App development to become even more prominent

Applications are steadily becoming the standard unit of software. Deploying apps that will resonate with clients and employees on a Software-as-a-Service model is now a normal way to conduct business, and as these users come to expect this approach, it may grow even further. Now, it's time to set aside the question of whether to work in the app space and focus on how to optimize development. Teams may benefit from working with Platform-as-a-Service tools and taking advantage of the resulting connectivity to embrace DevOps. This means letting development and operations overlap instead of herding applications through a rigid process framework.

The year ahead
As 2014 has only just begun, IT insiders have spent the past few weeks offering up large-scale visions for the year ahead. InfoWorld's Peter Wayner suggested in his overview that Web applications are set to become prominent for both mobile and desktop use. He explained that standard Web pages and mobile apps that have to be downloaded from app stores will be less prominent in 2014 than URLs that direct users to widely compatible and useful apps. This type of development skirts many of the problems developers may have encountered in the past, Wayner suggested, including optimization for a plethora of different operating systems.

Another InfoWorld contributor, Andrew C. Oliver, posited that PaaS environments will become a tool of choice this year. He explained that this is the case for both companies that want to stick with on-premise hosting and those that are comfortable in the public cloud. In either case, the cloud could end up connecting developers and bringing efficiency to departments that badly need it.

Making apps that matter
Once you have your application development strategy in place, it's time to roll up your sleeves and create the apps that users want. James Kenigsberg, CTO at education industry firm 2U, recently tackled this topic for The Next Web. He stated that SaaS apps should not only be stuffed with powerful capabilities, they should also be comprehensible to the target audience. This means thinking about the types of end-users you envision for the tools and ensuring the products match their capabilities.

Going forward, application development seems set to take over a major portion of interaction between companies and their customers. To excel in this field and enable strong relations, department leaders will need to ensure they have clear objectives and the right development tools to make their clients happy, whatever it takes.

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