An enterprise mobile app development company builds scalable applications to help organizations address business-specific needs. It tailors the product based on the pain points of stakeholders and users, leading to streamlined operations, increased productivity, or more secure data.

Enterprise mobile app development companies often provide various app types to address different organizational challenges:

• Employee level: Designed to improve employee efficiency and productivity in day-to-day business processes through task-based tools and analytics applications.
• Department level: Tools enabling team collaboration, cooperation, and project management within a specific department or team.
• Company level: Apps that optimize information sharing, company-wide communication, internal training, and overall business operations.

The global enterprise mobile app market is anticipated to grow to $123 billion by 2030, so more and more businesses are prioritizing the implementation of these bespoke solutions to differentiate themselves from competitors. Organizations are expanding their app portfolios to implement seamless business workflows, with large-scale enterprises dominating the enterprise application industry in 2020 — largely due to hybrid work setups exploding in popularity during the pandemic.

However, the current shortage of skilled talent, especially in IT, mobile, and web design and management, makes hiring in-house competitive enterprise mobile app developers challenging. The role requires a high level of industry understanding, complex software coding expertise, and top-notch cybersecurity knowledge. This is why hiring the right enterprise mobile app development company is a practical choice to improve internal processes and boost business revenue exponentially.

A prime example is the case study of the global fast food chain KFC and its internal business transformation through a custom enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. With over 21,000 restaurants worldwide, the company still manually keeps most of its business documents. It needed a consolidated system to maintain important records and analyze company data to take its operations to another level.

Given these challenges, KFC approached Surf to digitize its business process. The Surf team created the KFC Digital Successful Routine (DSR), an ERP system that compiles statistics, generates detailed reports, and tracks real-time business metrics. Employees can access KFC DSR through a mobile app, which they can review and adjust anytime, anywhere.

KFC saw the following positive results since the app’s development and successful implementation:

• Employees save 10 hours per week due to automated routine processes
• 100% tamper-proof facial recognition system for the time clock program
• Automated work schedules
• Data analytics are readily available for all KFC stores globally

Enterprise mobile app developers offer services designed to improve a company’s workflow. They develop various enterprise mobile applications, also known as business apps, that augment operations, logistics, communication, employee productivity, and customer relationships.

Here are some of the most common services that eCommerce development companies offer:

• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) apps: These are mobile extensions of an ERP system designed for core business processes like finance, HR, inventory, and customer relationships. These apps streamline workflows and enable the management team to see the bigger picture of the whole company.
• Collaboration apps: These facilitate company-wide communication and announcements to engage employees and foster teamwork. These apps offer features like instant messaging, discussion boards, and platforms for company updates.
• Knowledge management apps: These apps store and share corporate knowledge, best practices, and resources across various departments, which can improve employee onboarding, training, and information sharing.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) apps: These applications consolidate information related to client interactions. CRM tools foster stronger customer relationships by integrating tracking metrics, automating sales touchpoints and leads, and improving the consumers’ overall experience.
• Human Resource Management (HRM) apps: These apps streamline a company’s HR processes from recruitment, training, and onboarding to long-term talent management. HRM tools help recruiters find the most suitable candidates by automating applicant selection, making the hiring journey smoother.
• Supply Chain Management Systems (SCM): These tracking applications allow businesses to see the current status of their products from procurement, storage, shipping, distribution, and delivery. These apps also update business inventory in real time and have forecasting features to minimize disruptions and risks.
• Content Management System (CMS): These enterprise mobile apps enable users to edit blog posts and website content without coding. CMS apps can handle high-traffic and complex websites and have advanced features such as workflow management, user permissions, detailed analytics, and more.
• Automation enterprise apps: Automation tools improve company efficiency, whether applied to sales, marketing, accounting, payroll, or production. These improve day-to-day task management and reduce time spent on manual operations.

KPMG, an international company that provides audit, tax, and advisory services, reached out to Yalantis to develop a business-to-business (B2B) mobile communication channel that utilizes speech-to-text technology to enable clients to offer more context about their financial concerns. Yalantis developed a mobile app with voice recording features, Siri integration, image and audio attachments, and an admin panel for KPMG consultants to create an end-to-end intuitive experience for the client.

As a result of the collaboration, KPMG achieved the following wins through the enterprise mobile app:

• The app is a time-saving online communication channel for KPMG clients, helping them handle unexpected audits and deliver urgent responses
• Multiple alternative contact methods
• Conversation-optimized user experience (UX)

Enterprise mobile app development costs between $70,000 to $500,000, depending on the complexity of the application.

