The document discusses the author's experience transitioning from not using mobile devices to embracing mobile development. It provides an overview of trends showing the rise of mobile usage. It then outlines questions the author had before starting mobile development with Sitecore and provides answers on how Sitecore approaches mobile, what value it provides for apps, and which mobile technologies it supports. The author chose to use Xamarin for cross-platform native app development. The document concludes with lessons learned from the author's mobile journey.

1. My first mobile experience
From mobile no no, to mobile go go
Pieter Brinkman || @pieterbrink123
Director of Developer & Platform Evangelism @Sitecore
1

2. Why talk about Mobile?

3. The numbers don’t lie

4. More people own a mobile device than a pc/laptop!
4

5. 5
There are 3bn connected people
on the planet.The next billion
will be mostly mobile only.
- Harvard Business Review

6. 6
More people have a
mobile phone than
toilets
- U.N. Study Shows

7. 7
All these mobile
devices made the
world a less social
place?

8. 8

9. The world today is not so different!
9
past present

10. The world today is not so different!
10
past present

11. The world today is not so different!
11
past present

12. The world today is not so different!
12
past present

13. The world today is not so different!
13
past present

14. The world today is not so different!
14
past present

15. The world today is not so different!
15
past present

16. The world today is not so different!
16
past present

17. The world today is not so different!
17
past present

18. The world today is not so different!
18
past present

19. So Is the world a less social place?
Probably not, the world became more connected.

20. We need to focus on the mobile device!
20

21. 21
All digital experience is mobile
Mobile is how,
when and
where digital
interactions
occur
Websites
Apps
Commerce
Email
SMS
Social
Media
We need to understand the
importance of the experience of
the mobile interactions, having a
bad experience will instantly end
the conversation with your visitors.

22. My mobile experience
22
Devices/OS
Development
2002 now20102006 2008
WAP WP XAML Xamarin

23. Perfect! Let’s start!
23
3 questions I had asked myself before starting my mobile journey:
1. How does Sitecore see Mobile?
2. What is the value of Sitecore in the App space?
3. There are numerous of different mobile technologies I can use.What technology should
I choose and is supported by Sitecore?

24. How does Sitecore see Mobile?

25. 25
“Mobile is critical to
delivering digital customer
experience, and Sitecore is
committed to helping our
customers fully leverage
both the mobile web
opportunity and now also
mobile apps”
- Darren Guarnaccia,
Sitecore Chief Strategy Officer

26. 2.What is the value of Sitecore in the App space?
26
Benefits
• Apps connect directly to Sitecore content and allows marketers direct control over the in-app
experience like they do today with the web
• Apps can fetch updated online content without having to go through the typical app marketplace
deployment process, putting content in customers hands faster
Examples
• Great for line of business apps with a web counterpart
• Real potential for all types of apps that need strong content governance
• 1 game? Probably not
• Lots of games?Yes, for common content and consistent functionality

27. 3.What mobile technology should I choose and is supported by Sitecore?
27
Responsive web
SC Products &Technology
• Sitecore XP
• HTML, JS and CSS
Adaptive mobile web
SC Products &Technology
• Sitecore XP
• Device detection
• Mobile HTML5
Platform specific
native apps
SC Products &Technology
• Sitecore XP
• ItemWebAPI
• Device specific SDK; iOS,
Android,Windows Mobile
Cross platform
native apps
SC Products &Technology
• Sitecore XP
• ItemWebAPI
• Mobile SDK for Xamarin
Pros
+ Easy development
+ Device specific content
+ Centralized updates
+ Access to device features
Pros
+ Device experience
+ Access to native API
+ Faster app performance
+ AppStore distribution &
payment
Pros
+ Device experience
+ Access to nativeAPI
+ Faster app performance
+ AppStore distribution
+ Centralized updates
+ Single codebase
Cons
- No access to native API
- Browser experience
- Basic UI
- Content re-usage
Cons
- No access to nativeAPI
- Browser experience
- Basic UI
Pros
+ Easy development
+ Works across every
channel
+ Centralized updates
Cons
- Device specific
development
- De-centralized updates
- Multiple code bases
Cons
- Additional development
costs

