Rise of mobile shifting enterprise application landscape, Gartner says

No longer are enterprise IT departments and application development teams afforded the luxury of creating apps solely for desktop and laptop computers. According to research firm Gartner, the rise of mobility has necessitated that businesses take a multichannel approach to app development to incorporate smartphones and tablet computers.

The research firm asserts that application development teams need to starting thinking with a "mobile-centric" mindset rather than one that's focused on the desktop. As the mobile workforce grows, employees will become more dependent on apps that support touch-and-gesture interaction and can be accessed on virtually any device.

IT departments must also focus on the usability of enterprise apps. While most mobile apps today are suitable for touch-and-gesture, all signs point to a future of apps that also leverage other user interface techniques, including voice, audio, social, context and search. Companies with a long-term roadmap will recognize the innovation going into today's apps and use it to build apps for the future.

The mobile trend has affected several areas of business, not just application development. According to a study by IDC, mobile employees will account for nearly 40 percent of the mobile workforce by 2015, meaning businesses must embrace mobility or risk being left behind.