The Challenges And Benefits Of Cross - platform Mobile Development

Developments in mobile applications have occurred at a rapid pace over the last decade. One of the most significant mobile application developments over this time period is cross-platform mobile applications. Cross-platform mobile application development refers to applications that work across several mobile platforms with only minor customization requirements. With a multitude of mobile devices that operate on different operating systems, cross-platform applications are nothing short of a must in today’s technology-driven world

In this article, we discuss some of the challenges faced by developers in cross platform mobile development and how these challenges can be addressed.

Challenges of Cross Platform Mobile Development

•. Since multi-platform apps are in huge demand today, it is essential for development teams to find simpler solutions that will allow them to develop cross-platform applications without sacrificing time, effort, and resources. Single code base tools, which help developers create one code base and port it to multiple platforms, are being used to mitigate the multi-platform challenge.

• The most sought after mobile operating systems - IOS, Windows Mobile, and Android - are engineered and structured very differently from one another. This often results in numerous challenges for developing groups attempting to create apps that can run on all systems. The code rules differ greatly from one operating system to another, which makes application coding quite challenging for programmers. Cross-platform development software is now commonly used to overcome this challenge, which allows developers to effortlessly adapt to multiple platforms, thus simplifying mobile app creation.

• Most platforms come with a distinct user interface. As a result, when different apps need to be integrated with preferences, notifications, and local settings, it can be a huge challenge juggling multiple platforms. Here, third party and cloud options are good considerations for each app since storage options are diversified. The integration of each unique platform offers an array of different features, behaviors, and specific capabilities that should be thoroughly reviewed during the software development process.

• Some cross-platform frameworks are only available as open source that come with no guarantee for desired results. Additionally, some of the available plugins for cross-platform frameworks are not updated. As a result, there are inherent bugs developers must contend with. A very thorough app testing mechanism should be used for bug testing and fixing along with security testing to get rid of such cross platform flaws.

Benefits of Cross Platform Mobile Development

• Ease of Marketing

Developers and investors who target more platforms have a greater market reach. The increasing number of smart phone users across the globe with shared dominance by Google’s android and Apple’s IOS means that cross platforms are increasingly important. The marketing ease that comes with apps developed for cross-platform use makes transmission and outreach of general messages easy and efficient. In contrast, single platform apps require several messages to reach individual platform users. Therefore, the more platforms a development team can cover, the wider audience they will be able to reach.

• Brand Management

Cross platform applications are ideal for business owners who prefer to have a mobile application that can be used and adapted across platforms. It helps preserve the brand and posterity of innovative products in the heat of market competition. For example, RIM made its Blackberry messenger available for Apple, Android, Symbian and other operating systems to protect their relevance and market share.

• Reduced Development Cost

The potential of reduced development cost exists when you develop for cross platforms instead of several single platforms. When you have multiple teams for individual platforms, the associated cost will be higher than when you have a single team working on a cross-platform initiative. Also, uniformity is ensured when an app works across platforms as opposed to having single platform apps developed by different teams.

Thus, despite some challenges, cross-platform mobile development will continue to be a key aspect of mobile application development as it imparts flexibility, greater usability and deeper market penetration and is an important step in making apps future ready.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.