There’s an app for that

Stephan Van Herck, VP at Adobe Systems, says now is the time to embrace the new generation of enterprise apps.

“For employees, customers and corporate shareholders alike, times are changing”
-Stephan van Herck

It's a common phenomenon with new technology: the public enthusiastically embraces the latest advances, while corporations wait years to see if a new technology proves successful. But with the mass adoption of web 2.0 technology and clear benefits, can the corporate sector afford to lag behind the times? Digital devices like the iPhone and iPod and web applications such as YouTube and Facebook have won over hundreds of millions of enthusiastic users worldwide, most of whom began using the devices and applications with no training. In a few simple clicks, people are accessing immersive services, uploading and editing rich content, or initiating instant interactions with people anywhere. Using traditional enterprise applications to provide the same functionality in a corporate setting can be far more complex, requiring lengthy development cycles and discussions about rollout schedules, training, and overcoming resistance to adoption.

Fortunately, the gap between the richness and interactivity people experience using popular consumer applications, and what they experience at work is narrowing due to overwhelming employee and customer demand for consumer-style applications in the workplace. In response, IT teams are looking to replace complicated, text-driven application interfaces with much simpler, graphically-rich user interfaces built on enterprise rich internet applications (RIAs). Not only do the visually engaging interfaces boost employee productivity but they also reduce training costs and accelerate adoption because the software is more approachable and intuitive to use.

Putting function before form

It's no secret that traditional enterprise applications have generally put function before finesse, even at the cost of usability. Because function is essential in business - with product development, revenues, customer satisfaction, and other factors on the line - corporations sacrificed ease of use to get much needed capabilities. For employees, customers, and corporate shareholders alike, times are changing. New technologies can now combine the strengths of web and desktop applications into a single, easily managed application offering a more immersive, expressive user interface to support critical business applications. And while the changes might seem purely 'cosmetic' they deliver tangible returns, boosting employee productivity, accelerating application adoption, strengthening customer service, and directly impacting an organisation's bottom line.

The result is that many IT teams are bringing a new design sense to enterprise applications, resulting in business applications that are more compelling and a lot easier to use. Drag-and-drop functions, rich graphics, support for multiple content types, and other elements are becoming increasingly common in enterprise applications. The advantages are readily apparent. For example, by leveraging dynamic, online dashboards, managers at all levels can quickly evaluate sales, employee performance, production schedules, and other areas for better decision-making. Also, improving the usability of customer self-service applications can stop people from calling support centres for routine requests, saving employee time and ultimately the business saves money.

User-centric design

Some of the first uses for RIAs in the enterprise focused on data visualisation and decision support. Major providers of business intelligence software offer customers visually driven dashboards that make it easy to aggregate, view, and manipulate on a single interface large amounts of data from core operational systems. Information can be pulled from one or many enterprise systems and presented in dynamic interfaces that require managers to do little more than drag-and-drop data from one area of the screen to another and point and click to run analyses and generate reports.

Today, enterprise RIAs are being developed for a range of applications, from corporate training to human resources to customer sales and support activities. For corporations, the benefits extend beyond boosting employee productivity and increasing customer satisfaction. Payback periods drop, while savings accrue from better decision-making, reduced training costs, and other factors. No longer relegated to entertainment or popular consumer applications, rich, dynamic interfaces and immersive experiences are making their way into sales, finance, service, and other enterprise-class applications that are integral to a company's success. The impacts are evident on employees and customers who will find the experience easier and often more satisfying. But furthermore, I believe it will impact positively on the company's bottom line and it is for this reason that we should embrace the new era of enterprise applications.