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An Enterprise Strategy Program paper

Nine business scenarios for modern


apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
Abstract
This paper describes four of the most significant trends that are influencing modern apps and
highlights nine business scenarios that span three important aspects of modern apps. The paper
also includes information about how to discover your own business opportunities using modern
apps and strategies for creating modern apps to support your business.
Authors
Arno Harteveld, Architect, Microsoft Services
Robert Standefer, Architect, Microsoft Services
Publication date
June 2013
Version
2.0
We welcome your feedback on this paper. Please send your comments to the Microsoft Services
Enterprise Architecture IP team at ipfeedback@microsoft.com

Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the following people who contributed to, reviewed, and helped improve
this white paper.
Microsoft Services Chief Architect:
Ulrich Homann
Microsoft Server and Tools Business Division:
Alberto Meo
Microsoft Services:
William Heurdier, Martijn Hoogendoorn, Stephen Kell, Marc Mercuri, Shankar Shankaradhas, Arnd Simon,
Paul Slater, Luc Vo Van, Richard Webb


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Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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Table of contents
1 Executive summary ..................................................................................................................................... 1
2 Unleash the business opportunity of modern apps............................................................................... 2
3 Transformational trends influencing modern apps ............................................................................... 4
3.1 People: 2.5 billion users connected to the Internet ........................................................................................... 4
3.2 Devices: 10 billion computers, smartphones, cars, appliances, wearable devices ................................. 5
3.3 Volume: Double the volume of data every two years ...................................................................................... 5
3.4 Variety: 85 percent of data is from new data types ........................................................................................... 5
4 Business scenarios for modern apps ........................................................................................................ 6
4.1 Full experience on every app ...................................................................................................................................... 6
4.1.1 Immersive customer experiences...................................................................................................................... 6
4.1.2 Greater customer retention ................................................................................................................................ 7
4.1.3 Triple customer base on a monthly basis ...................................................................................................... 8
4.2 Expand market reach ..................................................................................................................................................... 9
4.2.1 Sell 150,000 tickets in 10 seconds .................................................................................................................... 9
4.2.2 Cut response time to incoming events from hours to seconds ............................................................10
4.2.3 Get to market faster with self-service Business Intelligence .................................................................11
4.3 Improve business performance ...............................................................................................................................12
4.3.1 15x increase in number of transactions .......................................................................................................12
4.3.2 Reduce query time from 30 minutes to 3 seconds ...................................................................................13
4.3.3 Gain 10x scale while reducing costs..............................................................................................................14
5 Discover your business opportunity for modern apps........................................................................ 16
5.1 Provide improved customer experiences in every app ..................................................................................16
5.2 Expand market reach to tap into new market geographies .........................................................................16
5.3 Improve business performance to respond faster ...........................................................................................16
6 The journey to modern apps ................................................................................................................... 17
6.1 Strategy for creating successful modern apps ..................................................................................................17
6.2 Apply the modern app strategy to creating LOB apps ..................................................................................17
6.3 Modern app usability ...................................................................................................................................................18
7 Conclusion: Getting started with modern apps .................................................................................. 19
8 References .................................................................................................................................................. 20

Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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1 Executive summary
Modern apps adapt to the needs of users by providing personalized experiences and natural user
interactions, exchanging data with other apps as needed, and by providing social connectionsall from
an array of device types supported by cloud services. Opportunities for developing modern apps for both
the business and customer arenas are vast and plentiful.
This paper describes four of the biggest trends influencing modern apps (people, devices, volume, and
variety). In addition, it highlights nine business scenarios that cover three important aspects of modern
apps. The paper concludes with information about how to discover your own business opportunities using
modern apps and discusses strategies for creating modern apps.



Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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2 Unleash the business opportunity of
modern apps
Modern apps adapt to the needs of users by exchanging data with other apps as needed and by
providing personalized experiences, natural user interactions, and social connections from an array of
device types that cloud services support.
These capabilities allow organizations that use modern apps to pursue the following business
opportunities:
Capture new customers or retain existing customers by providing engaging experiences on an array of
devices to drive customer loyalty and to generate revenue growth.
Expand their offerings to the global marketplace of existing products and services to strengthen
competitive advantage.
Respond more quickly to market demand by increasing business agility and obtaining more customer
insights.


