Gartner predicts that by the end of the year 2017, market demand for mobile app development services will grow at least five times faster than internal IT organizations’ capacity to deliver them. With the increase in the demand and sale of mobile phones, the demand for enterprise apps which match the high performance and usability of consumer apps is only going to increase.

Gone are the days when the office workstation was the only device which the knowledge workers used to use. Today, on an average, a knowledge worker uses at least three different devices and with the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT), very soon it is going to increase to five or six devices. The number of devices managed in the enterprise increased 72% from 2014 to 2015 (Source).

Organizations are realizing the importance of offering the employees the option to select the device and apps of their choice to complete a particular task. This obviously is putting a high pressure on IT to develop a larger variety of mobile apps.
When a majority of the organizations are still evaluating the tools, vendors, technology, and vendors for the development of enterprise apps, here we provide some of the app ideas which businesses can use while developing their enterprise apps –
1. Product Training and Knowledge Apps: Sales representatives need to be always on top of the latest products and services. To achieve this objective, enterprises can build an app which can simulate a “pre-call” planning with a customer. Through right answers, the reps can get badges or more up in the level. This can be a very engaging way of updating the sales reps about the latest offerings.
Every company has a ton of documents and presentations about the product and services information, best practices, whitepapers, case studies and so on. But not all the employees are always aware of those or make use of those. Having a ready access to the resource library which can be easily searched can be of tremendous value for everyone in the company.
2. Real-time Inventory App: For Sales reps who often visit the off-site clients, a real-time inventory information is of great benefit. It can save a considerable amount of administrative effort and can also help the sales reps in making a great impression in front of the customer by offering the real-time demand details.
3. Quoting Apps: Sales Reps who are on the move need an easy way to generate accurate quotes instantly. Apps which help them to select the products and price and configure the quote can greatly help in the faster closing of the deals. There are quite a few readymade apps for this purpose which can be used by the enterprises.
4. Support Apps: When any customer submits a support ticket or makes any request for assistance, an internal support app can alert the appropriate department or team to take quick action on the ticket to quickly resolve the issue and attain greater customer satisfaction.
5. Marketing Apps:Marketing teams usually run many campaigns, but the results are not always visible to the rest of the business stakeholders. An app which provides a complete overview of various campaigns in a visual way can help all the stakeholders in getting a better understanding of the marketing initiatives.
6. Authorization and Approval Apps: Long approval cycles can delay the sales cycles if the approvals need to be given by a particular person from a particular machine. Secured apps which can allow employees to provide approvals from anywhere, anytime can tremendously save a lot of time.
7. Broadcast Apps: Keeping all the employees updated about what is happening in the company can be a difficult task if it is done only through emails or newsletters. Having an app to display the announcements and news can be an effective way to keep everyone informed and also engaged.
8. Collaboration Apps: Collaboration apps help in keeping the employees connected, help them in collaborating across borders, and maintain a people-oriented culture in the company. Such apps help in providing a better visibility of activities across departments and also foster the spirit of innovation in the teams. A collaboration mobile app helps the on-the-field teams to be connected with the business on a regular basis.
9. HR Apps: Every employee regularly interacts with the Human Resources department for requests like leaves, health claims or policies. A mobile app which can allow the HR teams in providing this information quickly and easily and also allow the employees to access it from anywhere can save a lot of time for both and also improve the employee satisfaction.
While these ideas are a good place to get thinking, organizations need to remember that the apps which are designed and developed considering the needs of the business and the existing workflows tend to work well in terms of adoption as well as the use.