28. Sitecore mobile SDK family
Sitecore Mobile
SDK .NET PCL
Windows
Sitecore Mobile
SDK Android
Android
Sitecore Mobile
SDK iOS
Sitecore Mobile SDK
Xamarin Forms PCL
iOS
Android
.NET
28
Platform Specific native app Cross platform native appsOr
iOS

29. Xamarin

30. Why Xamarin?
• Xamarin cross-platform compilers and tools provide development advantages in C#
usually reserved for C++
• Develop apps inVisual Studio
• Share code between native apps on different platforms saving time and money
• Native apps look and perform great
30

31. What do you need for Xamarin App development?
• Xamarin Studio (free for individuals ) – C# IDE forWindows and Mac
• Visual Studio integration ($999 year subscription per device platform)
• Build and debug iOS and Android apps directly fromVisual Studio
• Xamarin license required - 30 day trial
• Android SDK & Emulators (free from Google) and/or Xamarin Mac build agent (required
for iOS apps)
• Xcode and Apple iOS developer subscription (required for iOS apps)
 99$ USD / year subscription
• Pay close attention to my lessons learned at the end
31

32. Your project
UI projects
Xamarin project organization
32
Your project
Core library

33. Sitecore Mobile SDK for Xamarin
• Single package on NuGet (also available in the Xamarin Store)
• Powered by the Mobile SDK for .NET portable class library (PCL)
33

34. PortableClass Library in .Net
• the Portable Class Library (PCL) allows
the targeting of a set of platforms.
• It’s similar concept as within Xamarin,
but only supports .Net framework.
• Windows moves towards the Internet
ofThings (IOT) mindset huge potential.
• Sitecore mobile SDK for .Net can be
compiled along with any application
that targets the Microsoft PCL
• Xamarin = target framework
34

35. Sitecore Mobile SDK for .Net
35
Sitecore Mobile SDK for .Net
Request builder
ItemWebApiRequest
ScApiSession
Developer
Sitecore
Instance
to create
Item Objects Response
HTTP Request
Sitecore ItemWeb API 1.0
HTTP Response
Sitecore ItemWeb API
2.0

36. Demo: Hello mobile world!

37. Did I become a mobile Go Go?

38. 10 lessons learned

39. 39
Start with building a
console app
Tutorial on doc.sitecore.net
1

40. 40
Want to experiment with
Xamarin?
Install it on a virtual machine.
2 2.

41. 41
Xamarin has a 30
day trial!
3

42. 42
Tutorials;
Read first, than execute
4

43. 43
• 100% cross device compatible
• Work with Xamarin UI components
that are consistent across devices
• Developers work with XAML and C#
Start with Xamarin.Forms
5

44. 44
UseVisual Studio
for development
onWindows
6

45. 45
To Develop an iOS App you need a MAC
With Mac OSx installed…
7

46. 46
You can buildWindows 8
(andWP) App with the
mobile SDK andVisual
Studio.
(Without the need of Xamarin
8

47. 47
Learn more cross-
platform development
patterns; MVVM and
MVC
9

48. 48
Sitecore Mobile SDK is
an abstraction layer that
ensures backward
compatible integration
with Sitecore for your
apps.
10

49. What’s next
49
1. Follow the console app tutorial from doc.sitecore.net (no Xamarin required).
2. Start reading about MVC and MVVM.
3. Now build an simple app; either Windows 8 app without the use of Xamari or anAndroid/Ios app
with Xamarin
4. Have questions?Ask your questions using the tag ‘Mobile SDK’ on
community.sitecore.net

50. 50
Questions?
Do you have more questions ?
Go to community.sitecore.net
4750+ professionals are there to help you

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