AWS Mobile Hub Updated to Develop Corporate Apps

Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS), a company that specializes in enterprise mobility, is looking for developers to create corporate apps. These apps will leverage existing user directories and hook into other systems like customer relationship management (CRM), accounting, and customer service tools.
The company is expanding the functionality of its AWS Mobile Hub to help these mobile apps, whether they are targeted at employees or consumers, reach equality with traditional secure and robust desktop counterparts.
This tool offers a single console that allows you to backup mobile apps with server-side functionality like user authentication, data storage and push notifications. It also delivers content delivery, analytics, and other useful features.
AWS has augmented the tool to better support the growing serverless computing approach with AWS Lambda, and the Amazon API Gateway. This included new Cloud Logic features to facilitate the serverless approach and access control and authentication.
Now, the tool is being enhanced further, with new user management capabilities and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) integration.
It’s now easier for enterprise user management to add user authentication to both business-to–consumer (B2C), and business–to–employee(B2E) apps.
AWS spokesperson Jeff Barr stated that you can create a fully managed directory in Amazon Cognito on the B2C side and then add sign up and sign in features, including multifactor authentication (MFA) in a blog post. On the B2E side you can allow users sign in using their existing corporate credentials. This feature uses SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language), and it works with multiple directories, including Active Directory.
The company has unveiled new Mobile Hub connectors that allow mobile app developers to connect to enterprise SaaS applications such as Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics and Marketo. These connectors can be used to access data such as contacts and accounts.
These connectors work in the same way as the Cloud Logic functionality. They are REST microservices and implemented through the Amazon API Gateway.
Barr stated that calls to the connectors are routed via API Gateway to the underlying SaaS app. This model allows you audit and meter calls, throttle SaaS applications requests, and cache responses. Connectors normalize SaaS applications and provide consistent objects within a specific category (CRM and marketing automation, customer service, and so forth). Swagger 2.0 definitions have been provided for all REST APIs as well as reference mobile apps for each SaaS app.
Developers interested in learning more about the enhanced AWS Mobile hub can visit the company’s developer guide.