SME Mobile B2B Application 2

SME Mobile B2B Application
Developing a business app for company X to meet the functional, structural, and resource requirement objectives should be based on several attributes to ensure that it addresses the needs of the business. Overall, the current literature on the use of smartphone apps is encouraging. According to a research conducted by Dennison et al., (2013), customers prefer the flexible apps given the ease of use and tracking as well as the wealth of information they can acquire about the products and services of an entity. The owner of a smartphone can access the apps at any time, thus providing convenience to the users. In this regard, the project leading to the development of an app for Company X to connect with the customers is grounded on strong theoretical support and models.
For the effective functioning of a mobile app. Scholars point out that the functional requirements are a critical issue that should be incorporated. In his study on the critical requirements needed on mobile apps, Sarsa (2017) notes that the applications should address the functional needs of the business while fulfilling the customer preferences. As a result, the author recommends an app that integrates data, backend services, deployment, loggings, interfaces, and analytics as some of the functional features that mobile apps should have. In this regard, given the need of the current app is to enhance the interaction of the entity with the user, the functional requirement objective can be achieved by building an app that has attractive features to motivate the customer to use it.

Besides, the company’s stakeholders should be involved in suggesting some of the options that they feel should be incorporated into the app to address the needs. This suggestion draws from the stakeholder management theory since the individuals that are affected by the organizational processes needs to be involved as they will determine the success of the app through its adoption. Some of the stakeholders that should be involved include the customers who will use the app, the project sponsors and organizational employees who will interact with the customers through the app.
Furthermore, coming up an app that meets the structural requirements entails an appropriate selection of the third party developer. The study conducted by Sarsa (2017) revealed that having a team of great coders is critical in creating a hero app. Experienced coders can inform the organization on the best app development process base on the client needs. The author notes that failure to assemble the best team for the app development can slow down the speed of the implementation or the platform features that should be provided. Therefore, to fulfill the structural requirements of the project, Company X should do a thorough review of the client to outsource, and deliver a quality application for the organization. Some of the aspects that company X should for in the client include their experience based on previous work, number of staff, their qualifications, and skills. This will ensure the development of an app that addresses the questions of efficiency, reliability, and security.
Additionally, the resource allocation is a critical aspect for successful mobile development. To meet the objective of achieving the resource requirements, there is a need for the adoption of a business model that transfers the role of critical resource allocation to the client. According to research conducted by Rakestraw, Eunni, and Kasuganti (2013), the nature of the interaction between the application developers and the firm is critical in ensuring the availability of resources. Essential requirements of the resource such as hardware and software may bring compatibility issues if such functions are handled by the firm that does not possess the necessary skills in the implementation. In this regard, the authors recommend a continuous interaction between the entity and the developer. The entity should provide the necessary financial and technical support o the client to ensure that they can access the required resources throughout the process of the app development.
Furthermore, drawing from the porters five forces, it is evident that the development of the app will coincide with the market situations. On the buyer’s power, research has shown that the majority of mobile phone users spend at least 80 percent of their time on mobile apps (Dennison et al., 2013). This indicates the potential for the app adoption once developed. From the client’s side, the buyer’s bargaining power is low given the high adoption rates. The supplier power which is the client’s side is also very low. With so many app developers across the world, Company X has a range of coders to choose from, thus lowering the supplier’s bargaining power. On the threat of substitution, it is evident that technology is continually changing. Therefore, there is a high threat of substitution of the app if a better model of delivering customer value rises. Consequently, Company X should be on the lookout for new opportunities to enhance value and overcome the high threats of substitution. Also, the competitive rivalry is very high. Many companies are migrating to using mobile apps to connect with their customers with numerous apps coming up daily. Thus, Company X should provide superior features and user-friendly interfaces to make the customers choose the app amongst the competing brands. Finally, the threat of new entry is high given that there are no restrictions on the development of more apps. Every organization is free to develop its app that could pose further competition for Company X.
Apart from the porter’s five forces, there is a need to consider the other external market forces relating to regulation of mobile apps, trends in the industry, and social factors. In this regard, there is an increasing concern that the use of mobile apps increases privacy violations. Thus, there is a need to review the regulation and explore the security features that the app should have to eradicate the privacy issues. Besides, the trends in the industry such as the dramatic change in app categories and development platforms should be considered since they would determine the best app to create which delivers value to company X. Social factors such as the user feature and preferences also signal the type of capabilities that should be incorporated on the app to make it useful to the customer.
References
Dennison, L., Morrison, L., Conway, G., and Yardley, L., 2013. Opportunities and challenges for smartphone applications in supporting health behavior change: A qualitative study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(4).
Rakestraw, T.L., Eunni, R.V. and Kasuganti, R.R., 2013. The mobile apps industry: A case study. Journal of Business Cases and Applications, 9, p.1.
Sarsa, H., 2017. Critical requirements of internal enterprise mobile applications. https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/29361/master_Sarsa_Harri_2017.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y