Trends Shaping Up the Mobile App Market in 2017

The number of mobile users is through the roof – experts estimate that over 3 billion people will own a smartphone by the year 2020. Over 50% of all the time, people spend on their smartphones is spent on apps, which is causing businesses worldwide attempt to engage their customers via apps. There are over 4 million unique apps on Google Play and Apple’s iTunes store combined, which is a number that will increase significantly over the next few years.

So what do all these statistics tell us? Mobile apps aren’t going away anytime soon, and 2017 is going to be a big year, with innovative technologies being used to keep customers engaged. Here are some of the top trends shaping the mobile app market:

Apps Making More Revenues Than Before

This year, applications are expected to make over $77 billion in revenues, a big increase over the $58 billion they made in 2016. Clearly, there has never been a better time to make money from software. 

VR and AR technology

Games like Pokémon Go made Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) popular around the world. This year, the technology will be found in all kinds of mainstream apps, including travel, messaging, and even some business ones. 

Chatbot Technology

Chatbots debuted over two years ago, but we expect them to gain mainstream appeal this year. It allows companies to deliver their products and services faster and provide a more personalized approach with significantly lower investments.

More Security

The majority of the most popular Android and iPhone apps have been hacked. Data and application security are a big concern, and we expect to see developers going to great lengths to ensure their products are as secure as possible, by using encryption and other techniques.

Internet-of-Things

Finally, IoT and wearable tech will dominate this year. There will be a greater focus on the technology this year, and we’ll find it being implemented in industries like healthcare, education, security,  and the automobile industry.

Does your business own an app? If you don’t, you’re losing out. You can hire a dedicated app development team to make you one at an affordable price, in a short span of time. 

Boost Workplace Communication and Productivity with a Mobile App

A large number of organizations own a mobile app these days, designed to help them engage customers better and to grow their business. However, not many organizations consider building an app for their workforce. While building an app for your in-house team isn’t a new idea, it hasn’t caught steam yet.

Here is why building an in-house mobile app for your workforce is a great idea:

Promote communication between employees

Many big companies have offices all over the world these days, but they rarely communicate with each other. A mobile app allows you to provide a unified platform that promotes communication between all the members of your global team. With apps, it’s easier for employees to get to know each other and improve workplace relations.

Boost productivity by providing a work-from-home option

A large number of companies these days are adopting the “mobile workforce” strategy, which is designed to allow employees the freedom of working from anywhere and on any device. An in-house app can help boost your team’s productivity by letting them work from the comfort of their home and boosting work-life balance.

Help them learn new things by providing educational material on the app

Mobile apps allow you to provide educational resources and courses to employees. Your employees can learn at their pace, without pressure, while managers will get access to test results and progress reports on the screens with the touch of a button.

Make life easy for your HR department

The HR department in a company is always actively involved in scouting for promising talent in the market, even when the company has no need for employees at that moment. A mobile app that allows the HR department to automate replies, schedule interviews, to get access to test results, and to maintain a database of candidates is sure to make life easy for them.

Employees are an organization’s biggest asset and a well-motivated bunch can drive a company to great heights of success. There are some free tools you can use to build an in-house mobile app without breaking the bank. A better option is to hire short-term developers to build you an app at an affordable price.  

The 3 Major Trends in Mobile App Developments In 2015!

As the mobile app scene hot topic in 2015, we need to ask the question, what are the trends that are driving mobile app development today? Are they here to stay? And how is it going to span out in the coming years? These are some of the questions we hope to answer in this article.

Use APIs Innovatively

Mobile app development demands that you develop an app across a variety of devices and channels. Now what do you do to achieve that? This is where you need an API-first approach. When your development is focussed on APIs you ensure flexibility and agility.

Among the biggest obstacles to seamless implementation of mobile apps is data storage. This problem is solved to a great extent when you use a catalogue of mobile REST APIs where you can access systems of records in an easier manner. This way you can implement all your security policies under one umbrella.

Leverage the Cloud

Now, the development process is agile, which means business and infrastructure development take place in parallel. While the business department works at its own pace, the other teams ask for tools to speed up their integration and development. It is here that the Cloud plays a very important role. Streamlining back-end integration, user security and management becomes extremely easy with Cloud.

