Appiterate, a 2013 founded firm enables native mobile analytics and A/B testing platform for app developers as well as enterprises. The Santa Clara, CA based firm has secured $500k through seed funding from angel investors and SAIF Partners in April, 2014.

Interesting trends are making their impact in the mobile sector. Today internet users as compared to desktops or other means prefer mobile devices. In India, ecommerce companies secure more than 50 percent of their revenue through mobile, a trend that is becoming prominent everywhere. Popular brands are continuously on the process of optimizing their mobile touch points, a process that has become increasingly feasible due to their affordability, as an example, android KitKat works smoothly even on low end handsets.

Uber and Snapchat are good examples of mobile-oriented or mobile-first businesses, surfacing to the forefront. Traditional and established firms are now inclined towards mobile and new platforms. Facebook and Whatsapp are good examples of companies actively inclined towards these platforms. Also, following these trends are several mobile-only gaming companies, such as Rovio, Supercell, to name a few.

The Industry’s Future

Wearable technology is changing with times by gaining prominence, and is expected to accelerate development in the mobile sector. From tech giants like Google, Samsung to cool startups like Pebble or MyO, the technology would be able to disrupt several existing ways of carrying out work. Talking about internet and mobile, the time spanning from 2000 to 2012, was dominated by Internet, whereas mobile is anticipated to rule the industry in the coming years- 2012 to 2018. However, going further, the trend would be centered around wearable technologies instead of mobiles, and later, other trends would be surfacing. The cycles of disruption, with respect to trends, are getting smaller with time. The improvements happening in the hardware, along with innovations in software are expected to drive the next wave of trends.

The Critical Concerns

Looking at the challenges from the viewpoint of start-ups, the deficiency in established best practices for mobiles turns out to be the most prominent aspect. However, established firms would also find it a big challenge. Currently, industry players are finding their way out through experiments. For instance, leading names like Facebook or LinkedIn conduct extreme levels of A/B testing on the new platforms, to ensure that they stay well ahead of the technological curve. Although the emergence of several apps has enhanced the rates of user acquisition, customer retention and engagement are still daunting the sector. Huge numbers of experiments are being conducted concerning these two aspects. This is one feature that is of utmost importance to us, and that’s where we have constant focus through our platform, Appiterate. This platform has been designed to help companies stay ahead of the curve, in an uncertain world. (As told to Anitha Nair)