• Simple enterprise app: $70,000 to $100,000
• Medium-complexity enterprise app: $100,000 to $300,000
• Full-featured enterprise app: $300,000 to over $500,000

While enterprise mobile app developers will need to know the organization’s needs to quote a specific price, here are some factors that affect the cost of building an enterprise mobile application:

• Complexity of the app: Enterprise apps with basic features generally cost less than those with extensive functionalities, customized integrations, and implementation of cutting-edge blockchain technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality (AV), or virtual reality (VR).
• Development team: The expertise, location, and number of enterprise mobile app developers impact the overall app development cost because rates vary per region. Since enterprise mobile app development requires specialization in cybersecurity and complex code, partnering with highly experienced teams in these niches will significantly affect the cost.
• Integrations: Integrating the enterprise mobile app with ERP, CRM, database systems, or other tech stacks also increases the enterprise app development price.
• Design: Enterprise mobile apps are very feature-oriented. Developing an enterprise mobile app will require extra hours and expenses if design complexities such as animations and visual-heavy illustrations are necessary.
• Timeline: Shorter development cycles may require more developers and compensation, increasing the app development cost. On the other hand, enterprise mobile app development companies can implement cost-effective strategies to deliver the project within a shorter timeline without compromising quality.

On DesignRush, the top 50 enterprise mobile app development companies charge an average of $47 per hour. Roughly 6.3% of the eCommerce app development services on DesignRush accept projects with a minimum budget of less than $1,000, while 2.4% require a $50,000+ minimum budget.

It takes three months to more than a year to develop an enterprise mobile app. Although development timelines depend on the scale of the app and feature requirements, here is a standard timeframe for building enterprise mobile apps:

• Smaller apps: It takes 3 to 6 months to build small enterprise mobile apps that only include basic functions, user accommodation, and integration
• Mid-size apps: It takes 6 to 12 months to create a more complex enterprise mobile application that includes a higher level of security protection, software programming, and app integrations
• Large apps: It takes more than 12 months to complete a full-scale enterprise mobile application with a robust cybersecurity wall, customized features, and extensive app integrations for data analytics, machine learning capabilities, forecasting, and tracking tools, among others.

Enterprise mobile app developers estimate project timelines based on these factors:

• Business goals
• App functionalities and features
• App deployment platform
• Development team size and level of expertise
• Budget
• User interface and user experience (UI/UX) design
• Front-end, back-end, and application programming interface (API) code complexity
• Quality assurance (QA) testing
• Deployment
• Post-launch support and maintenance of the app

You should hire an enterprise mobile app development company to meet your specific business needs. Considering the complexity of enterprise-grade mobile apps, developing one requires a dedicated team of highly skilled professionals to complete the project compared to hiring freelancers. This is emphasized by the Enterprise Developers Report, where only 64% of enterprise developers state they are only adequately trained to build secure software.

Partnering with an enterprise mobile app development company guarantees the required industry expertise to understand the gaps in your operations while securing sensitive data. Moreover, they can improve the app through the following strategies:

• Improved data management: A quality enterprise mobile app can help you improve operations related to data processing, analysis, document sharing, verification, and more. Enterprise mobile apps also allow offline access to data files, customer records, and product catalogs. With smart caching features, the app can retrieve data from previous sessions and synchronize specific datasets to manage storage efficiently.
• Enhanced communication: Sending messages, disseminating information, accessing records, and keeping up with company updates can be done on the go via enterprise mobile apps. Maximizing features such as instant messaging, chat groups, and push notifications leads to more engaged teams and improved collaboration within departments.
• Mobile monitoring: Enterprise mobile app development companies can help build software that moves the office to digital space. It allows the business to monitor its employees’ progress while they report on it via the app.
• Automated workflows: Automating various processes reduces the time per task assigned and, by extension, the cost of daily business operations. It allows organizations to focus on revenue-earning business strategies. It also reduces paperwork, which contributes to a company’s sustainability goals.
• Client support: Enterprise mobile apps can be a perfect solution for client support. Mobile apps can provide 24/7 live support for basic client questions, letting the team handle more complex tasks. With the addition of innovations like fraud detection and machine learning, your app may not only solve problems but prevent them altogether.

To illustrate these benefits, Inspired Behavioral Health Inc., a rehabilitation company, contacted Groovy Web to address a bottleneck in its data management for record storage, patient data analysis and activities, HR processes, transport and safety measures, stock management, and day-to-day operations.

Groovy Web developed InSpired, an enterprise software that digitized the entire workflow with customized features to streamline complex processes. Its web platform and mobile app included features such as a 360-degree dashboard to keep track of the overall facility performance, a resident panel for patient records, facility management tools for shift assignments, and a technician panel for supply and stock management.

The collaboration resulted in a more efficient internal process for Inspired Behavioral Health Inc., helping facility stakeholders perform their duties and manage daily operations effectively.

