Hedge for the Future with Apps

With the demand for smartphones, tablet and even cloud computing rising every minute, the movement towards apps is becoming more and more apparent.

Gartner has estimated that close to half a billion smartphones will be sold in 2011, and that number will continue to rise until 2015, where an estimated 1.1 billion will be sold.  

Right now, people are installing more apps than desktop software.  

Canalys forecasts that revenues from app sales, in-app purchases and subscriptions will top $7.3 billion by 2015, while Strategic Analytics says that around the end of 2012, we would see $2 billion in paid app downloads for every quarter.

148Apps.biz’s updated App Store statistics says that there are currently more than 455,000 apps available for download with more than 100,000 app publishers actice in the App Store.

Surely, more people are going to need and download apps onto their devices, and there is money to be earned from getting apps available.  But if you think that this is the only reason why you should get into apps, it’s not.

For businesses, apps are a good way to market your brand, products and services.  They give you better engagement opportunities for your customers and could easily introduce you to new customers, as well.

But more than that, apps are an indication of where the future is heading.  Google has recently came out with a laptop that it calls the Chromebook.  It runs with no software installed, only apps.

Apps are lighter so they fit well with the mobile revolution that’s currently underway.  Soon, more people would be using smartphones and tablets than desktop or laptop computers.

It is sound marketing to be where your customers are.  This is the reason why social media and apps are great tools for marketers to use.