Is Flutter Game Changer for Enterprise Mobile Applications?

There was a time when mobile app development was a complex and tedious process. Earlier, the necessity of businesses was only to attract customers through user-centric and SEO-optimized websites. But, as the companies evolved at an unprecedented pace, technological advancement enhanced; Flutter emerged as an innovative cross-platform solution, seamlessly unifying app development for both iOS and Android.

Its adaptability and competency to create immersive experiences across different platforms contributed Substantially to its groundbreaking status, ensuring consistent excellence in user interactions.

According to a 2022 Statista, Flutter is the leading cross-platform mobile framework favored by developers worldwide. The survey reveals that 46% of software developers actively utilize Flutter in their projects. Flutter enterprise app development has put object-centric functionality into play. Enterprise software development companies (such as Appinventiv) leverage Flutter due to its performance and speed of development.

With the assistance of Flutter enterprise app development, businesses can efficiently access innovative app solutions, ensure interoperability, and deliver seamless user experience.

In this article, we’ll offer our take on the motion that mobile app development using Flutter is getting serious, and for good!

The Growing Preference of Enterprises for App Development with Flutter

A cross-platform, open-source UI software development toolkit, Flutter, was created by Google. It offers a versatile codebase for iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, Mac, Google Fuchsia, and the World Wide Web. Flutter apps are coded in Dart, Google’s object-oriented language.

The question arises: why Dart?

That’s because it offers feasibility factors such as a higher productivity time for developers and an equally robust, object-oriented build for apps.

Platform-agnostic software development is marked with hurdles like an inefficient UI, a fast-aging source code, a lack of security layers, native functionalities, etc. Flutter enterprise app development bypasses these problems with ease.

Enterprise Mobile App Development

As the name suggests, enterprise apps are engineered for the limited and protected use of and by the enterprise workforce. Admins can moderate the data centrally, implement wide-scale automation, and adopt an event-driven approach when needed. The cry for app development using Flutter is catching fire because the framework has a war chest of over 4000 libraries that can be used to build apps.

But is that reason enough to vouch for apps built with Flutter?

Of course not!

Let us put forward the points and weigh the upsides of Flutter enterprise app development in IT software that renders hybrid coding useless. The following sections elaborate on the universal requirements of enterprise mobile apps. We’ll explain why using Flutter for enterprise app development is a smart business choice.

Layered Architecture

An enterprise app architecture has separate but interconnected layers concerning presentation, service, business, and data access. When such separation is interposed, developers must work out ways to offer the following:

• Enterprise-wide collaboration between teams
• Coding the app on validated, documented designs
• Easy-to-understand and use app-functionalities

When the architecture accounts for such usability aspects, the working environment automatically translates into well-oiled, highly productive engineering machinery.

Programmers who use Flutter for enterprise app development get secure networking gateways to resources hosted on the web. In the wake of this comes the following functionalities as well:

• Local storage
• SQLite databases
• State management
• Dependency injection
• Background processing
• JSON serialization/deserialization
• Deep linking

Development Environment

Flutter is integrable with Visual Studio Code and or IntelliJ/Android Studio. Leading OS formats such as Mac, PC, Linux, and Chromebook support the same for design, debugging, deploying, and troubleshooting.

Flutter, running on the object-oriented language Dart, allows for importing the Dart packages, which provide functionality similar to external libraries. When the team plans to build enterprise applications using Flutter, the project can be repurposed with Flutter Dart packages, providing an alternative to distribute responsibilities amongst team members.

Flutter for enterprise apps is pre-packaged with 3 test frameworks, namely Unite Test, Widget Test, and Integration Test. Designers can test widgets and each non-UI code byte with the frameworks mentioned above, allowing them to maximize their test coverage.

Flutter’s innate layout has been designed using the toolsets powering Android and iOS, which are required to deploy apps on the respective flagship app stores. Therefore, continuous integration and continuous delivery demanded by enterprise mobile apps will not be a pain point.

Knowledge of native platforms is a prerequisite for developers working on enterprise mobile apps using Flutter.

User Interface

Experts believe that if not the architecture, then the success of an enterprise app certainly comes down to its user interface. However, in this sector, Flutter also stands its ground with functionalities of Material Widgets for Android and Cupertino Widgets for iOS platforms.

UI/UX designers can introduce animations using Flare, i.e., a 2-dimensional vector animation library. Transitioning between in-app pages can also be accomplished. While on the topic, a particular Flutter Charting Library warrants special mention, using which data can be presented as pie charts, bar graphs, etc.

Today, the trend in Flutter mobile app development services is well within their scope of work to introduce infinite scrolling for rich content repositories. Also, populating Flutter enterprise apps are images that can be managed through image loading and the caching library.

Finally, you can even provide access to Google and Apple Maps on a Flutter mobile application.

Hardware

Permission to access mobile hardware is common practice for apps. It mainly facilitates operations, such as document upload and location tracking. If you are developing Android apps with Flutter app development, access to the following hardware components is now possible:

• Accelerometer
• GPS
• Biometric Authentication
• Camera
• NFC

Security

Security is an area that cannot be left loose. There are divisions to it that Flutter does justice to, which coincidentally are also the most prioritized security concerns for developers. It would not be wrong to say that Flutter is a spin-off of the Android and iOS sandbox environments. That’s why Android and iOS developers consider Flutter for app development.

