Building Mobile Apps in the Cloud – Comparing

Approaches

Understanding Requirements for Mobile

App Requirements

What Devices / Browsers

Online only

Online / Offline

Form based user interface

Custom user interface

Integration with File System, Camera, GPS, External Accessories (Bluetooth)

Platform Requirements

Development Skill Sets

Deployment of Application to Devices

Upgrades, etc.

Authentication

Offline / Online Synch

Optimized for Mobile Network

Mobile Device Management

What data can be downloaded

Encrypting Data

Remote Wipe / Administration

Development via Configuration

Enterprise Administration

On/offline access

Automatic synchronization

Deployment via AppStore, BES, etc.

No device specific development

Secure, encrypted solution

Solution 1: Salesforce Mobile

When to use Salesforce Mobile

Good Fit - Pros

iPhone, Blackberry, Windows

Mobile

Form based user interface

Online / Offline

Ease of Development

Ease of Deployment

Mobile Device Management

What data can be downloaded

Encrypting Data

Remote Wipe

Cons

Limited Ability to Customize UI for offline

Limited integration with device or peripherals (GPS, Camera, BT devices)

Users must be employees or partners

Only 1 device per user

No Android Support (lacks encryption)

2D drawing – Canvas, SVG 3D drawing – WebGl Timed media playback – video and audio Offline storage

– Offline cached applications– Local storage– Session storage– Client side SQL

Web sockets Geolocation

Solution 2: HTML 5

When to use HTML 5 (and Force.com)Good Fit - Pros

Mostly Online

Offline data is not sensitive

Ease of Deployment, Upgrades, ..

Industry Standard– Device independent

– Many Browsers Support or plan to Support

Additional Benefits of Force.com

– World Class Infrastructure delivers Low

Latency

– Authentication: Mobile login page or

OAuth

– Stateless server side support

• Remote Javascript

Cons

Limited integration with device or peripherals (Camera, BT devices)

Safari has no file support on iOS

Significant Development Effort

Difficult to detect when online / offline

Browser is request / response

Synchronization is my problem

Offline data is not encrypted

No Remote wipe, device management

Solution 3: Adobe Flash Builder for Force.comIt’s never been easier to build Rich Internet Applications in the cloud

Developer Benefits

• Single Eclipse®-based IDE with powerful code-editor and design-view

• Pre-built Force.com UI components and data visualizations

• Pre-built data management and data synchronization

• Develop once on force.com and deploy in the browser (Flash) or on the Desktop (AIR)

Desktop or mobile

Field Service Apps

Custom Branded Desktop

Runs on a tablet PC

Occasionally Connected Apps

Adobe® AIR™

Adobe Flex 4.5 Android, iOS or BB

When to use Adobe Flash BuilderGood Fit - Pros

Online and Offline

Ease of Deployment, Upgrades, ..

Write Once, Run Anywhere

One Skill set for– phone, tablet, desktop

– iOS / Android / Windows / Mac OSX

Encrypted offline database

Additional Benefits of Force.com

– World Class Infrastructure delivers Low

Latency

– Authentication: Mobile login page or OAuth

– Stateless server side support

• Remote Javascript

Cons

Limited integration with device or peripherals (Camera, BT devices)

Significant Development Effort

Skill set investment

No Remote wipe, device management

Solution 4: Go Native

When to use Native

Good Fit - Pros

Online or offline

Full device integration via native APIs

Additional Benefits of Force.com

– Rapid development of data model,

back office processes, analytics, etc.

– Pre-built REST or SOAP API

– OAuth Support built-in

– World Class Infrastructure delivers

Low Latency

– Pre-built SDKs for iOS and Android

– Examples, tutorials on

developer.force.com

Cons

Significant Development Effort

Significant Skill Set Investment

Java for Android

Objective C for iOS

Synchronization is my problem

Deployment, Upgrades, etc.

Mobile Strategy for 2011

Build a suite of integrated mobile apps

Go big on tablets – iPad, Playbook, etc.

Provide SDK’s for custom app development

Support broader range of devices, starting with Android

New web version of Salesforce Mobile app

Optimizing the Salesforce experience for tablets and devices is a top priority for the company

Looking Ahead