A mobile enterprise application platform (MEAP) is a type of

mobile application development Mobile app development is the act or process by which a mobile app is developed for one or more mobile devices, which can include personal digital assistants (PDA), enterprise digital assistants (EDA), or mobile phones. Such software applicatio ...

platform (MADP) that provides a suite of tools, including frameworks, services, and toolkits, to assist in the development of mobile enterprise applications. MEAPs can help organizations develop, test, and deploy applications across multiple device platforms, such as Android,

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

, or a

personal computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

—Supporting cross-platform compatibility. These platforms are used for integration with existing enterprise back-end systems, including ERP and CRM, to aid with data synchronization. MEAPs incorporate security features such as

data encryption In cryptography, encryption (more specifically, encoding) is the process of transforming information in a way that, ideally, only authorized parties can decode. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plai ...

, user authentication, and

role-based access control In computer systems security, role-based access control (RBAC) or role-based security is an approach to restricting system access to authorized users, and to implementing mandatory access control (MAC) or discretionary access control, discretion ...

s to improve the security of corporate information on mobile devices. A MEAP usually includes tools for testing, debugging, deploying, and maintaining applications, as well as

API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

interfaces for data storage and

middleware Middleware is a type of computer software program that provides services to software applications beyond those available from the operating system. It can be described as "software glue". Middleware makes it easier for software developers to imple ...

components for features like push notifications and authentication. The term "Mobile Enterprise Application Platform" originated from a Gartner Magic Quadrant report in 2008, previously referred to as the "Multichannel Access Gateway Market." Gartner renamed the market to reflect its maturation and the mainstream adoption of mobile tools and platforms.

Purpose and function

MEAPs are designed to address the challenges of developing mobile software across a variety of devices, networks, and user groups throughout the mobile computing technology lifecycle. They are designed to support developers and end users by offering tools for cross-platform development and maintenance. A key feature of many MEAPs is their cross-platform compatibility. These platforms aim to enable the development of a single mobile application that can be deployed across various devices with different operating systems, such as Android smartphones,

devices, tablets, notebooks, or modified handheld gaming consoles. The primary audience for MEAPs includes organizations developing and deploying multiple applications on a unified infrastructure. This infrastructure can be hosted on-premises (offline), in the cloud (online), or a hybrid environment combining both options. MEAPs also support ongoing maintenance and testing.

Gartner Gartner, Inc. is an American research and advisory firm focusing on business and technology topics. Gartner provides its products and services through research reports, conferences, and consulting. Its clients include large corporations, gover ...

observed that companies utilize the MEAP approach for their platform's needs, incorporating features such as: # Support for three or more

mobile applications A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

. # Support for three or more mobile

s (OS). # Integration with at least three backend data sources.

Components and features

Structure

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MEAP typically consists of two main components: a mobile middleware server and a mobile client-side application. The middleware server manages system integration, security, communication, scalability, cross-platform support, and other essential functionalities. It does not store data itself; instead, it facilitates the flow of data between backend systems and mobile devices for facilitating communication. The mobile client-side applications connect to the middleware server, providing both the user interface and the internal logic on the device. These applications are designed to be cross-platform tools that can launch on various mobile operating systems. Mobile apps are generally deployed as " thick" or "native" applications, which are installed directly on the device. Alternatively, they may be implemented as " thin" applications, rendered through browser-based technologies such as

HTML5 HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language 5) is a markup language used for structuring and presenting hypertext documents on the World Wide Web. It was the fifth and final major HTML version that is now a retired World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommend ...

Features and capabilities

MEAP development tools have expanded from traditional

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tools to include graphical environments and dedicated scripting languages. To reduce manual coding efforts, many MEAPs include tools that automate or simplify certain aspects of the development process. These may include

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(IDEs),

software development kits A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific to ...

(SDKs),

low-code development platforms A low-code development platform (LCDP) provides a development environment used to create application software, generally through a graphical user interface (as opposed to only writing code, though some coding is possible and may be required). A l ...

, or no-code development platforms. MEAPs can integrate with multiple server data sources, enabling businesses to incorporate

service-oriented architecture In software engineering, service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an architectural style that focuses on discrete services instead of a monolithic design. SOA is a good choice for system integration. By consequence, it is also applied in the field ...

(SOA) services from backend systems. Many MEAPs are cloud-enabled, providing options for deployment and scalability. Centralized mobile application management (MAM) is a common feature to deliver MEAP applications, particularly in business-to-employee (B2E) scenarios. Some MEAPs incorporate

Semantic Web The Semantic Web, sometimes known as Web 3.0, is an extension of the World Wide Web through standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The goal of the Semantic Web is to make Internet data machine-readable. To enable the encoding o ...

technology to support mobile commerce applications. These platforms utilize semantic integration techniques, applying domain-specific ontologies, and

XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing data. It defines a set of rules for encoding electronic document, documents in a format that is both human-readable and Machine-r ...

-based standards such as

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and RDF to manage diverse business information resources. Their platform architecture generally includes multiple functional layers, such as a service layer for handling incoming queries and reasoning, a semantic layer for maintaining static knowledge bases, a mapping layer for converting enterprise data into structured formats, and a resource layer that integrates heterogeneous enterprise resources like databases, files, and web services. Additionally, some MEAPs use inference engines to support resource discovery and aid in decision-making processes.

Limitations

The accessibility of application development within an MEAP may result in variations in app quality. Reliance on vendor components in each application increases dependency on the vendor for new device support and MEAP maintenance. Additionally, the MAM features typically do not meet the stringent change requirements expected in other corporate functions. Features provided by the MEAP are more limited than those available on the platform, which may fail to meet an organization's requirements. The on-premise installation and MEAP-specific licenses or hardware may involve potentially high costs, depending on the deployment scale and vendor pricing.

References