In-traction

Mobile Strategy Blog

App project setup 1: What are you trying to achieve?

Over the next few weeks I am going to write a series of posts to guide you through what you need to know to conceive and commission your app project. There is a lot of work that you can do up front, before you decide to engage with a development agency, that will save you both time and money. Development agencies can be a quick and easy way to spend a lot of money; which is fine as I run one *smile*. So the more time and effort that you spend on the pre production phase of the project the smoother the project will run and the higher the likelihood of a successful outcome. Read more →

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Mobile Strategy and the Future of the Web

There is some really heated debate over the future of the web at the moment. From Sergy Brins latest warning on the rise of facebook and mobile apps, to the continuing battle over whether the cross platform, standards based nature of HTML5 will win out over the seemingly more costly but slick experience of the native app.

The most frustrating thing about this entire debate is that the majority of opinions you will hear are born out of fear and protectionism on both sides of the fence. People may talk about “the best user experience” or “open web” or “cost of development” but all of these arguments are way more complex than they seem. The real reason people are defending their positions is because they don’t want their existing skills, customer base, business model or previous investments to be rendered obsolete.

Read more →

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The Problem with In App Purchases

Having recently done a whole bunch of work with in-app purchases that had to be systematically ripped out and binned, I thought that it might be worth highlighting some of the issues that you might face if you are considering using in-app purchases (IAP) as means to generate revenue from your app.

The Current State of Play

The current state of IAP is both confusing and limiting. On the surface it is an excellent method for generating revenue. The user is not confronted with any kind of payment wall, they don’t need to enter additional login details or credit card numbers, and the transactions all go via a provider that they already know and trust with their money. As a seller you don’t need to be concerned with payment gateways or billing systems; If you are happy to let Apple, Amazon or whoever take their 30 percent cut of your IAP revenue then it makes good sense. It also compares favourably to PayPal and other online payment providers who often take more than 30 percent, especially when handling international payments.

So, what’s the problem?

Read more →

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So, maybe there is a tech bubble….

It seems to be silly season again in the world of tech. After I suggested that there wasn’t really a bubble in the world of mobile apps Facebook go and spend  $1 billion on Instagram. That’s right $1 billion! This move seems to make no sense at all.

Let’s be clear on what has happened. Instagram is a very popular photo sharing network. With the application of some very simple filters you can make even the most boring and poorly executed shots look interesting. Launched in October 2010 for iPhone (only last week for Android) Instagram has 30 million users uploading 5 million images a day. Read more →

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The two most common questions asked of app developers

In my role running an app agency I am frequently asked the same two questions by prospective clients.

  1. How much does it cost to build an app?
  2. How long does it take to build an app?

My answer is, more often than not, enough to scare off the prospective new client and they are never heard of again. Read more →

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Magic numbers – Tablets just went mainstream

Whether or not you were amazed or somewhat underwhelmed by the last nights announcements from Apple something significant happened during the reveal of the ‘New iPad’. While the interweb was, as usual, awash with rumours of iPad 3, iPad HD, iPad LTE, iPad mini, and even iPad Touch (that’s just silly), what we were given was; iPad. No number, in fact, no suffix of any kind. But what’s in a name? Well, in this case, it’s another clue as to where Apple are taking the iPad and indeed, Tablet computers generally. Read more →

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The App Bubble

We are in an app bubble. Still. We have been since the launch of the iPhone 3G in 2008. This is something that I hear a lot in my role running an app development agency. Apps are a fad; the .com boom / gold rush of our time. Where will you be when the bubble bursts in a year or two? One day we will all grow up and go back to mobile sites. etc etc etc.

Well, it’s now 2012. We are approaching four years of life in said bubble. So is there any truth in it? I think that the answer is yes. And no. We are in something of bubble, but rather than it bursting what we are seeing is a maturing of peoples approach to it. Read more →

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Waiting for Windows?

Last week saw the iPads second birthday. With the third generation iPad 3 expected later this year and with Apples latest profit announcement, coupled with a corporate vision to see it become the defacto ‘standard’ for schools and colleges, it is hard to see its dominance being curtailed any time soon. This should be a very worrying time for Microsoft.

Late to market with their windows phone they have since struggled to make in-roads into the crowded consumer mobile space. Despite a strong platform and a vibrant developer community, you can’t help but feel they still have a long way to go. But that’s just the phone market.