Convenience is King

However high your app might score on functionality, in the end it needs to guarantee a sumptuous experience for the user. Though a million apps populate the Appstore, hardly a fifth of them are used. If your mobile app developers can’t synchronise functionality with user experience, then it is not going to find traction among users.


What we’ve mentioned in this article are just 3 of the important trends that are sweeping the mobile app industry today. For more, watch our next article in the series!

Why Cortana Won’t the Android Way and More

If you were following the daily dose of tech news (which does appear occasionally apart from the usual staple diet of politics and sport), you would know that Cortana is now on Android. For the uninitiated, Cortana is a personal assistant created exclusively for Windows and in particular, for the Window Smartphone. So, why did it have to venture into the Android space?

The answer is actually pretty simple: Because the Windows Smartphone simply didn’t take off! If Microsoft had continued with its strategy of releasing its products/applications only on its own operating system, the application too would have bombed along with Windows. The apps, no matter how good they were would have failed to find a larger audience and tanked for loss of users.

The change in Redmond’s strategy

Microsoft has sought to make up for the failure of the Windows phone in two ways: by focusing on cloud-based products and by making Microsoft applications available on other mobile platforms. The latter a decision that stems from the realisation that Windows is no longer a credible option in the Smartphone segment.

Cloud-Based Services

That Microsoft would make a mark in the cloud-based services segment was never in doubt. This is evident in the success of Azure with services like Operational security assurance (OSA) that protects power and utility companies from security attacks and PhotoDNA, that prevents online stalkers from gaining access to protected photographs gaining well-deserved appreciation.

The Android foray

When the Windows phone was released, Cortana was a key part of the marketing campaign around it. Cortana was in fact the vital link that strung together various parts of the Windows phone such as Bing, Xbox, email etc neatly. In short, it was a niche service available only for Windows Smartphone users.

So Cortana on Android means that Windows under Satya realizes that it is not a good strategy to let other Windows apps die at the altar of the Windows phone and that the only way to popularize its mobile applications would be to make them available on popular mobile OS platforms.


This is actually a good move by Microsoft though observers might say it had no other way out. But now that Windows’ premier app is on Android, it paves the way for more exciting apps from the Microsoft stable. 

What You Need To Know About Custom Mobile Development?

Mobile phones have become one of the fastest avenues for growth for all businesses. With the evolution of 4G phones, almost all sectors are looking at mobile development to promote their businesses. This has also pushed the demand for good mobile developers to newer heights. Be it iPhone application or other Smartphone apps, businesses are leaving no stone unturned to promote their businesses. The quality that has made this form of development such an attractive proposition is the fact that mobiles are no longer restricted as communication devices alone, but have become a complete multimedia device.

From online banking to e-commerce, mobile phones are one of the most important gadgets in our lives. With the number of users accessing the Internet through their mobile phones, the needs for such custom applications has increased considerably. It is no surprise that trade and commerce giants such as eBay, Amazon etc. launched their own mobile applications many years ago. Most small and medium businesses are following suit and targeting this market as aggressively.

Custom development projects are handled by developers who have years of experience in designing and developing mobile applications to meet the minute needs of a business. Developers bring in all their expertise to provide you end-to-end solutions to meet extensive business needs and give you a competitive edge over your rivals. You can bring down the development cost substantially once you outsource your development projects to these offshore development centres.

Vital Tips for Custom Mobile Development

·         Conceptualize the application in your mind before approaching the developers. This is important as you know your business better than anyone else, and know your expectations from the app.

·         Avoid overdesign, as this is one of the major mistakes businesses commit when it comes to custom development of their applications for various handheld devices. Your application needs to be user-friendly and there is no harm in drawing inspiration from successful applications.

·         Ensure that your application is lightweight as this is easier for users to download and use. Ask your developers not to use unnecessary tools and elements in your app. Handheld device users like simple apps, which can be operated using a few buttons.

·         To have an effective marketing campaign, opt for multi-platform mobile development, which will ensure that you target users using major operating systems.

·         Release regular patches and updates and be in sync with the latest hardware development in the industry. This will not only increase your user base but also your credibility in the market.