Understanding Data First to Access Enterprise Mobile Data

Organizations are building mobile apps and while it’s the smartest move today, what cannot be overlooked is the dilemma of accessing mobile data most efficiently. Organizations, in order to achieve development agility, need to have quick access to their business data. So, the top priority becomes the architecture patterns and the access control mechanisms that aid in the proper consumption of mobile data from connected devices.

It’s easy to say that the enterprise data needs to be so easily accessible that it simply requires querying a database from the web application, but life isn’t all hunky dory. The access system should enable all enterprise levels along with the much needed agility – security, management and operational readiness are crucial elements for starters.
To be able to provide the God-speed that mobile data and enterprise mobile app so demand, we need to study the customary types of business data first. So here comes the lesson that enterprises need to take up first thing:
Data in the device
Offline communications are a key area of accessing mobile data, and thus there is need for business data in the device. Here, the encryption, privacy and data protection mechanisms are necessary to provide integrity to the data.
Real-time access to business data
Today, it’s mostly about NOW and at-the-moment data, so this is important for a business system in a request-response model. REST patterns define the traditional way to architect this type of business data and integrates well with this line of business data.
Event-based Access
Sometimes, business systems push data in the form of events that are distributed to different mobile consumers. A middleman that brokers the communication between the business system and the mobile app is to be recruited here.
Cloud-brokered Access
Because the business data is accessed from various mobile devices and that too of hetergenous nature, a mobile middleware platform is necessary to integrate between the business systems and the mobile apps. A cloud infrastructure with its elasticity and native scalability features proves to be the best choice for enabling such access.
Cloud-cached Access
Sometimes, constant access to the same data sources results in a performance bottleneck. A secure cloud cache mechanism could be used to store the transient representations of the business data.
Understanding these patterns well can enable any enterprise to establish the required infrastructure and pattern to connect with the mobile business data. As this area grows and the enterprise mobile app development becomes a middle-of-the-road thing, standard protocols will need to be leveraged to access business data from the various enterprise systems and keep it to a single and consistent interface. But that’s yet another lesson to be learnt.