Tablet Market or iPad Market?

The jury is still out on whether a market for tablets really exists. We do know however, that there is a market for iPads. Lets assume that there is indeed a market for tablets and that it is set to grow over the next few years. With some analysts predicting staggering numbers of tablet sales in the near future, it seems like a safe bet. The question is: Where is Microsoft?

Well, for a start, they are nearly three years and three generations behind. And they have seen first hand just how hard it is to enter a market already dominated by Apple. The rather odd thing is, they don’t think they are entering that market!

Kings of the Enterprise

Microsoft is the undisputed king of the enterprise. Windows takes pride of place on most of the worlds laptops and desktops. Things are a little less clear cut in the server space, but Microsoft has a very healthy slice of that pie too. Right now, they are working on Windows 8 which is expected to hit the street in sometime in the later half of this year. Working closely in conjunction with various hardware partners, Windows 8 is expected to storm onto a new range of dedicated tablets and burst into the enterprise. Uncompromising in their vision, they see a tablet and a PC as essentially the same thing. As undisputed kings of the enterprise, there are many in the Microsoft camp who don’t see the iPad as a threat at all. Microsoft owns the enterprise; when windows 8 is released Microsoft will own the enterprise tablet space…which is all they are really after. This will bleed into the consumer space and hey presto! No worries.

I honestly believe this is how Microsoft sees things. Here is what I see:

  • I dont see a Windows tablet. I probably wont see one until the end of 2012.
  • A new, immature and untrusted OS from Microsoft.
  • Large numbers of businesses still using XP and loath to tryout virgin tech.
  • Consumer tech bleeding into the enterprise, not enterprise tech bleeing into the consumer space.
  • Enterprise adopting the iPad at an alarming rate.
  • A jobs market where .net developers are harder to come by
  • A jobs market where Mac and iOS developers are in increasing demand.
  • Many many consumers switching to Mac, especially younger ones.
  • Relatives who already own or are considering an iPad.
  • An even stronger Apple ecosystem that continues to defy competing models
  • A beast of a company that wants to makes its own formats and its own hardware the standard across schools and colleges.
  • A. Very. Clear. Strategy.

The point is that it doesn’t matter if you like Apple or loath them. It doesn’t matter if Windows 8 is as good as it claims to be. Microsoft have got a mountain to climb and a beast to tame. If they think they can just walk back into the enterprise like nothing has happened after three years of silence…

The Year of the Tablet

I don’t dislike Microsoft. Quite the opposite. As a developer, their tools and platforms are still some of the best you can hope to work with. I own a windows phone (and an iPhone and an Android Phone….shhh!) But while I remain to be convinced about Windows 8 and its bold new UI, I find that perhaps I simply remain to be convinced, period!

For companies asking questions about tablets my advice would be: don’t wait. Don’t wait for a new and untested OS on new and untested hardware. Develop your tablet systems now using the familiar and trusted iPad, or perhaps an equally mature next generation Android device. But don’t wait for for something unknown. You have probably waited too long already.

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Taking time to know your audience

A recent post that arose from of some work that we have been doing with a local college proved to cause quite a bit of interest. Having had some time to digest the raw stats, as well as seeing some of the feedback in the comments, I thought that I would take the opportunity to try and offer some explanation for the stats that we observed. This needs to come with a warning. It is, of course, very difficult to draw definitive conclusions from such a small data set. However, I feel like this is a strong enough example of behavior by demographic that it’s worth taken that risk.

The colleges student population is made up of individuals of all ages. However, they are predominantly 16-18 years of age. This is important for two reasons:

  1. Under 18′s cannot take out a mobile phone contract without the aid of a guarantor.
  2. Students will only have, at most, a part time job.

Together, this means that top of the range devices are out of their reach. As they can’t take out a contract, the latest iPhone, for example,  would cost in the region of £700.00 Therefore, this group of users is restricted to the less expensive devices on PAYG deals.
This information explains the high proportion of Blackberry and Android devices that show up on the stats as well as iPhone being top of the aspirational list. This may change in the coming months with the apparent decline of RIM, the predicted rise of Windows Phone, and the decision by Apple to release older versions of the iPhone to the budget market. This is an ever changing landscape.

Now let us look at the apparently conflicting stats that come from those accessing the website and the devices owned by students.  Around 70% of all hits to the college website, via mobile devices, come from iOS devices. However, only 11.5% of the student population own such devices. This clearly points to the suggestion that it is not the students who are access the college site.

