The mobile app development industry is thriving and continuing to
evolve year after year. In 2014, we saw mobile app market maturing from
smartphones and tablets to wearable devices and Internet of Things.
There was also an increased focus on app analytics and mobile app
marketing. Now that 2015 is around us, we decided to list down the top
15 mobile development trends to expect in the New Year.
1. Rapid Mobile Development
Enterprises are having a tough time keeping up with the demand for
mobile apps. With these growing demands, businesses are expecting to
launch their product faster than ever. The main focus of mobile app
developers in 2015 would be to shorten the development lifecycles and
reduce the timeframe between Ideation to launch. We can expect to see
some more rapid app development tools and frameworks in the market.
Recently, we launched a solution to meet our customers’ expectations to
launch their apps faster. This mobile development solution was conceived
under the philosophy of delivering continuous value to customers, at
every stage of building their app with main ingredients being Quick to
Market and Rapid Iterations. The response from the market and our
customers has been fantastic.
2. Cloud Driven
The cloud technology will play a key role in mobile app development
in 2015. With the upsurge in the usage of multiple mobile devices and
wearable tech, app developers will have to focus on the ability to
integrate and sync their apps on multiple devices. The cloud approach
will enable developers to build their applications that can be accessed
on multiple devices with same functions, features and data. At July, we
have an award winning cloud based app development platform to help our
customers build mobile apps that can be accessed on multiple devices
with same functionality and content. The platform helps them create apps
rapidly without any technical knowledge.
3. App Security
There were numerous reports related to hacking and information leaks in 2014. As per
Gartner’s prediction,
75% of mobile applications will fail basic security tests in 2015. The
hackers will continue to exploit security gaps in mobile applications
to crack sensitive information. Security remains a big challenge on
mobile devices. Key point, mobile app security is something developers
need to seriously act upon in 2015.
4. Beacon and Location Based Wi-Fi Services
Beacon technology is starting to blur the boundaries between online
and offline in the retail and advertising sector. Apple has already
integrated this technology in iOS that communicates with their network
of iBeacons and Android is expected to follow them on the same lines in
2015. In the coming years, Wifi will provide a lot more services than
just the internet access . The primary benefit is that most businesses
have already invested in WiFi and the market continues to show the
trend of cellular plans becoming costlier due to a splurge in data
consumption by users with smarter phones. WiFi works seamlessly for
indoor experiences where cellular connectivity can be edgy and based on
the access point location, businesses can know where their customers are
and that will allow them to provide specific content right on their
mobile phones. At July, we have a platform called Wi-Fi MX that enables
businesses to engage consumers on their mobile devices through WiFi and
provide access to locally relevant services and content. We’ll be
reading a lot more about Beacon and Location Based Wifi Services in 2015
with more businesses and app developers adopting these technologies to
create smart retails and offer right information at right place as
consumers walk by.
5. Wearable Tech
Thanks to Apple Watch, wearable Technology was one of the most
hottest topic in tech and consumer electronics industries in 2014. Until
now apps for wearable devices were mostly focussed on fitness and
health care industry. But, with the onset of 2015 Wearable devices are
expected to be used by enterprises to improve their productivity and
efficiency. There are also a lot of noise around fashion and textile
industries adopting wearable technology. Bottom line, mobile app
developers will be moving their focus from smartphones to more on
wearable device applications for enterprises and various industries in
2015.
6. M-commerce, Banking and Mobile Payments
According to
eMarketer,
19% of retail ecommerce sales in 2014 will be made on a smartphone or
tablet. Various analysts believe this positive trend will continue over
the next 4 years as more and more consumers adapt to m-commerce. Using a
mobile phone to pay or purchase instead of debit or credit cards will
also become more common in 2015 with Apple Pay and Google Wallet. This
will allow developers to build mobile apps that can process
transactions without the need of physical debit/credit cards or cash.
7. Internet of Things (IoT)
Internet of Things is growing exponentially with more and more people
connecting via multiple devices. Apps will further mature as they get
integrated on multiple connected devices. It will inspire app developers
to focus more on user experience on various devices. With IoT, the
customer engagement management platforms based on WiFi or Beacon
technology will also get a breakthrough to help businesses reach
consumers via apps at the right time and right place.
8. Big Data and App Analytics
As Internet of Things and Wearable market grows, the need of app
performance tracking and analysis will grow among the decision makers in
various enterprises. There will be more focus on big data and analytics
in 2015. Mobile app developers will continue to focus on adding new
data collection methods in their apps to get more insights and
actionable items to meet their client’s expectations and make more
engaging and successful apps.
9. The Growth of Enterprise Apps
According to
IDC predictions,
35% of large enterprises will leverage mobile application development
platforms to develop and deploy mobile apps across their organizations
in 2015. IoT for Enterprises (Enterprise of Things) is expected to get
a major boost. Enterprise app stores are also expected to emerge this
year allowing B2B application exchanges. Enterprise mobile management is
also expected to grow in 2015. There will be a tremendous opportunity
for app developers to work on building and managing applications for
Enterprise market.
10. In- App Advertising and Purchasing
According to a new study from research firm
Juniper Research,
in-app advertising spend across all mobile devices will reach $7.1
billion by 2015. Mobile Ad networks will go beyond banners and integrate
and experiment with various ad formats. Mobile app advertising and
in-app purchases will be a primary focus of monetization and a key to
success as more and more app developers are shifting away from the paid
download model.
11. User Experience First
User experience will lead technology in 2015. With the increasing
number of smartphones, tablets and wearable devices, the app user
experience will be more critical than ever. With more focus on in-app
advertising and purchasing mobile app user experience will be more
challenging. Analytics data will play a major role in helping app
developers create better user experiences.
12. App Marketing
Mobile App marketing techniques continue to evolve each year. In
2014, the app marketers were more focussed on user engagement than user
acquisition. With user engagement in focus, more and more marketers and
developers have started to realize the importance of organic users as
these users were more loyal and engaged than the users acquired through
other paid channels. App Store Optimization will continue to be a key
factor in making an app successful in 2015. With Beacon and Location
based wifi services, marketers will now have ease to be more targeted
based on the user’s location and promote their apps with other offers.
13. HTML 5
HTML 5 and its development tools have been gaining popularity in
2014. As this technology mature, more and more businesses will adopt it
to create hybrid mobile apps that work on multiple platforms with ease.
In 2015, the focus on native apps is expected to decrease with the rise
of hybrid apps based on HTML 5.
14. Mobile Gaming
In 2014, the mobile games have gradually started to move from single
player to multiplayer. With the rise of multiplayer games the social
interaction and social media integration within the mobile games will
become more important than ever. In 2015, the mobile games are also
expected to be more cloud driven due to the demand of frequent and
regular updates in the games. This will require ongoing management by
the game developers.
15. Smart Cities, Homes and Offices
With the rising popularity of IoT, Beacon and location based Wifi
services, governments around the world will have ease to manage city
infrastructure via these technologies. These technologies can provide a
wide range of solutions including traffic monitoring and management,
citizens safety and networked parking solutions. These technologies
would also help the real estate companies to create smart homes and
office spaces that can be connected and managed via smartphones. All
these solutions require app developers help to create mobile
experiences.
As one of the leading mobile app developers, we’re all prepped and
excited for what’s coming in the New Year. We will be taking a deep
dive into all these trends in our blog posts in the coming year.
This post was originally published by July Systems on December 24, 2014.
Information Credit : apptentive.com
