Enterprise apps vs. consumer apps

Apps are a hot topic in people’s conversations. Everyone’s talking about how there’s an app for this and an app for that. And the truth is; there is an app for almost anything and everything; from entertainment to news, sports and even productivity/solution apps for enterprises in industries like the healthcare and manufacturing industry.

Apps are considered the whole point of a smart phone and needless to say, apps have become part of our daily routines at home and even at work. There are already many apps that allow us to complete our tasks in a quicker, more efficient and engaging way – without us having to worry about the accuracy of the results.

But when we talk about apps, it might be convenient to know that not all apps are the same and that they can be divided into different categories such as consumer-centric or enterprise apps, for example. These two types of apps both play different roles and depending on the requirements and purposes; both types of apps can be matched with a certain operating system like Android, iOs or Windows.

What makes them different from each other?

While consumer apps like social media apps, gaming apps, music apps or travel apps are well known to the world (and frequently downloaded in the app stores), there is also another rich side to mobile apps called enterprise apps. Enterprise apps may not be as known – or understood – as consumer apps are but their added value to enterprises is proved to be priceless.

Now, the difference in name already makes it clear that consumer-centric apps are designed for consumers and enterprise apps for enterprises. But to give you a clearer view and understanding, we’ll handle their approach from a closer perspective:

Consumer-centric apps

Consumer apps are made to improve people’s individual lives in different aspects and they can be found and downloaded in different online app stores like the App Store or Google Play. The design of these apps often contains emotional aspects which are necessary to not only attract consumers, but also retain them. Consumer apps are usually developed with a commercial purpose and get their revenues from app purchases or ad impressions.

Enterprise apps

Unlike consumer apps, enterprise apps don’t focus on the demands of individuals but rather on specific and functional needs of a business. Enterprise apps are usually developed to increase productivity, efficiency and employee satisfaction within a company by simplifying and digitizing business processes. Such a mobile application can, for example, automate some tasks in production processes and also make these tasks more controllable through the data that gets obtained. This helps reduce errors and increases accuracy. Accuracy that will, without question, quickly results into the reduction of overhead costs and increase in ROI.

During the development process of an enterprise app, complex and difficult situations often occur and it’s the job of an enterprise application development company to find the easiest way through these challenges.

Different purpose, same design

As much as there are differences in consumer and enterprise apps, there are also similarities. The user interface expectations, for example. The difference between designing for a consumer app or an enterprise app has gotten blurred over the last years. As a matter of fact, the difference barely exists at all.

In order for an enterprise application to accomplish long-term success and great user adoption, it should have the same performance, simplification, adoption and design that consumer apps have. Of course, the most important thing of an enterprise app is for it to be functional, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring; a little style never hurt anybody. Besides, people are used to the beautiful, easy and elegant apps that they use on a daily basis. If you’d give them a difficult and complicated app, they would surely notice, if not distance themselves from it.

Our side of the story

At PegusApps, we have a high level of expertise in enterprise app. Enterprise apps bring added value in difficult, time-consuming and costly business processes and we believe that the existence of these kinds of apps will become indispensable to businesses because of the fast technological evolution that we’re all witnessing.

As an expert in our field, we’ve had many cases that prove the benefits enterprise apps bring to businesses in all kinds of industries. Some of the services we offer – which get integrated in the development process of an enterprise application – are 3D Models, IoT, wearables and upcoming technologies like Augmented Reality. All these possibilities allow enterprises to differentiate themselves in such way that they can compete with their competitors like they never have before.

Our approach towards the right solution app is composed out of 5 crucial steps. We first start off with a detailed analysis, continue with wireframes and design. Then we go over to development, quality assurance and we finish up with delivery and follow-up.

Are you exploring your options and looking for a matching partner in innovation? Contact us and let’s have a talk.