IDC: Mobile Apps Will Be $35B Business By 2014

Mobile application development is the lifeblood of the smartphone and mobile device industry and few vocations figure to be more in demand and profitable for the foreseeable future, according to IDC.

As Enterprise Mobile Today reports, consumers will download almost 77 billion mobile applications in 2014, up from a little less than 11 billion this year.

This sensational growth will be driven by broaden smartphone adoptions as well as new tablet PCs and household devices that will allow consumers to “applify” just about part of their lives.

“The most obvious beneficiaries of mobile apps are mobile users who utilize mobile apps of almost every conceivable type,” the report said. “Whether used to kill a few minutes while waiting in line or to download updated product specs in front of a customer, mobile applications have the power to change the way we live.”

Mobile application downloads will soar by more than seven-fold in the next five years, totaling more than $35 billion in sales worldwide, according to a new report from IT research firm International Data Corp.

This staggering growth is expected to come not only from downloads to smartphones but also to tablet PCs like Apple’s iPad and Research In Motion’s much-anticipated PlayBook mobile device. Eventually, the IDC report concludes, mobile apps will be used by virtually every device and appliance in users’ homes, creating unlimited opportunities for mobile application developers, device makers and mobile security providers.

Read the full story at Enterprise Mobile Today:


Mobile Apps Set for Explosive Growth: IDC