The fact that the digital revolution has taken the world completely by storm is no news. People now carry pocket-sized portable device that are more powerful and easy to use than desktops so in vogue a decade back. Smartphones have already established themselves as the new normal, figuring prominently in the latest user trends regardless of the segment. Be it online shopping, information sourcing or connecting with their peer groups; smartphones and digital device have become the medium of choice for consumers around the world. But in the face of such massive shift in the consumer behavioural patterns, how has this impacted the global economy?In such a rapidly changing ecosystem, adoption and evolution has been the way forward. Tapping the powerful digital medium to connect and engage with consumers, businesses big and small have harnessed the disruptive power of mobile devices, Cloud and the Internet of Things to maximise their offerings. Fast establishing itself as the IT and Startup hub of the world, India is hailed as one of the largest and most enticing business prospects owing to the unique strategic advantage it offers. According to the latest reports, nearly 80 percent of India’s population still does not own or operate a smartphone despite the country being the third largest smartphone using population in the world. Many service providers, particularly online businesses and e-commerce ventures, have realised the opportunity and are migrating completely to a more mobile medium to capitalise on the country’s increasingly smartphone dominated economy.
The reasons for this shift in the business approach are obvious. Mobile-based services allow enterprises to minimise their operational costs, improve their profit margins and facilitate a two-way communication channel between the consumer and the service provider through a more prompt, customer facing functionality. The end result is better business, seamless consumer connect and improved operational efficiency. With these benefits amongst a host of other advantages that smartphone-based business methodology brings, this confluence of events has also led to a burgeoning of the mobile app development landscape globally.
Estimated to be worth $53 billion in 2012, the Global App Development industry is expected to reach $143 billion by the end of 2016. The industry segment has also been demonstrating a high compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28 percent. A look on statistics further establishes the vast scope of opportunities offered by the Indian market. The year 2015 has seen nearly nine billion apps downloaded within the country; more than five times the number achieved in 2012, at a staggering CAGR of 75 percent. Revenues from paid applications exceeded 15 billion, up from 9 billion in the 2014 fiscal. India also remained the third highest download market for apps.
However, despite a growing demand for mobile-driven services, there remains a gap between the demand for mobile apps and the development delivery parameters. The main challenges faced are the speed of app development and the costs associated with the development & maintenance of the app. App development has traditionally been an extremely time-consuming and expensive process with its demand far outstripping the present-day delivery capability of developers.