Figure 1. Characteristics of modern apps
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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Modern apps have six key characteristics:
Devices. Deliver the best experience possible to your customers. Interact and exchange data with other
apps, and foster connections through social media integration (such as liking and sharing on Facebook).
With the proliferation and range of new devices, todays users expect to be productive wherever they
want, on whatever device they choose. IT needs to be able to easily manage these devices and securely
deliver the apps and data that users want while maintaining control over access, tools, and data in an
extended mobile environment.
Note See also Multi-screen mania: how our devices work together
Natural user interactions. Modern apps take advantage of technology advances to deliver new,
compelling customer experiences. Multi-touch, gesture, and speech recognition features are available to
create exciting customer experiences. Benefits include increased speed and breadth of interactions,
blurring of the distinction between social and professional networking, increased safety (for example,
OneStar service for GM cars, weather alerts, traffic information), and capabilities to help make purchasing
decisions through mobile shopping solutions such as Shop Savvy.
Apps. Todays apps need to interact and exchange data with other apps on multiple platforms and
languages. They also need to integrate social data or foster social connections among users, and they
need to reside on-premises or off-premises and be delivered to multiple devices. In addition, modern
apps need to be developed quickly and effective life cycle management is critical.
Rapidly evolving. Modern apps are much more dynamic than traditional applications. They are always
evolving and they need to scale dynamically. Modern apps take advantage of changing technology trends
to keep pace with rapidly changing needs; these trends help organizations to rapidly evolve their
customer interfaces (front-end) and connected business functionalities (back-end).
Large data volumes. To better compete, customers need to tap into growing data volumes, especially
with unstructured data (sometimes referred to as Big Data). They must ask new questions and discover
new data sources that they can combine with existing data for new insights. Customers need to deliver
more data to more users with the appropriate IT oversight to help users make faster, better business
decisions.
Cloud computing. The unit of compute has changed from a single server to the entire data center.
Organizations need an infrastructure that provides a generational leap in agility, one that delivers a highly
elastic and scalable infrastructure with always-on, always-up services across a set of shared resources with
more automated management and self-service provisioning.


Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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3 Transformational trends influencing
modern apps
Four of the biggest trends influencing demand for modern apps are the increasing number of people
getting connected to the Internet, the number of devices being used to display and track data, the
exponential increase in data volume, and the variety of data from new data types. Your current and
potential customers, employees, and business partners alike are rapidly changing their lifestyles and
adopting always-on technologies. These trends are forcing organizations to respond and adapt to remain
competitive.

Figure 2. Transformational trends influencing modern apps
3.1 People: 2.5 billion users connected to the Internet
According to the Internet World Stats: Usage and Population Statistics website, as of 2012 there were 2.5
billion users connected to the Internet. This statistic means that 35 percent of the largest possible market,
the entire population of the planet, can potentially be exposed to your product or service app. In other
words, there is an opportunity to provide your brand experience on an array of device types to increase
awareness of your products and services, which can drive revenue and increase customer loyalty.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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3.2 Devices: 10 billion computers, smartphones, cars,
appliances, wearable devices
According to Ciscos Visual Networking Index Forecast, 10 billion devices were connected to the Internet
as of 2012 and this number is expected to double in the next couple of years.
1
These devices are not only
servers and PCs but increasingly include mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, televisions, cars,
appliances, and wearable devices. As these devices connect and become smarter, they will be able to
communicate with each other and support radically new device-to-device consumer and business
scenarios.
3.3 Volume: Double the volume of data every two years
We are witnessing an explosion in the amount of databoth structured and unstructured datafrom a
growing world of sources such as sensors and social media. IDC projects that from 2005 to 2020, the
digital universe will grow by a factor of 300,
2
which creates huge challenges for managing and processing
the volume of data but also creates great opportunities for customer insights and faster response to
market trends. For example, modern apps with analytics capabilities that tap into social networks can
provide insights such as trending topics (that is, what customer interests are at a given time) and
geographic breakdowns (that is, where the customers are located).
3.4 Variety: 85 percent of data is from new data types
According to Jerry Hill, vice president of manufacturing for Teradata who was quoted on Forbes.com,
3

85 percent of business-relevant information originates in unstructured form. This information is primarily
text from a range of sources such as websites (for example, log files and user click streams), apps, and,
increasingly, device sensors. The proliferation of devices such as smartphones and tablets has created a
new source of unstructured data that includes geographic location, text messages, browsing history, and
(through accelerometers and GPS functionality) even motion, direction, and speech interaction. Analysis of
this varied data enables organizations to gain insight into customer behavior and preferences and the
ability to anticipate needs, intentions, and even moods.


