Smartphone and Tablet App Users to Hit 830 Million by 2016

Users of enterprise B2E (business-to-employee) and B2C (business to customer) smartphone and media tablet mobile applications are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 90 percent and exceed 830 million active users by 2016, according to a report from IT analytics firm ABI Research. These numbers include B2E apps such as line-of-business apps and B2C, branded company apps. In both cases, enterprises are leveraging their vast stores of corporate data to make employees more efficient and to foster greater customer intimacy, the report noted.

Enterprise smartphone and media tablet adoption is providing the foundation for enterprise app development and deployment. But, according to enterprise practice director Dan Shey, mobile suppliers are providing the critical enablers boosting app adoption. Shey said there are two important supply-side drivers.

First, the supplier market offering mobile application platforms has exploded. With these platforms, an app can be written once and deployed across multiple devices in the highly fragmented smartphone and tablet supplier market, he noted. Many platforms also provide management and system integration capabilities, and are highly cost-effective.

Second, Shey noted many mobile application and app platform providers now offer cloud services as a component of the application or app platform. He said this reduces the investment for businesses, opening up the market for smaller organizations.

To read the original eWeek article, click here: 830 Million Smartphone and Tablet App Users by 2016: Report