Mobile applications now serve many uses, report says

Category:: Mobile Apps
Friday, April 6, 2012

The growth of mobility during the past several years has also led many end users to expand how they utilize the smartphones, tablets and, most importantly, applications available to them. According to Strategy Analytics, this trend is becoming more apparent all the time.

Collaboration, which can be aided by a cloud-based file sharing program, is one such area that has become more common, the research firm's latest report stated.

"With an eye toward becoming mobile businesses, today's organizations are committed to mobilizing critical applications by ensuring that workers have access anywhere, including at home, at remote work and customer sites, and while traveling," said Gina Luk, the company's senior mobility analyst and the report author.

Specifically, Strategy Analytics noted that "hundreds of millions of mobile workers" have already taken steps to download and use collaboration applications on their smartphones and tablets.

Experts agree that collaboration efforts can be aided by file hosting solutions. Sending and receiving information is made quick and easy when all of the necessary files are stored, as well as accessed, centrally through a cloud-computing portal. With these tools, employees can now better work together no matter if they are located in the same office, state or country.

"Mobility is not just for email and calendaring anymore," Mark Levitt, director of enterprise software and communications for Strategy Analytics, said.

New analysis released by Juniper Research also highlighted the role that mobile applications now play for many end users. According to the company, 66 billion mobile apps will be downloaded per year by 2016, as mobile habits continue to expand and encompass more aspects of everyday life.