Customizable mobile apps, simplified
Customizable mobile apps with mobile sync
Minimal additional complexity
Unplugged introduces a simpler way to develop custom enterprise mobile apps with mobile sync, following the principle of “minimal additional complexity”. Instead of a new mobile app development platform, the Unplugged XPages Engine extends the capabilities of your existing IBM® Lotus collaboration platforms. Cross-platform enterprise mobile apps - complete with mobile sync - can be developed using the standard Domino Designer and XPages Extension Library within the Eclipse IDE.
Build your skills faster
The net result is a reduction in the time taken for application developers to achieve proficiency in mobile application development. XPages developers can come up to speed weeks or even months faster than they would if they had to master a new set of proprietary mobile app development tools.
HTML5 user interfaces
HTML5 is a new standard defined by the W3C, for structuring and presenting content on the Web. With HTML 5, Unplugged introduces a simpler vision for creating customizable, synchronizing mobile apps, bringing multiple benefits:
- a single UI architecture
- a single maintainable codebase
- easier-to-use visual user interfaces, not just text fields and forms
- cross-platform support for the major mobile OSes
- support for online and occasionally-connected modes of operation
Increase reliability and resilience
Unplugged apps are significantly more reliable and resilient than normal mobile Web apps because they are built to support an “occasionally-connected” mobile sync model.
In this model, the app tries to send and receive data from the back-end server but if the data signal is weak it can read and write data to a local data store on the device. Later, when the signal improves, you can sync any changes to the back-end server data store. This is how email is handled on all the major smartphone OS platforms.
However, it’s difficult for application developers to implement mobile sync with custom apps in the enterprise. It adds significant complexity to the development project, requiring specialized mobile app platforms that support the development of occasionally-connected, synchronizing apps.
These platforms typically require the use of their own specialized development tools. Skills in these platforms may be expensive and in short supply. An additional problem is that these platforms bring along with them the requirement to create new proprietary software connectors to back end enterprise systems.
Summary of benefits
A quick summary of the benefits from the Unplugged approach:
- XPages developers achieve proficiency in mobile app development much faster
- Less need for expensive specialized consultants by re-using existing skillsets
- Fully functional apps on the mobile device, not primitive field-mapping apps
- Easier-to-use visual user interfaces can be built quickly using HTML5
- Reliable operation: mobile apps with mobile sync just work, even if signal strength is weak
- No need to develop a new set of enterprise software connectors
- A reduction in the number of system components means fewer points of potential failure
