This talk describes WSO2 MEAP, a product that let users develop and manage the complete lifecycle of mobile application development. MEAP includes support for both Mobile App development and back end service development as well.

1. Accelerating Mobile Development with
Mobile Enterprise Application Platforms
(MEAP)
Srinath Perera
Director, Research
WSO2 Inc.

2. Who first proposed a mobile phone?
• The Picture in 1926
by Karl Arnold
• 1931, Erich Kästner’s
children book
• 1959 by Arthur C.
Clarke

3. Could you guess who proposed first
mobile App?
“In 1907, Lewis Baumer’s cartoon "Predictions for 1907”
showed a man and a woman in London's Hyde Park
each separately engaged in gambling and dating on
wireless telephony equipment.”
This is before car or Airplane

4. So after 100 years, where we stand?
• 7B humans and 6.6 mobile subscribers
(>80%) vs. 2.5B in internet and 1.9B in
social networks
• Mobiles overtaking PC, more traffic
comes from mobile.
• 80% time on phones spent on apps
• Currently 25% are smart phones
• 56% of American adults and 72% of Y
generation own an smart phone
• More than 50% Asians will have a
smartphone by 2015

5. Smartphone, one
device to rule them
all
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sixmilliondollardan/3383537791/

6. There is an App for that
• It is Apps that make
the difference
• Overnight millionaire
e.g. Angry Birds (200M in
revenue 2013)
• There is an app for
pretty much everything
• Long tail of Apps

7. App Economics
• Both Apple and Google Play
stores has close to 1M apps
• Recorded about 10B$ revenue
2013 each (Sri Lanka total export
9B$/ Year )
• 27 and 29 billion apps downloads

8. Treat or a threat??
• Apps are the key to the
success of mobile
• It is High impact and has very
large potential market
• Organizations must think
mobile and Apps
• Customers asks for it: they
need what your site do as an
App and more
• You are missing out on the
mobile traffic
http://www.flickr.com/photos/
iancarroll/4856006353/

9. Soon, you will be
writing mobile
apps!! So what it
take to write them?

10. Mobile Application Landscape
• Several Platforms and
Devices
• Apple iOS
• Android
• Windows Mobile
• ..
• No specifications or
common ground

11. Challenges: Devices and Apps
• Technology (Devices) and OS changes very fast
(multiple times per year. )
• Devices have different screen sizes, input
modes and hardware capabilities.
• Network connectivity and power levels
fluctuate widely in typical usage scenarios.
• New consumer applications regularly extend
and revise the standards for good mobile
applications.
• Each mobile OS has a unique presentation
style, interaction style and software stack.

12. Challenges: Evolving Apps
• Apps are not write and
dump, you have to maintain/
improve them
• Code and Build
• Rollouts
• Community
• Forums
• Issues
• Sharing and reuse
• Governance

13. Challenge: App Development
Lifecycle
• Development challenges
• Each platform provider
controls their stores and
Apps available though those
stores.

14. Challenge: Backend
Services
• Most Apps need
backend services
• Life cycle get more
complicated
• Now you face devOps
challenges as well

15. DevOps Challenges
• High Availability
• Scalability
• Varying load
• Automation
• Recovery (Backup)
• Security Updates

17. Using WSO2 Products to Build an App

18. Is that enough?

19. Mobile Enterprise Application Platform
(MEAP)
• Coined by Gartner 2008 and called “multi-channel
access gateway market”, which was renamed later
• Multi billon dollar market
• Initial goal was write once run anywhere, but now
covering all lifecycle of mobile app development
• Rule of Three
• All concepts must be demonstrated for three platforms.

20. WSO2 MEAP Big Picture

22. Write Once, Run Everywhere
• Each application platform (IOS, Android, Windows
Mobile ) has its own language
• Three options to write portable apps
1. Hybrid – Write HTML5 code and interpret at via HTML5
interpreter runtime. E.g. PhoneGap(Apache Cordova),
2. HTML5 + JavaScript based UI design SDK e.g. Dojo
Toolkit, YUI Library, jQuery Mobile, Sencha Touch.
3. Write HTML5 + Java script and generate native code – e.g.
Xamerin (c#)/ Appcelerator (java script)
• We start with Android native and option 1, Cordova
http://www.flickr.com/
photos/eschipul/

23. IDE and Lifecycle Support
• WSO2 AppFactory with
CodeEnvy Integration
• Support for lifecycles:
dev, test, staging, produc
tion

24. Backend Services
• Mostly HTTP/ JSON, but other
protocols like MQTT is possible
as well
• Supported via MBaaS
• Three Products: Service Hosting
(AS), service mediation
(ESB), and APIs with inbuilt
mobile services like location
services, messaging services
etc.
• Can run in Cloud in “pay as you
go” fashion with autoscaling http://pixiedoll106.deviantart.com/art/Ballerinas-
Backstage-345476040

25. Testing
• When built, app goes to
store assigned by the
lifecycle (Dev, QA, Staging,
Production)
• Then tester can download
and test
• We will do a Mobile
emulator by running the
app and showing it in
browser as well.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juha_riissanen/

26. MEAP and Analytics
• Support probes and let users
monitor metrics (KPI) about
App development and App
executions and backend
• Powered by WSO2 BAM and
CEP
http://www.flickr.com/photos/isriya/2967310333/

27. Conclusion
• Mobile Application management
poses several key challenges
• WSO2 MEAP Product as a solution
• Reduce time to Market
• Enhanced Developer experience
• Regulatory compliance
• Increase Reuse
• Visibility
• Shared infrastructure
• Coming in Q3 2014
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsmoor
man/2298671281/