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Mobile apps are ubiquitous in smartphones and are widely used by smartphone users all over the world. Mobile apps are more popular than websites because the apps enable the users to access anything they require through their smartphones swiftly. This is the reason why all the e-commerce and other companies develop their mobile apps for better connecting with the customers. The mobile apps, however, need to be compatible with all kinds of mobile platforms such as Android, iOS and Windows. Thus, the mobile app developers need to create cross-platform apps so that they can be used by all smartphone users, regardless of the type of phone they may be carrying.

What is Xamarin?

Xamarin is a tool by Microsoft which is used to develop cross-platform applications. Xamarin and Microsoft Azure Cloud Services can together be used to create robust cloud-powered mobile apps. Xamarin has the necessary tools to build cross-platform mobile apps.

How Does it Work?

Xamarin uses the same code to create apps across platforms regardless of Java-based Android or Swift or Objective C based iOS. This is also called code sharing. .NET framework is used along with a compilation of the code for a specific binary for each platform to create cross-platform apps.

Xamarin interfaces with the native APIs to provide a smooth user experience of the app across platforms. Thus, the user interface of the app is similar even with a single codebase. Components can be added to the app from the component store. Xamarin also enables the developers to develop highly customizable apps.

Xamarin eliminates the need to develop multiple apps for different platforms because it allows the developer to create a single app for various platforms. This saves time and money expended in making and testing many apps for different platforms.

Advantages of Xamarin-Microsoft Azure Combination

Cloud-powered apps use the cloud to store their data. A cloud-powered mobile app has a code used to run it on Android, iOS or Windows smartphones and a cloud service to power it. Microsoft Azure cloud services can be used to power Xamarin apps due to the following advantages.

Azure cloud services enable the users to store any data such as file data, structured data, queries, etc. The data can also be shared efficiently using standard SMB 2.1 protocol.

Some features can be incorporated into the app through Microsoft Azure. The various features include push notifications, user authentication, and offline data sync. Push notifications send personalized messages to users; user authentication enhances the sign-in function of the app and offline data sync. Enables the users to access the app even in the absence of a live internet connection.

Azure provides high-grade connectivity which ensures that the users can access the app without hassles irrespective of their locations.  Azure enables the app to be highly scalable. High scalability of the app makes it capable of handling an increasing number of users or clients. Azure can autoscale whenever required to handle the increased traffic and can also deploy extra resources to ensure that the app functions smoothly.