Capriza Review

Overview

Capriza is designed  specifically for non-developers. Capriza rapidly converts, transforms, and optimizes existing web-based desktop applications into secure, lightweight mobile apps (zapps), complete with modern mobile capabilities such as GPS, camera, barcode scanning, click-to-call, etc

Key Features

• Zero coding required, but can do own coding also

• Zero APIs

• Citrix or live-screenscraping like concept
• Very fast app creation

• Produces HTML5-based mobile apps  (Capriza call them zapps) from standard web-based applications that were targeted to run on the desktop browser.
• Mobile experience is different from desktop experience; it is generally simplified
• Runs on any modern device and platform
• Mobile extension kit to add custom widgets, native functionality, etc
• SSO

• Optimized for SAP and SalesForce.com, but can work on any web application
• Mobile services such as
• GPS
• Camera
• Bar code scanner
• Click-to-call
• Location services

Distribution (MDM)

• Capriza Native App: available free through either the Apple App Store or Google Play; users login to see apps
• Capriza HTML App: For enterprises that don't want a native app use any modern browser to access the non-native app.

• Custom Enterprise URL: Centrally distribute and manage apps through a custom, corporate branded internet or intranet URL/Domain.

• Enterprise App Store (EAS)for distributing apps that is corporate branded.

• Homegrown EAS

Monitoring

• Cloud-based, real-time management dashboard
• Users
• Infrastructure
• Zapp Health monitoring

• Analytics
• Usage
• Adoption
• Feedback

Security

• Can run their software behind the corporate firewall in 8 minutes to access apps on the intranet
• If it is public the cloud can be leveraged

Platforms

• iOS
• Android
• BlackBerry

• Windows Phone

• Samsung BADA

• Firefox OS

Devices

• Smartphones

• Tablets
• Desktops

Browser Support

• Safari

• Chrome

• Android stock browser

• Others

Professional Services are available

How it Works

Zapps work in a manner similar to Citrix. The Zapps are actually thin clients. These clients don't store anything locally on devices which lowers security concerns. All communication between components use HTTPS. Here is how a typical interaction would look:

1. User launches a zapp on their mobile device it

2. The zapp connects to the Capriza Relay Server (on premise or cloud) via HTTPS. It manages the communication between the zapp and the Runtime Agents.

3. The Capriza Relay Server starts a Runtime Agent which is a headless browser.

4. The Runtime Agent connects to the legacy web app and is rendered (not visible to anyone) in the Runtime Agent.

5. The Runtime Agent (or maybe the Runtime Agent not sure) translates the legacy web app to a mobile friendly format and sends it to the Zapp (mobile app) to be displayed to the user.

Developer Experience

• Capriza Designer (Firefox Plug-in)

• Walk through web application and drag parts that you are interested in to the mobile app screen to create the screens.

• Screens are customizable
• No programming needed

• Can change layouts, etc.

Changes

• When the legacy web application changes zapp will need to change also and should be part of change management.

Cost Model

Depends on how want to license

• Buy Platform for unlimited use
• Per User per month for smaller uses

• Prices vary based on specific details of how to deploy, etc.

Conclusions

I have investigated the product.  Below is a summary of what I found. In general please understand that this tool does NOT allow you to add functionality to a mobile application that is not already on the legacy web application. So, it is not a tool for doing new mobile development if there is not an existing web application that it will interact with. The presentation of the user interface is changed to be for a mobile device. This is typically much simplified to be more task specific. It could be very good for bring existing web applications to the mobile device when source code level access to the existing web application is not available. It could also be useful for prototyping changes to web applications that we do have source code level access to as well.

Pros:

• Very fast application creation when it plays nicely with the Capriza tooling

• Works on any mobile device

• Low cost of development due to time savings

• Distribution simplified

• Minor changes such as layout and cosmetics do not require the mobile application to be modified typically

Cons:

• Cannot be any faster than the existing web site and there is some overhead

• Some web apps will be work better with this tool than others

• Major changes to legacy web application affect the mobile application