1
Graziano, Dan. Cisco: Mobile Connections to Hit 10 Billion by 2016. BGR.com, February 2012.
2
2012 Digital Universe study. The Digital Universe in 2020. EMC
2
.
3
Malone, Robert. Structuring Unstructured Data. Forbes.com, April 2007.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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4 Business scenarios for modern apps
To provide a better understanding of how modern apps can help your organization, this section describes
nine modern app scenarios that span three major areas of opportunity: offer a full experience in every
app, expand market reach, and improve business performance. Each scenario contains a description of the
business challenge, the high-level solution, and the key benefits.
4.1 Full experience on every app
Full experience apps offer ways to deliver your brand experience to new or existing customers on the
devices of their choice. Organizations will have opportunities to develop new customer experiences such
as immersive experiences (discrete manufacturing), mobile device functionality (IT industry), and modern
app connectivity targeted at field services employees (IT industry).
4.1.1 Immersive customer experiences
The Boeing 737 is the best-selling airplane in aviation history. With new 737 models continually being
developed, Boeing wanted to create exciting new ways to market the aircraft to prospective customers.
4

Business challenge
Find new ways to explain the planes immense array of features to customers by using technology
platforms such as PCs, touchscreen devices, and smartphones.
Solution
Based on thousands of high-resolution photographs stitched together to create a seamless, immersive
presentation, the Boeing 737 Explained app provides a rich and compelling way for customers to view and
understand the plane without having to stand next to one or travel to an airport. This app provides users
with a dynamic experience, whether they view it on a cinema-sized screen using gestures, on a
smartphone, or a touch-operated tablet device.

4
Boeing Takes to the Cloud with a Solution to Market its Best-Selling Airplane. Microsoft case study. July 2011.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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Figure 3. Immersive customer experiences
Key benefits
Reduced IT investment needs
Reach more prospective customers at a lower cost
Provide a compelling and immersive customer experience
4.1.2 Greater customer retention
Paylocity is a company that delivers industry-leading technology and maintains a 97 percent client
retention rate by focusing on customer service. Paylocity provides payroll, HR, online benefits enrollment,
and time and labor management solutions through a software as a service (SaaS) model, along with
complementary professional services.
5

Business challenge
Paylocity wants to add mobile functionality to their hosted payroll and human resources solutions with a
single solution that targets multiple form factors.
Solution
Paylocity can more easily add mobile functionality to its app with a user interface approach based on
templates and web technology. Developing on an open standard such as HTML5 is important. Although it
is difficult to predict future hardware form factors, the use of HTML5 adds confidence about industry
support and wide market reach. By developing the app in HTML5, Paylocity is in a position from which
they can quickly evolve with the market.

5
Hosted Solution Provider Builds Mobile Functionality with MVC 4. Microsoft case study. September 2012.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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Figure 4. Mobile customer experiences
Key benefits
Fast app development
One solution delivers multiple experiences
Durable solution through adoption of the HTML5 standard
Easily involve remote employees in code reviews
4.1.3 Triple customer base on a monthly basis
Founded in 2009, Connect2Field focuses exclusively on its primary product, an app that customers use to
coordinate field service jobs.
6

Business challenge
Connect2Field wanted a scalable solution to make its app available to new customers globally.
Solution
In January 2010, Connect2Field moved its application to Windows Azure; the design uses multitenant
databases on Microsoft SQL Azure and employs Windows Azure Blob Storage to store customer data.
Through a content distribution network, customers around the world can quickly access the app. Since
moving Connect2Field to Windows Azure, the company has tripled its customer base monthly. It avoids
spending thousands of dollars annually on maintenance and benefits from a reliable, scalable, and highly
secure cloud platform.

6
Software Provider Adopts Cloud Services, Triples Customer Base Monthly. Microsoft case study. February 2012.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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Figure 5. Mobile customer experiences
Key benefits
Expand market reach globally
Fast access to app
Reduced maintenance cost
4.2 Expand market reach
The following scenarios illustrate how organizations were able to increase their response to market
demand.
4.2.1 Sell 150,000 tickets in 10 seconds
Flavorus is an online event ticketing company that sells tickets for concerts and other events. The
company has a massively variable demand and needed a solution to help provide scale while still
complying with their corporate data regulations.
7

Business challenge
Flavorus needed a cost-effective solution to deal with a massively variable demand for online ticket sales.
Solution
Create an app on the Microsoft cloud platform, which provides the ability to add capacity and remove
capacity based on market demand.
The app gathers customer credit card and ticket request information and sends it to the core on-premises
transaction processing engine, which uses data synchronization features to process the credit card info.

7
Ticketing Company Scales to Sell 150,000 Tickets in 10 Seconds by Moving to Cloud Computing Solution. Microsoft case study.
September 2011.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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Upon approval, the transaction processing engine sends that information back to the web app to confirm
the ticket purchase with the customer.
This architecture allowed Flavorus to capture more customers simultaneously and in a cost-effective
manner because they did not have to build out infrastructure to handle peak demand scenarios. The
design allows the ticket sales company to handle capacity in a way it wasnt able to do previously.

Figure 6. Customer experiences
Key benefits
Meet peak market demand (150,000 ticket sales in 10 seconds)
Increase and decrease transaction capacity
Pay-per-use cost model
Manage compliance
4.2.2 Cut response time to incoming events from hours to seconds
Edgenet offers apps and services that help organizationsincluding retailers, distributors, and media
corporationssell their products. Its Edgenet Network, which includes the Big Hammer Data division,
collects and shares information from thousands of sources. The company supports customers in several
industries worldwide.
8

Business challenge
Analyze and manage a large volume of data across multiple data streams.
Solution
To better manage large volumes of events across multiple data streams, Edgenet upgraded its
customized, complex event-processing app to a standardized event-processing solution. The company
expects that this solution will allow it to achieve responses to incoming events in near-real-time and

8
Data Provider Supports Growth and Gains Competitive Advantage with Microsoft. Microsoft case study. December 2011.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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manage five terabytes of stored data more easily. The company is also improving server administration
with built-in management tools.

Figure 7. Near-real-time response to events
Key benefits
Respond in near-real-time to events captured on complex data streams
Solution is based on standard off-the-shelf software
Ease of management of multi-server environment
Flexible deployment from embedded devices, regional hubs, or centralized locations
4.2.3 Get to market faster with self-service Business Intelligence
BNZ sought faster, more flexible access to customer and transaction data so that it could respond more
quickly to market conditions. The banks Business Intelligence (BI) specialists often needed up to a week
to satisfy a data request, which wasnt fast enough for analysts.
9

Business challenge
Explore large data sets and create new views of data based on business analyst requirements without
engaging BI specialists.
Solution
The basis of the new solution is an in-memory analytics engine that provides business analysts with easy
access to reports. Other BI reporting tools provide fast access to data in tabular models as well. These in-
memory databases import data from multiple sourcesincluding sources outside the data warehouse
and in multiple formats, including relational databases, data feeds, and flat text files. After data is
imported, its enriched by adding calculated columns, relationships, key performance indicators (KPIs), and
hierarchies. Other key highlights in this solution are a semantic model and a technique (memory-

9
New Zealand Bank Gets to Market Faster with Self-Service Business Intelligence. Microsoft Case Study. April 2012.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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optimized column store index) that compresses data and dramatically increases data processing speeds
for common data warehouse queries.

Figure 8. Improve business insight with self-service reporting
Key benefits
Powerful self-service reporting for business analysis
Higher quality insights from customer and transaction data
Faster response to market conditions
4.3 Improve business performance
To remain competitive, organizations must be able to respond quickly to market demand and remain
agile to address changes in customer volume. The following case studies highlight ways in which
organizations can streamline their business processes and reporting to improve decision making and
customer experiences.
4.3.1 15x increase in number of transactions
Bwin, an online gaming and betting company, faced the challenge of meeting a high volume of user
requests for products and services. In 2010, the companys main gaming system was processing 10,000
transactions per second, which was dangerously close to the infrastructures limit. A more scalable
solution was needed to meet the demand of the business.
10

Business challenge
Match the competitive speed of the online gaming market with technology speed.
Solution
Bwin recently implemented a new database system to support their core mission-critical gaming engine,
which resides in an on-premises server environment. The new in-memory database handles 10 times as

10
Company Cuts Reporting Time by up to 99 Percent to 3 Seconds, and Boosts Scalability. Microsoft case study. March 2012.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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many requests and can process up to 250,000 requests per second. This increased capacity provides the
company with the ability to serve more customers.