This presumption gives rise to the theory that apps built using this framework harness the security features of native Android and iOS platforms.

At Appinventiv, we constitute our Flutter app development services with some of the brightest minds in the field. Our experience validates that authentication gateways can be well-managed on Flutter. They’ve used SimpleAuth to incorporate authentication channels with the following vendors:

• Google
• Amazon
• Dropbox
• Github
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Azure Active Directory

SSL certificates that have become an industry standard can be pinned in the apps, mitigating the chances of a man-in-the-middle attack. The SSL protocol migrates HTTP to an HTTPS and encrypts end-to-end data. The corresponding SSL certificate aids in identifying the credibility of the site owner and establishing consumer trust.

Hackers have devised lethal ways to locate digital openings by reverse-engineering the app code. But the chances of that are grim with the Flutter Dart Code as the same compiles to ARM binary code. Developers can further complicate things for digital adversaries by using code obfuscation techniques.

Miscellaneous Requirements

So far, we’ve discussed those areas that are the most prioritized by software developers. Then again, this isn’t it!

There is an intermix of overhead applications that have to be named.

• Analytics – Adobe and Firebase, the leading vendors in the analytics ecosystem, have libraries supported by Flutter.
• Flutter apps can be used to generate and scan QR codes.
• Since the apps are cross-platform compatible, data sharing with Facebook, Twitter, etc. is possible.
• With the integration of payment gateways, you can accept payments by connecting a card reader with the help of Square Reader SDK.
• You can even play music and audio in Flutter apps.
• Flutter for enterprise apps exemplifies its capabilities as a transformative framework.
• One of the major use cases of the Flutter enterprise app would be its cross-platform interoperability, allowing enterprise app users to access these apps on the mobile OS of their choice.

Some of the leading tech giants of the world are using Flutter, which includes names like Stadia, Google’s cloud gaming service, Square, Tencent, Google Assistant, eBay, and Emaar.

Other Benefits of Flutter for Enterprise Apps

As a Flutter app development company, we believe it’s essential to emphasize the additional benefits of flutter app development:

• Flutter helps accelerate the speed of code development
• Enterprise app with Flutter can leverage device-specific features and capabilities to provide a native-like user experience on both iOS and Android platforms.
• Enterprise app development using flutter gives immense flexibility to engineers and software developers to use the same codebase to develop and launch enterprise apps on various platforms simultaneously.
• The UI and code logic remain constant across various platforms irrespective of the platform
• It enhances product development for speedy market penetration
• Flutter-developed apps mimic the native apps near to perfection
• The app framework has a separate rendering engine
• Flutter lowers business risks
• Enterprise app with Flutter can streamline business processes, improve employee productivity, and enhance customer engagement.

How Leading Companies Leverage Flutter

Flutter has the potential to preview changes work with less resource-intensive designs where a developer can develop an app once and cross-compile it for multiple platforms.

Let’s have a look at how prominent companies leveraged Flutter for enterprise app development.

Crowdsource:

A Google-backed crowdsourcing platform designed to enhance Google services.

Flutter assists in expanding Crowdsource’s potential user base by 23%, reducing code size by 50%, and expediting by 100%!

eBay Motors:

eBay Motors is an online eCommerce platform for buying and selling cars. Flutter has contributed to accelerating its software development for enhanced performance and efficiency.

BMW:

BMW is a German multinational producer of high-end automobiles and bikes. Flutter drives the accessibility of the firm’s Vehicle Companion App to a worldwide audience, specifically catering to BMW automobile owners.

ClickUp:

ClickUp is an all-in-one project management productivity app. Flutter has significantly enhanced ClickUp’s development efficiency, some of which is mentioned in Simon Leier’s write-up about the CI/CD approach for the Flutter App.

Tide:

A British fintech firm is offering mobile-first banking services to SMEs. Flutter is crucial in enhancing Tide’s digital offering and user experience. Explore their blogs for further Flutter insights.

Final Thoughts

Developing an enterprise app with Flutter offers a versatile and efficient solution for businesses seeking a robust, cross-platform application development framework.

Flutter for enterprise app development has been pushing the boundaries, breaking new ground in the infinite cosmos of technology.

Different industries leverage Flutter due to its deep-rooted expertise, uncompromising quality of high performance, and potential to design exceptional user interfaces.

We are a Flutter app development company that develops highly customized solutions and aesthetically rich designs by analyzing and researching.

FAQs

Q. How much does It cost to develop an enterprise app using Flutter?

A. The cost of developing an enterprise app using Flutter can vary between $50,000 to $200,000 or more, depending on the app’s complexity, design necessities, functionalities and the level of customization.

Q. What is the future of Flutter in mobile app development?

A. Flutter unveils a groundbreaking approach to mobile app development, and the future of Flutter in enterprise apps looks exceptionally promising. This optimism stems from its potential advancements, including sustained growth adoption and improved performance.

THE AUTHOR

Dileep Gupta

DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER