Enterprise mobile app development is becoming a big part of any company’s business strategy.  When a business decides to take the plunge into making an app there are many things to consider before they even get to the core content of the app.  One of the major things that a business must consider is which platform that they want to initially launch their app.  In the past Blackberry would have been the obvious choice, but with a combination the emergence of Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android and RIM’s growing problems the choice has become a little more complicated.

Now there are three major players in the mobile operating system market with one more coming up on their heels.   A company must first decide what they want their business’ app to accomplish.  A big consideration when it comes down to it is security for personal and business information.  For maximum security you want a platform that is easy for IT managers to navigate.  All operating systems have pros and cons when it comes to mobile enterprise and it all comes down to which platform you and your IT team think works best for you.

Even though BlackBerry has faced some challenges as of late they are still offer excellent hardware and software for businesses.  BlackBerry offers a lot of remote management which is great for your IT managers.  A problem with this remote management is it takes extra server software that other platforms do not need. This software can be a little pricey for some businesses.  One of the biggest concerns that could make businesses uneasy is the unknown future of BlackBerry.  If it wasn’t for BlackBerry’s shaky future there would probably be no contest.

The iPhone is a little bit trickier when it comes to mobile enterprise.  Apple really hasn’t shown any interest in supporting enterprise mobile applications.  They have made it slightly easier on companies by allowing them to install enterprise applications outside of the App Store.  What Apple has going for it is the apps themselves.  Apple is great for larger companies because they are capable of delivering apps to a massive amount of people while keeping them secure.  Another thing that Apple has going for it is that all of their hardware is the same.  This makes compatibility across the entire company a simple endeavor.

Android offers diversity in both their hardware and software options. This could be seen as both a pro and a con for companies.  Some hardware that runs the Android OS is specifically made for mobile enterprise.  Some of these phones even come with extra software features that help IT specialists.  That includes better security, including remotely wiping lost or stolen phones and preventing unassigned applications.  Android’s open market makes it desirable for enterprise mobile developers to design powerful custom applications.  The downside is that with so much diversity it will be hard to choose the hardware and software that works correctly for your employees.

While Windows phones are gaining some traction they have yet to prove themselves even in the consumer market.  Unless Windows makes a huge leap toward marketing specifically to mobile enterprise their share in the market will most likely be limited for quite a few years.