The Difference Between Enterprise Apps and Consumer Apps

When building an enterprise application with no-code, there are unique qualities and challenges to consider—especially compared to consumer applications.

 

If you’re interested in using no-code to help you build an application, you have options now that weren’t there ten to twenty years ago. You have your website builders, “super spreadsheet” applications that help build internal applications, integration tools, and software that can help you build a classic web application—just to name a few. 

But not all no-code is created equal, and none of these no-code tools can adapt to fit an enterprise’s needs. That’s where Unqork comes in! We’re part of a new generation of cloud-based development platforms designed with the needs of the enterprise in mind. But what’s the difference between an enterprise application and a standard consumer app? Isn’t it just a matter of scale? Well, not quite. Here’s what you need to know.

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Enterprise applications vs. consumer applications

Enterprise applications are designed to help large organizations—those with hundreds or thousands of employees—complete core business functions like onboarding, data management, customer support, and more. They can easily integrate and process data from other sources and applications, provide user information in a timely manner, and be used for industry-specific solutions. Thanks to rising popularity, the enterprise application market is expected to be worth $259.51 billion by 2022 according to a study from Grand View Research.

 

Consumer applications, simply put, are apps designed to accommodate consumer needs and wants. Think of anything you might find in your phone’s app store—games, communication platforms, photo and editing apps, and so on. The primary goals of a consumer application are to generate revenue and connect consumers to businesses from wherever they are.

Enterprise and consumer applications are similar in one key way—in order to drive adoption, they must be simple to use and logically arranged. From there, enterprise applications and consumer applications diverge in price, resource usage, architecture, and more. The most significant differences between enterprise and consumer applications are in target audiences and goals.

While the average person has use for an online shopping app, for instance, the same cannot be said for an enterprise insurance underwriting application.

Consumer applications target anyone who might come into contact with the application, no matter who they are or what organization they belong to. Enterprise applications are designed specifically for people in a certain business or industry, and those who need to complete a certain task. While the average person has use for an online shopping app, for instance, the same cannot be said for an enterprise insurance underwriting application.

The goal of an enterprise application is to help enterprises achieve their business objectives as efficiently as possible, so there’s often a lot of language around increasing productivity or streamlining processes. Meanwhile, consumer applications have the broad goal of improving the user’s daily life. This includes anything from tracking a package online, to finding your phone, to keeping you occupied with a fun game while waiting at the doctor’s office.

While the lines between enterprise applications and consumer applications might seem clear cut, there are some gray areas when it comes to self-service hubs. Since there is both a consumer-facing side—such as the “digital front door” found in the healthcare industry—and an internal side supporting the technology, self-service hubs can be considered both an enterprise and a consumer application. 

Enterprise Application Challenges

Enterprise applications are distinct from other types of applications, meaning they come with their own set of challenges. 

  • Implementation: Since enterprise applications are designed to serve large businesses, simply implementing the software can be a challenge. In addition to high costs, lengthy setup times can compromise your team’s productivity.

  • Onboarding: These applications are generally more complex than consumer apps, and the learning curve can be a bit high. If your team members aren’t well-trained in the new application, it can’t drive business value as effectively and its ROI will be lower.

  • Security: Security is critical when it comes to enterprise applications, as app-specific and web-application attacks make up more than 32% of all cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, non-enterprise-grade application development platforms don’t have the security features needed to keep your data safe.

Unqork’s no-code platform helps you easily navigate and overcome these obstacles, so you can build an enterprise application that suits your needs without giving your team a headache.

 

Watch a demo of a Member Services Portal in action—all built without code.

Build with the best

With an enterprise no-code platform like Unqork, you can build robust and sophisticated solutions by connecting configurable components that represent both user-facing and back-end business logic. Applications are completely visual on Unqork, meaning you can spin up an application in record time without code. 

Unqork-built applications are complex, but not complicated. We make it easy to create high-quality applications that reflect the unique needs of your business, which in turn makes it easier to onboard and teach your team how to make the most out of this technology. Also, implementation is fast and simple!

When it comes to protecting your enterprise application, you can rest assured that all data is safe when you build on our platform. Security, compliance, RBAC, and more are all taken care of on the backend and monitored out-of-the-box on Unqork, which enables you and your team to really focus on driving value for your organization. Using no-code built with enterprise needs in mind, Unqork lets you build high-quality enterprise apps faster than ever before.

You can schedule a personalized demonstration of the Unqork platform with one of our in-house experts today. For more in the world of no-code, subscribe to the Unqork newsletter.

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