To choose the best enterprise mobile app development company, follow these steps:

1. Define your needs: Identify your organization’s specific needs that the enterprise mobile app will fulfill – do you need it for digitizing records, streamlining operations, improving internal communication, or all of the above? This step is crucial because it will guide the development process and determine app features and design.
2. List down app features: Create a list of enterprise mobile app features and the integrations your app should include.
3. Research potential candidates: Browse online directories like DesignRush to find prospective enterprise mobile app development companies that suit your business needs.
4. Check their industry expertise: Explore the websites of these agencies to gain insights into their expertise, approach, and scope of services. This will help you assess their suitability for your needs. See if they have similar clients within the same niche and how they delivered a fully functional enterprise mobile application for them.
5. Request for a client portfolio and reference: Their portfolio will give you a deeper look at the enterprise mobile applications they have worked on. Reach out to their client references to discover their communication style, availability, flexibility regarding modifications, and overall work ethic.
6. Consider the location: Knowing the location of the enterprise mobile app developers is essential, especially if you hire augmented staff. Consider time zone alignment, communication channels, and language and cultural barriers.
7. Shortlist the candidates: Pick up to five suitable agencies and communicate your intentions to work with them.
8. Send a request for proposal: Send over a request for proposal (RFP) and ask for a project breakdown, including milestones, scope, schedule, costs, and other critical details.
9. Learn about their security processes: Set up a different meeting to discuss the cybersecurity qualifications of the enterprise mobile app development company. Partnering with developers with expertise in app security will impact the long-term sustainability of the project.
10. Check the team members’ expertise: Asses the skill set of team members who will work on your project and understand their proficiency, creativity, and processes.
11. Discuss the total cost of ownership (TCO): TCO includes development and post-production expenses for app upgrades and maintenance. Balance your expectations and your set budget.
12. Consider post-development support: Consider supplementary services, like ongoing technical assistance, server management, bug fixes, and long-term updates to meet current and future needs.
13. Make a choice: Review contracts and select your ideal agency partner.

If you need assistance in choosing the best enterprise mobile app development companies, visit the DesignRush Marketplace. We'll connect you with the most suitable service providers – for free.

The key success metrics of enterprise mobile app development companies measure the app’s performance depending on user engagement, cost savings, increased productivity, latency, security exposure, and feedback.

Here is a breakdown of the industry standards of a successful enterprise mobile app based on the following benchmarks:

• User engagement: Measures the number of active users daily and monthly and the features that are utilized the most. This benchmark provides insights into how the app is integrated into the company’s daily operations. The higher the usage, the quicker the return on investment (ROI).
• Cost savings: Time is money. If the goal of the enterprise mobile app is to automate tasks and workflows, see the amount of work done within the specified time. You save more if automation results in an increase in deliverables achieved within a shorter period.
• Increased productivity: Tools that enable users to reduce manual labor, such as scheduling social media posts, grammar-correcting apps, and automated lead generation, impact a department's overall productivity. You can measure this by computing the average turnaround time for accomplishing a task before and after implementing the enterprise mobile app.
• Latency: This refers to the delay between a user’s action and the application’s response time. The lower the latency, the more positive the user experience will be.
• Security exposure: Data security is a top priority of enterprise mobile app developers. By setting up intrusion detection and prevention measures through intrusion attempts, the business can determine the number of attempts to gain unauthorized access to the enterprise’s app system. Security incident metrics also compute the breaches that occurred within the app. Businesses should aim to minimize security incidents to establish the app’s credibility and ensure its longevity.
• User feedback: An application performance survey or index can gather users’ insights about their satisfaction with the app. These forms will help the organization gain holistic insight into app implementation, its relevance to the company, and its impact on employees.

Before hiring an enterprise mobile app development company, ask these questions to ensure that you are working with the right team that will understand your business needs and ensure app security:

Its Relevant Background

1. Do you have experience developing enterprise mobile apps like ours?
2. What type of enterprise mobile apps do you specialize in?
3. What is the level of expertise of your enterprise mobile app developers?
4. What are your cybersecurity certifications?
5. How familiar are you with the industry of my business/organization?
6. How do you determine your company’s pricing structure?
7. Do you follow the best coding practices?

Company Services and Processes

1. How do you determine the project timeline?
2. How will you accurately assess the needs of my business?
3. What development process and methodologies do you follow or implement?
4. How often will you update our team about the progress of the app?
5. What project management tools do you use?
6. How do you manage to accommodate our suggestions during app development?

The Project

1. How do you manage to accommodate our suggestions during app development?
2. Do you do quality assurance (QA) testing?
3. Do you offer post-launch support?
4. Is application maintenance included in the cost, or is it charged separately?
5. How will you handle the app’s security and the company’s confidential data?