Sometimes, it doesn’t matter if ‘there’s an app for that’

As InformationWeek reported, some eye-popping forecasts came out of Gartner’s annual Symposium ITXpo this fall. The company revealed their top 10 predictions for the next several years of IT. My personal favorite is “By 2019, 20% of brands will abandon their mobile apps”.

Sounds absurd, right?

But I think this prediction is right on the money, based on trends we’re following at Innovative Solutions. And when you consider the total cost of ownership for native mobile apps, this prediction should come as a surprise.

I’ll let you in on a little secret:

Most customers who come to us to build a native app for them don’t really need one. At all. Often, they simply want their website to look its best and function elegantly on mobile devices. As Gartner notes, what people really want and need is a responsive website. One that seamlessly adjusts the user interface to the user’s device. Unless you need an app that interacts with the unique features of your smartphone or tablet (say, a camera, accelerometer, or GPS.) there’s no need to start dabbling in an expensive, elaborate apps.

Reality check:

Native mobile apps cost 10X more to create and maintain than responsive websites. Which takes us back to total cost of ownership. Factor in the ongoing costs of maintenance and quality assurance, and you may have a shiny new native app you never needed—and will cost a small fortune to tend to.

Our team talks to customers all the time about how to reach their audience on a multitude of digital devices.

The landscape is shifting and you want to keep up. We get it. But when the conversation turns to your brand presence on mobile devices, turn to us. We might be able to spare you from a cost—and an ongoing responsibility—you can happily live without.