After demonstrating their success with the general public (1.5 million and 1.6 million apps in Apple’s App Store and Google Play, respectively), app stores are now in huge demand in companies as well. According to Gartner, 25% of companies will have and use an app store by 2017. This trend comes as no surprise to Jeremy Bodokh, Product Manager at mobile app management and deployment specialist Appaloosa Store: “App stores offer lots of advantages. First of all, employees are familiar with this type of solution which is more fun than traditional mobile sites. Employees can access all of the applications used in the company as soon as the app store is installed. They can download the apps and access the information they need any time. Plus, like public app stores, employees can be notified when new applications are available, and suggest improvements. This type of tool lets companies constantly improve the tools they offer their employees with new versions accessible almost immediately.”
And who is responsible for coming up with and deploying this type of solution? IT and Marketing. For IT, it offers a way to secure (or restrict) access more easily. For Marketing, it provides ergonomics and ease of use. “These days, companies are looking increasingly to private app store solutions when deploying their business applications because employees use their personal smartphones more often to access professional data. Plus, these solutions secure deployment, whether on a personal or professional smartphone,” explains Jeremy Bodokh.
As for the platforms used, Windows Phone is rare, iOS and Android is on the rise. “Especially since the launch of Android for Work which simplifies managing Android devices in the workplace,” comments Jeremy Bodokh.
