Importance of Offline Mobility in Enterprise Workspace
Mobile data consumption is at its lifetime high with smartphones becoming primary communication devices and need for accessing web anywhere anytime. Majority of the companies are mobilizing ERP as mobile work improves employee’s productivity by at least 15%. Connectivity is so crucial for employees, especially for field workers, managers, for performing tasks on the go. However, there are chances that connectivity issues arise and trouble the employee from performing the task. So, mobile solution providers have come up with offline mobility features to perform tasks on the go. Under this, smart devices store performed tasks in cache and updates ERP by uploading the offline data to database once connected to internet. User experience from offline support apps is simple as they help get things done as easy as possible.
Impact on User Experience
How many times have you got tired off connecting to internet for performing important tasks. Many a times we face such problems. Studies show that mobile users are impatient when their apps don’t respond properly, or their devices have difficulty connecting to internet. This affects the productivity of mobile user. With Offline support, user can perform tasks hassle free.
In the U.S., it is estimated that 15% of users use offline apps at any given time. They are on airplanes; they are on subways; they are in areas famous for “dead zones”. – Digital Doughnut
Major Benefits from Offline Mobility
- Reduce wasting time connecting to internet
- Automatically update EBS once connected to Internet
- Consistent Productivity
- Conserving Battery life and faster load times
Benefits of Offline accessibility are clear. But is the data secure when stored on a local device? Sometimes work involves access to confidential and sensitive information. Companies have a concern that chances of data leaks and misuse are high with mobile apps. With the encryptions and latest technologies available, companies can mitigate the risk of data insecurities. For example, encrypting the local database on mobile phone is possible and the stored local data gets uploaded to servers once the app is connected to internet.
Mobile solution providers are understanding the need of companies to achieve speed without compromising on security and offer various security measures depending on the requirements.
Best Practices for Securing Enterprise Mobile Apps
- Restrict user and application access to native OS services, such as the built-in web browser, email client, calendaring, contacts, application installation services, etc.
- Encryption of all communications in the form of VPN, firewall etc. between mobile devices and servers
- Protect the mobile app with a passcode or username/password or other authentication (e.g., token-based authentication, network-based device authentication, domain authentication) before accessing the organization’s resources.
- Encrypt the local database with a device specific encryption key
- Only store the absolute minimum of data on the mobile device.
- Verify digital signatures on applications to ensure that only applications from trusted entities are installed on the device and that code has not been modified.
Propel Apps Advantage
Offline Mobility/Support is essential for companies with heavy workloads and is much safer than online connected devices which are prone to cyber-attacks such as DDoS that drag down performance. Propel Apps offers mobile solutions for Oracle & SAP that offer support for offline mobility. These apps connect to Oracle EBS, Cloud OR SAP and updates the ERP in real time. When there is a bad connectivity, the app encrypts the data and stores it in a local database. Once the device connects to internet, app uploads the local data to ERP.