testing, it’s only after you’ve gone live with a system that users will find unforeseen issues and new requirements that will need to be addressed after release.
The challenge for most companies is whether they can provide responsive post-development services. Moreover, regular content and tool updates must take place for an up-to-date application. To make sure that an enterprise application has good maintainability qualities, it starts by having a team of developers that create quality software and are knowledgeable and quick in fixing any bugs and updating your system.
Shortage of Skills
The biggest challenge in enterprise app development is the shortage of skills in the team. Organisations don’t always have sufficient skills or resources in-house to carry out this level of project. Since application development is constantly evolving to use the latest architectures, infrastructures and combat emerging security threats, your team must have the skills to develop your application to be cost effective, performant and secure.
So, when initiating your enterprise application project, review your in-house team, and find the right people with the right skills. You may need to look at how you can upskill your team, or supplement the team with external resources, or look at working with a software development company who bring years of experience and latest trends to the table.
When your project has the right combination of skills, knowledge, and experience needed in developing company-wide custom applications, the project is set for success.
How to get started with Enterprise App Development
Adapting to modern tech solutions always brings with it challenges. What’s important is that you choose the right team to help you wade through these challenges and come out on top. Are we that right team? Well, dozens of Brisbane organisations seem to think so. Schedule a consultation and let’s talk about your business - and improving the bottom (and top) line.