What Companies Think about Mobile Apps for Business
This is somewhat an update to a previous post about the benefits of mobile apps for business. To further emphasize the necessity of a mobile app, 61% of those surveyed by Adobe stated that companies that don’t have custom mobile apps for business are at a competitive disadvantage.
Respondents of the said survey include 1,500 company managers and/or administrative employees with departmental budget influence. These managers came from the China, Germany, India, the UK, and the USA – countries that are among the biggest app markets. Their companies are also from human relations and sales and marketing – departments where the use of mobile apps for business are most prevalent and relevant.
Key takeaways from the survey include the top three advantages of using mobile apps for business. 51% of the respondents cited an increase in productivity; 47% said that apps improve communication, and 31% said that apps reduced company costs. Aside from these advantages, 61% of the respondents also said that they believe that the absence of apps decreases the company’s operation efficiency. Another 51% of the respondents had the opinion that a company without an app appears outdated. And finally, 47% said that a company without an app is at risk or losing new clients or sales opportunity.
Mobile Apps as Company Fixtures
With the Adobe survey in mind, we can say that companies are now more aware of the great potential of mobile apps for business. According to the same survey, 66% observed the increase in the usage of mobile apps for business within their departments. Additionally, 62% observed the increase in the number of these types of apps.
Bridget Roman, Adobe’s senior product marketing manager has this to say about the increase in app use, “Companies are in the midst of adopting apps at an increasing rate, looking to increase worker productivity, perform tasks, equip employees with tools and information and connect with customers and stakeholders.”
The Rise of Mobile Apps for Business
So, it seems like mobile apps for business are here to stay. You can especially see this as not just a possibility but already a reality when you take into account these data from a recent report:
- There were on average 10.6 business or enterprise apps developed in 2016. It’s a considerably higher from an average of 4.7 in 2015 and 1.7 in 2014.
- The types of apps also increased, with “events” app being the most popular.
- The use of mobile apps for business adds an extra 240 hours worth of work from employees. Most of these hours are from 71% of employees that spend more or less two hours per week using apps for work.
- 1% of all apps released in 2016 were developed by/for companies that belong to the professional services. This is with 17.4 apps per business.
- There’s an incremental increase in the demand for the custom development of enterprise apps. In 2014, the demand is 23%, then in 2015 it was 29%, and in 2016 it is 32%.
- Most importantly, mobile apps for business are now returning some decent ROI. From 30% in 2015, the percentage of companies that have revenue goals for their apps increased to 60% in 2016.
- Companies are now more comfortable with their mobile app strategies. According to another report, 44.2% of companies that hire app development agencies knows and understands mobile. About 25.7% said that they need guidance on this venture.
