Enterprise Web Services & What They Include

Enterprise web services are in high demand and increasing due to the fact that they are highly beneficial for businesses. Let’s break it down to see exactly what enterprise web services are, what services they include and what benefits they produce.

What Are Enterprise Web Services?

When we say “enterprise web services” we are talking about business to business website communication and application integration. It's the code that lets systems talk to one another. Enterprise web services can be considered to be a set of consistent, persistent, secure and RESTful web services that allow developers to integrate and link applications and web pages that contain essential business systems. These services include application and software development that are serving businesses.

Most web services allow data to be accessed in a programmatic fashion, which allows for in-house or 3rd-party API (application programming interfaces) integration.

In-house vs 3rd-party APIs

In-house APIs are those APIs developed internally because they are developed using internal talent or resources. There are many significant strengths inherent in the in-house API that make this format extremely attractive to a business. These strengths are:

• High level of control over the process of development. Because the API is developed in-house, they can be dictated by the developer requesting it.
• In-house APIs help encapsulate custom logic that’s needed internally and they can be designed for very specific needs.
• In-house APIs can be customized and controlled from project’s start to finish.

3rd-party APIs are those written by others and that provide additional functionality and data. Their main benefits include:

• Utilization of experiences from different resource – It is, indeed very beneficial to use outside perspectives, because they can create different approaches which often can lead to better project results.
• Time To Market – It usually requires less time and money to use a 3d-party API.
• Connect with Data – Other companies may have helpful value-add data streams you can access and consume into your own application. You’ll need to make 3rd party API calls and handle the data in a way that promotes security, availability, fault tolerance and scalability.
• Augment System functionality - Since you're connected with another company's API, then you're able to get data and functionality managed by them and augment your own systems.

Both in-house and 3rd-party APIs are great and work well depending on which requirements you have. The goal is to blend each to deliver a value-added solution.

Now let’s talk about how enterprise web services can be categorized.

Enterprise Web, Cloud and Mobile Application Development

Enterprise Web Services may include web, cloud and mobile app development.

Enterprise Web Services

Enterprise Web Applications are dynamic websites combined with server-side programming that assist businesses to automatically manage their businesses online and enables them to utilize additional time with other beneficial activities.

Examples of Web Applications are Online Banking, Social Networking, Online Reservations, eCommerce / Shopping Cart Applications, Interactive Games etc.

How enterprises benefit from web app development:

• Cross-Platform – Users can access web applications regardless of what operating systems they have (Windows, Mac, etc.) Moreover, with the variety of Internet browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome, users run into issues with software compatibility.
• Interactivity – It is important to retain existing clients and attract new ones. This requires continued interaction and a web-based application can do that. For example, a web app can be customized for sending and receiving emails. Users can strengthen communication effectively with web apps and eventually increase referrals.
• Easy maintenance – Using web-based applications does not require installation on users’ hard drives which results in the reduction of memory on users’ computers. It can be done directly onto a server and all the updates can be deployed effectively to users’ computers.
• Cost reduction – Companies can save money by using web developed software because they won’t need to purchase a difficult hardware to support it and perform time-consuming updates.

Cloud App Development

Cloud app is an evolved web app. Like a web app, it is used to access online services over the Internet, but unlike it, it is not always dependent on a web browser to work. Using the cloud for custom application development is rapidly proving to be a superior platform compared with traditional methods and our team can meet your company’s needs.

Some common examples include Zoho.com, Evernote, Salesforce, Dropbox, and web emails like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Hotmail, etc. They all depend on cloud technology and are available off-line.

Let’s review the top reasons why enterprises go with cloud app development:

• Risk reduction – The cloud has multiple locations and multiple copies, which reduces the risk of lost data.
• Cost reduction – Whether you’re using IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) or PaaS (Platform as a Service), the cloud reduces custom app development costs. There is less equipment to maintain on-site and remotely manage it when using IaaS. As for PaaS, there is no need to maintain anti-virus software, hardware updates when using it.
• Self-provision – Cloud app development gives an ability to provide development and testing environments so that you won’t have to wait for hardware and software to show up in the data center
• Accessibility – Data is stored in a cloud / cloud-like infrastructure and can be cached locally for full-offline mode

Custom software development requires a special skill set that goes far beyond deploying off-the-shelf applications. A concept, planning, and delivery are crucial parts of the process flow that turns a strong product idea into a profitable product. Check out Venice Consulting Group cloud and web application development services here.

Mobile App Development

Mobile app development is an application software that is developed for mobile devices serving enterprises. A survey by Gartner revealed that in 2015, 79% of organizations had increased the amount they were spending on mobiles by 36 percent. On average, organizations have 26 mobile apps in their own enterprise app store, with a third of those mobile apps being custom-built. The remainder is pre-packaged apps (such as Box, Evernote and SAP Fiori).

Many enterprises cannot keep up with the demand for mobile apps from both consumers and employees. Mobile apps are personal and allow customers and employees to better interact with your organization. Mobile apps are often the first thing we see in the morning, and the last thing we engage with before we go to bed.

When it comes to designing and developing these applications it means satisfying thousands of requirements, which makes enterprise app development process a highly complex system but lots of great benefits. We will name few of them:

• Improved visibility – Who doesn’t want their business to grow, be visible and well recognized? Enterprise mobile app development will set you up right on this track, because you will give your users something they want to use, demonstrating that you care about your customers. Therefore, enterprise mobile app development will bring in more prospects.
• Improves engagement – Mobile applications give businesses a much higher customer engagement rate by boosting their productivity.
• Empowers workers – Enterprises that implement using smart devices provide users with real-time insights. This works especially for enterprises that deploy workers in the fields.
• Increases loyalty – Your business won’t flourish if it is not about your loyal customers that stay with you throughout ups and downs. Thus, using enterprise mobile app development to increase customer loyalty and elevate your business connection with customers is a significant benefit.

Increases Productivity - Your business can increase productivity by increasing the availability through an enterprise mobile app. Because you can take a mobile app another with you, just having it in your pocket can increase productivity.

By making sure that you have created a high quality and easy to use enterprise mobile app, you cannot only make your employees happy and loyal, but also increase their work efficiency. After all, the end purpose is to increase the efficiency of your own business which is the direct result of employee efficiency.

Conclusion

Whether you are a small startup with big ideas that will disrupt a market, an established brand simply wanting to update existing applications, or a large corporation needing help with a full-scale enterprise app development, we’re ready to help. VCG has been providing web services since 2001. Check out our services and clients we worked with and schedule a consultation with us today to let one of our professionals walk you through the process of app development.

Enterprise web services stimulate business growth, improve sales and help companies climb up the success ladder in the most proficient and realistic way possible. Organizations are constantly improving operations systems and are moving towards a more hi-tech and on-the-go future for better management of the business. This shift is being directly reflected in the demand for enterprise web services including web, cloud and mobile app development.

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