With enterprises having realized the massive potential of mobility, the demand for mobile application development exponentially increased. The global enterprise mobile app market is expected to cross $280 billion before 2020. There is an app for pretty much everything now, and developers are constantly looking for ways to bring more innovation into apps while new-gen technologies emerge.
Because the industry is so big, even a small shift in trends would heavily influence how mobile application development is carried out. And there will certainly be new trends replacing old ones, especially when the industry is full of organizations competing with each other to figure out the best ways to serve mobile users or potential customers.
The rising demand for mobile app development
The increasing demand for mobile apps and, subsequently, mobile app development is due to a number of factors including but not limited to:
- Accessibility – According to Statista, as of 2018, there are over 4 billion mobile phone users in the world. This emphasizes that people consider mobile devices an invaluable tool in their day-to-day lives. It’s now the primary tool that people use to access the internet and find information.
- Customizability – Mobile apps are customizable. Though apps will practically never be able to meet the requirements of all kinds of customers, they can still impress a good majority. Internal enterprise apps can be customized to serve the organization’s employees, and the external apps can be customized to engage and serve customers.
- Internet usage trend – High speed internet connections are available to anyone today at reasonable prices. Such accessibility changed the way people find information, increasing reliance on the Internet. The proliferation of mobile devices only complemented this practice. People spend a good majority of their time online using mobile devices.
- Increase in BYOD – Technological advancements and rapid digital transformation techniques have started changing work culture in enterprises. Companies now allow employees to bring their own devices to work with the help of mobile apps that facilitate collaboration, remote accessibility, and remote work management.
Trends that will change things further
For public enterprise apps, satisfying customers and making a profit out of the deal is the objective. To do this, their apps will have to be designed to provide the best user experience possible. This is kind of tricky as mobile apps run on devices of various shapes, sizes, and hardware specifications. It’s up to the developers to figure out how to provide great UX and, in the process, obtain maximum ROI.
That’s how it’s been till now. Let’s see how things might take a turn next year by observing emerging trends in enterprise mobile app development.
Redefined mobile strategies
As new trends emerge and are adopted, enterprises will have to make adjustments in their mobile strategies as well. This trend repeats every year without fail. This time around, fresh mobile strategies are going to turn a lot of heads thanks to AR and VR. AR and VR-driven mobile experiences are predicted to increase revenues for businesses tremendously. AR and VR hardware would go mainstream next year subsequently leading to widespread reception of AR-VR mobile experiences.
Instant apps will make a comeback
Instant apps garnered a lot of attention in 2016 when they appeared for the first time. They are essentially small-sized native apps that can be instantly launched without any download. Modern mobile users demand a great UX that features shorter load times and better performance. Instant apps are the answer to this. Though they are kind of not that active right now, instant apps will most likely make a comeback next year.
Better mobile UI/UX with predictive analytics
Mobile apps have evolved from being simple utilities to being a core component of business’ workflow. But for the app to succeed, it should satisfy its users. Big companies like Apple and Google are already leveraging Artificial Intelligence to utilize predictive analytics in order to enhance customer journey, user interface, and overall user experience of their apps. We will be definitely seeing further advancements in this sector next year.
Even more mobile app security advancements
As years pass by and cyber-crimes increase, mobile app security is expected to become more robust. Any technology can have security vulnerabilities that can be exploited. There are now mobile apps out there that handle confidential data of their users and perform financial transactions on a daily basis. It’s open season for cyber criminals. This being the case, there’s always been a demand for better security techniques and approaches.
This trend isn’t anything new, but judging from a major shift in mobile culture owing to technologies like AR, VR, IoT etc. going mainstream, mobile app security will be getting some major upgrades next year. App developers along with technology vendors will be investing more of their time in enhancing mobile security.
More recognition for mobile wallets and payment gateways
Technological advancements made everything much more convenient to people owning mobile devices, and this also includes easier payment methods. The improved services and convenience have changed customer expectations to the point that they expect mobile apps to facilitate frictionless payments during shopping. This is how the transition from cash to credit cards, mobile wallets, and digital currencies happened.
Mobile Commerce is a big industry now, and preferred more simply because it’s the most convenient way to shop. An easier payments mechanism adds to the experience. In 2019, we will witness more app developers integrating secure payment gateways and mobile wallets into apps.
Chatbots will extend CRM
Chatbots are about to gain great momentum in the digital realm, evident from a recent Statista report. The report forecasted a global Chatbot market growth that will exceed 1200 million U.S. dollars by 2025. Chatbots have already started becoming prevalent in the form of virtual assistants in mobile and web apps. AI will soon be augmenting chatbots to cater to mobile users in a smarter, more human-like manner.
Conclusion
There has always been an emphasis on smartphones and mobile apps leading to the future. And it’s been happening for the last couple of years. Even with new-gen technologies like AR, VR, IoT and AI gaining more traction, mobile apps still remain the most influential digital technology today. This makes it all the more exciting to see how mobile app development will transform as trends change in 2019.
The experts at AOT will be keeping an eye out for trend shifts in app development too so we can continue developing top-quality mobile apps for our clients. Drop us your queries to learn more about AOT’s app development expertise.
