Mobile App’s are the hot trend with companies/brands today. Everyone is trying to find how they fit in the mobile marketplace and the first thing everyone focus on is the mobile app marketplace. This can often become very expensive, and then you need to be found to be effective. Their are many pro’s and con’s but the one thing we would say is if you don’t have the budget to get the app recognized and adopted then be careful as the costs can far outweigh the benefits if the program is not built properly and with your customers needs in mind.
McKensey has taken a look at this market and has written the following article which you might find beneficial to review.
Monetizing mobile apps: Striking the right balance
More companies are discovering that an application programming interface can turn their data into new revenue streams.
June 2014 | byNeha Ajmera, Livia Sato, and Brian Stafford
Mobile apps are becoming big business. Analysts estimate that app-related revenues reached $25 billion last year, on the way to more than $70 billion by 2017. App developers and the Apple and Google app stores aren’t the only ones profiting from this boom. A small but growing portion of app revenues comes from organizations making their data available through application programming interfaces1 (APIs)—gateways that, among other things, enable third-party app developers to leverage a company’s aggregated data or selected services.
There are reasons not to pursue APIs, of course, starting with the desire of many companies to have more direct control over their data. But our analysis indicates that APIs are generating revenues in one of three ways for the companies that choose to contribute their data (exhibit). Under the pay-per-use model, a company makes its transactional data available to third party apps that, for example, compare prices or analyze customer behavior. Subscription models are similar, but fees accrue during a subscription period rather than per use. Resource-usage and revenue-sharing models typically generate sales of a company’s own products (for example, on an online storefront), from which the app developer too gets a cut.
Exhibit
APIs are generating revenues in one of three ways for companies that choose to contribute their data.
As revenue opportunities and the potential for deep engagement with more customers grow, the role of APIs in broader business-planning discussions is expanding. In those conversations, it is essential for organizations to ensure that their desire to make money from their data does not interfere with their responsibilities as stewards of the customer’s private data.
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