While many of the most high-profile apps companies have built their names through the success of their own-brand products, this has become a tough path to tread in a market which is already hugely competitive. An alternative path is to work as guns for hire, enabling companies from outside of the apps industry to bring their brands and content to smartphones, without the need to support a direct-to-consumer strategy.

Applico launched in 2009, and says it has won awards for its “strategic and creative” solutions on the iPhone/iPad, Android and BlackBerry platforms. Its customers include AT&T, General Motors, Toshiba and Pearson Publishing, and it has also delivered products for platforms including Symbian and Windows Phone.

Earlier this year, Applico launched its Connected Services Division, intended to deliver apps for devices beyond smartphones, such as tablets, internet-connected televisions, cars, and other electronic devices. Alex Moazed, president and CEO (pictured), told Mobile Apps Briefing: “There has been a lot more interest than I had foreseen. Our existing clients have found it useful and new clients seem to be intrigued by how it can help them.”

Late last year, Applico announced its first round of funding, from private investors – although it did not release any details of the placement. “We are growing this company at an exponential rate and need strong leadership to guide us on the right trajectory. Our investors have experience in raising large, successful companies,” Moazed said. Earlier this month, Applico announced plans to triple its existing staff of designers, developers and strategists, in response to customer demand.

Currently, the company does not intend building on its experience of working with brands to create products based on its own intellectual property. “We consider some opportunities, but it is not the focus of the company,” Moazed noted.

Mobile Apps Briefing: Are brands still at the “experimental” stage with apps, or do they have a clear idea of what they are looking to achieve when they come to you?
Moazed: There is a wide spectrum of how experienced brands are with mobile. Even the more experienced brands look for advice as to how they can beat their competition and innovate.

Do brands require mobile app consultancy and guidance, as much as development?
Mobile strategy is becoming a larger part of every project we do. It’s one of Applico’s core differentiators and an area where we are hiring a lot of people to support. The fact that we provide strategic guidance around mobile app development, as opposed to just putting into motion someone else’s idea for an app, is something our clients are asking for a lot more.

Are clients looking to generate revenue from apps, or raise brand awareness? What are their main objectives?
This varies depending upon industry, vertical, and department within a company. We are seeing more “campaign” based applications, but still more “product” based applications which continue to be improved upon. More applications are also starting to integrate with a company’s existing systems extending the company’s services to each user’s mobile phone.

What do you find are the main barriers brands encounter when considering mobile apps?
There is a large learning curve and it keeps getting steeper. Finalising and integrating a mobile strategy is difficult and properly executing the strategy is also challenging. We work hand-in-hand with our clients, many of whom recognise that they need to have a mobile app, but they don’t know much about how it all works and how it can integrate with the rest of their business.  

What do you think are the most important features of successful apps?
Successful mobile apps are easy to use and do a small number of tasks very well. If that task is updating you about sports scores or letting you view funny videos, the user needs to have an intuitive and fun experience. Mobile users want information quickly and easily. A successful application needs to provide that to them.

Does fragmentation in device platforms cause problems when attempting to address the largest possible user base?
It does if you want to provide a native user experience to the largest possible user base. In the large majority of our client projects, the application is native to each platform. If native development is not of concern in a specific project, the issue of fragmentation becomes less significant.

What is the main difference between apps for smartphones and tablets?
People use their smartphones differently than their tablets. They spend shorter amounts of time on their phones vs. tablets. They are looking for different experiences and types of information. Since their expectations and use habits are different, the application’s requirements and use cases also need to change based upon smartphone vs. tablet. At Applico, we believe it’s important to consider these use cases in app development which is why we recently launched a Connected Devices division to specifically address this issue.

How big is the opportunity for apps beyond mobile devices?
Massive! We’re just getting started. Pretty soon, all of your devices will be “connected” and need to talk with one another. We’re already seeing apps for TVs and cars and other appliances – we are moving heavily into this area and expect to see significant growth.

Will HTML5 make the delivery of mobile apps easier?
HTML5 will make it easier for mobile app developers to deliver a consistent experience across devices as it helps to conquer the challenges posed by devices that do not support Flash. HTML5 lets you build a mobile website which will work across a large scale of devices such as the iPhone, Android, and newer BlackBerry devices. HTML5 mobile sites don’t have a lot of the same distribution and fragmentation issues that mobile apps do.

What differentiates Applico from its rivals?
Our differentiators all stem from our team, and our ability to not only create the most innovative and attractive apps, but to help our clients develop apps within part of a larger mobile strategy. We have a highly capable team of deeply experienced developers which allows us to develop cross platform including iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone. We can help clients with everything from the basic mobile app for a smartphone to speciality apps executed across multiple platforms simultaneously to apps for the Department of Defense.

 

Steve Costello