Figure 9. Improve business performance
Key benefits
15x increase in transaction capacity
Seamless integration with back-end services
Out-of-the-box solution
4.3.2 Reduce query time from 30 minutes to 3 seconds
The Bank of Nagoya, Ltd. is a community-based bank with headquarters in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. To
better meet the needs of its customers and also to support expansion inside and outside Japan, the Bank
of Nagoya needed to make better use of its customer data and also ensure nonstop operation of bank
systems.
11

Business challenge
Improve performance and reliability of critical business systems and provide branch offices with faster
access to data for better decision making.
Solution
The bank upgraded its data management software, which improved database query speeds. Even in the
early stages of deployment, the Bank of Nagoya noted dramatic improvements in query speedsfrom 30
minutes to 3 seconds. The bank has also improved the availability of its core bank systems and the
productivity of its IT staff.

11
Bank of Nagoya Dramatically Accelerates Database Queries and Increases Availability. Microsoft case study. April 2012.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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Figure 10. Reduce time to gain business insight
Key benefits
100x improvement in performance
Works on customers existing hardware
Reduced maintenance and operating efforts
4.3.3 Gain 10x scale while reducing costs
BetOnSoft is an international gaming software provider for which customer experience is a business driver
as well as a key competitive differentiator. The company develops and manages more than 110 online
games, which are played every day by thousands of players worldwide.
12
The company needed to ensure
that:
Its games are highly available, because players are online around the clock.
They are prepared for business growth by scaling their database while maintaining application
responsiveness.
Applications perform key business-critical analytics in real time.
Business challenge
Increase gaming engine scalability and reliability while improving the user (gamer) experience.
Solution
BetOnSoft recently moved to a new infrastructure for their core mission-critical gaming engine, which
resides in an on-premises server environment. They have seen significant improvement in terms of scale
and performance. Furthermore, they have started using a cloud computing database service in
conjunction with database systems in an on-premises building (a hybrid solution).

12
Online Gaming Firm Implements Real-Time Analytics and Scales for Planned Growth. Microsoft case study. March 2012.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
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In addition, they have moved their metric and monitoring data from on-premises to computing services.
In a disaster, the key data to help them fix the issue would have been at risk; by offloading that data, they
can access it from any location to fix on-premises issues quickly and reliably.

Figure 11. Improve user experience
Key benefits
Processes 10 times the previous workload while running real-time analyses
Enhances service to operators
Hybrid IT structure accommodates scalability
Simplifies administration

Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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5 Discover your business opportunity for
modern apps
A successful organization needs plenty of customers. Consider that 35 percent of the worlds population is
already connected to the Internet through 10 billion devices, which provides a very large potential
customer base. In addition, the number of devices connected to the Internet is expected to double in two
years, which will create a massive opportunity for organizations that embrace the use of modern apps to
support their business.
In emerging markets, where more than 1 billion users have mobile phones, Internet connectivity means
new ways for governments to provide health-related information to their citizens, new lending and micro-
financing possibilities in extremely remote and rural areas, and new ways for fishermen to make better
informed decisions because they know the market price of the days catch.
The huge volume of data (2.5 billion users x 10 billion devices x many daily activities), its variety (phone
numbers, email addresses, clicks, tweets, YouTube videos, transactions, government data, and so on) and
the velocity of people and goods (including location, consumer prices, customers moods and opinions,
trends, and fashion) provide a huge opportunity for better understanding your customers needs and
enabling your organization to respond faster and more effectively.
5.1 Provide improved customer experiences in every app
Apps and devices provide opportunities to connect to new and existing customers in new ways. For
example, natural user interaction in tablet apps that support touch capabilities and gesture interactions
can significantly improve the customer experience in a variety of scenarios, from retail stores to bank
branch offices. Providing a consistent customer experience and brand presence across devices and
platforms can help improve customer loyalty. And providing new customer self-service capabilities and
enabling new consumption scenarios can lead to an increase in top-line revenue.
5.2 Expand market reach to tap into new market
geographies
Modern apps and cloud computing provide opportunities to connect with new customers across the
globe. Cloud computing can distribute modern app content to expand current business to new markets
and new opportunities. In addition, harvesting data from Internet sources such as social networks and
data markets provides insights to global customer behavior (for example, analyzing customer moods from
social networks to improve customer service experiences or improve products).
5.3 Improve business performance to respond faster
Its possible to improve business performance by tapping into the growing volume of data, especially
unstructured data or collections of large and complex data (also referred to as Big Data). New analytical
tools provide the opportunity to understand customer and market trends by capturing, curating, storing,
searching, sharing, analyzing, and visualizing data to unlock new revenue opportunities.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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6 The journey to modern apps
Organizations can begin their journey to modern apps by orienting existing applications to todays world
of connected devices and services. For example, the ability of modern apps to work on a range of devices
means that people will find new ways to interact with data. Modern apps also introduce an opportunity to
provide users with highly targeted, workflow-specific apps tailored to meet their needs.
6.1 Strategy for creating successful modern apps
A successful strategy for modern app development will include the following considerations:
Create targeted and tailored apps. Modern apps represent a new way of working on devices, with
users moving back and forth quickly between different topics and jumping between projects. Targeted
apps can streamline business processes and help improve employee productivity. Identify the
scenarios that are the most important and tailor the experience in your modern app for those
scenarios. For example, instead of replicating your website experience in a modern app and making
users figure out which functionality or feature they need, target your apps to specific workflows and
tasks.
Focus on important tasks. Ensure that the apps you develop are relevant to the tasks that are most
important to your business.
Consider new experiences. Combining usage statistics with the capabilities of devices and services is
a good way to expose new experiences. For example, a high-end retail store uses a modern app on
mobile devices to process customer purchases. During user testing, the store realized that they could
take advantage of the built-in cameras on the devices to provide a new experience for their customers
by allowing them to discover additional items relevant to the customers purchases.
To realize this strategy, invest time in conducting user testing, studying user data to identify usage
patterns, conducting user surveys, or holding user workshops. Observing how users interact with the app
will reveal the most efficient ways to complete tasks within your modern app.
6.2 Apply the modern app strategy to creating LOB apps
A good approach for applying the modern app strategy is to break down line-of-business (LOB)
applications into multiple experiences and then build targeted apps to realize them. Because LOB
applications have very specific workflows that different people in different roles complete every day,
developers should be able to take the most common workflow and determine how to simplify it.
The basic principle should be to have several specialized modern apps instead of one monolithic
application that does everything. It's much better to have five targeted apps than one that does
everything because a targeted modern app focuses on doing one thing great. Focusing on making most
features great is better than making every feature just okay.
Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
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6.3 Modern app usability
If modern apps are appropriately focused, users shouldnt need to be taught or made to read a manual to
learn the apps functionality. Consider the fact that games teach people skills as they play. When people
start playing a game, they dont necessarily know what to do next. A good game design guides the player
through the game so that they have the best experience and the most fun. Development teams can apply
the same approach to modern app design.
A modern app should hold the users hand in the beginning, back off as the user learns the app, and
return to provide any help that the user might need. People don't always know what's possible when they
start using a modern app. For example, it may not matter that a user does not know how to create tabs
when they first open a web browserthey can learn how to as they use the app. Using a modern app
should be natural, and features should just be available when people need them.

Nine business scenarios for modern apps in the enterprise
Enabling deep business and customer experiences
Page 19
7 Conclusion: Getting started
with modern apps
Microsoft helps customers assess their portfolios for opportunities to build business with modern apps as
part of the Enterprise Strategy Program (ESP). This program focuses on helping enterprises realize value
from their IT investments, and consists of four core elements:
Enterprise architects. Dedicated to the customer and charged with accelerating customers toward
their business goals.
Microsoft network. Subject matter experts from across all areas of Microsoft, including product
groups, research and development, internal IT resources, and Microsoft Research.
Value realization. Microsoft provides a framework and methodology designed to discover and
promote business value.
Library. A collection of exclusive intellectual property including comprehensive guidance, reference
architectures and implementation information, and worked examples from Microsoft engagements.
For more information about the Microsoft Enterprise Strategy Program, contact your Microsoft account
representative or visit www.microsoft.com/GoESP.
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8 References
Kim, Ryan. Multi-screen mania: how our devices work together. GigaOm, Aug. 29, 2012.
http://gigaom.com/2012/08/29/multi-screen-mania-how-our-devices-work-together/
Internet World Stats: Usage and Population Statistics. 2012 website.
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