This is important information when developing a mobile strategy. It seems that the website, in the main, is being accessed, not by current students, but by prospective students. Or more specifically; their parents. Remember, under 18′s are unlikely to own iPhones but their parents, on higher incomes and able to take our contracts, are more likely to be iPhone users.

This distinction in user base is helpful. It is obvious that currant students and prospective students not only have different needs but are operating within different contexts. We can now develop a two string mobile strategy.

  1. Web based presence for prospective students  and their parents.
  2. Web or App based approach for current student engagement.

These stats alone do not offer enough information to decide if a Native app, web app, or mobile site is the correct approach for current students. There are a number of factors to consider including a full understanding of the problems to be solved and the available budget. However, this brief insight does highlight that there is more to a mobile strategy that developing an iPhone app. In this case an iPhone app would be a waste of time and money. When considering the development of your mobile strategy ensure that you have set aside sufficient resources to undertake the necessary research and planning phase and not simple dive straight into the development of that shiny new app.

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iPads in the Enterprise: The Second Wave

Last month, Gartner produced an interesting report into the way tablet computing is well and truly entering its ‘second wave’ in terms of its use in and for business applications. This so called second wave sees tablet computing for business moving away from personal productivity applications and towards manageable and secure enterprise applications to support major business initiatives.

The report talks about tablet computing in general terms but, reading between the lines and looking at the sales figures for ‘tablets’ that are actually in use in the enterprise, you might as well just call a spade a spade. We are talking about the iPad. For the moment at least. However, the report goes on to say:

“By 2016, more than 900 million tablets will be in the hands of users…Leaders are finding legitimate business use and redefining processes for ‘ready at hand’ moments where other computer types are not as well adapted. CEOs often prefer tablets for distributing material for board of directors meetings. Salespeople are using them in client-facing situations; sales configuration tools help close more business and reduce error rates; sales and marketing leaders are using them as dashboards to their business; and marketers are designing campaigns around them.  Doctors and nurses are carrying them; they are even being used on the manufacturing floor. Anywhere you once saw people carrying a clipboard or lugging printed reference material, you’ll find an application for a tablet. “

A Very Big Number

900 million is a big number. Tablet sales for 2011 are currently expected to meet 63 million units. That is a massive amount of growth being predicted. If true, it makes sense to start taking the iPad (sorry, tablets!) seriously. Just the other week I was having a conversation with a couple of business leaders from a well respected IT consultancy company who understand full well the impact mobile is having, and will continue to have, in the corporate IT world . Unfortunately there are still many who fail to see the disruptive nature of these devices, referring to them simply as “boys toys” and “fancy gadgets”. I have heard this on more than one occasion. Every time from someone who has not actually had much (or any) experience with them and yet holds a prominent position in a technology company.

This ‘second wave’ is happening right now. In-fact, it has been happening for quite some time. iPads are silently and unobtrusively invading the workplace; normally starting with the CEO’s and working down. Most second wave apps are not available in app stores but instead are managed by corporate IT departments who find themselves having to work in a wholly different way with a completely different set of technologies. The report actually goes on to suggest that: “IT management systems for mobile device management will be a growing market.”

The Top 10 Commercial Business Applications for Tablets

So, what are businesses actually using them for now and what will they be using them for in the near future? According to Gartner, the top ten comercial business application categories for tablet devices are:

  • Sales automation systems for customer collateral, sales presentations, and ordering systems
  • Business intelligence: analytical and performance applications with management dashboards
  • Containerised email to separate corporate messaging environments from personal email
  • Collaboration applications for meetings
  • File utilities for sharing and document distribution
  • General corporate/government enterprise applications for CRM, ERP, SCM and messaging
  • Medical support systems for doctors, nurses, and physical therapists
  • Hosted virtual desktop agents to provide secure remote operations of traditional desktop applications and environments
  • Social networking applications with intelligent business insight
  • Board books for secure document and report distribution

 

Beyond Boys Toys

I would love to know how ‘normal’ people are already using iPads within their business environment. Whether you disagree entirely with this report or perhaps have an example of somewhere tablet computing has made a positive difference in your organisation, let us know in the comments below. Perhaps its something you are only just beginning to take seriously? or perhaps you are fighting your corner for or against the “boys toys” argument? Why not share your experience with the rest of us?

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