There’s An iPhone Business App Store Coming; Bet On It
by Bill French on 21/07/09 at 9:57 pm
Bill French is an information architect specializing in Internet applications. He is also the co-founder of MyST Technology Partners and Senior Editor for iPhoneCTO.
Speculation about an iPhone App Store exclusively for business apps have been circulating, but no one is going out on a limb to forecast it except me. By the end of 2010 I predict there will be a new dedicated app store or distribution model created specifically for business-class applications. Here are six reasons why this is in the 90% probability category.
- Apple already has the facility to build business-specific app stores inside firewalls at enterprises. Building one for themselves and inviting all the high-end business app developers in [for a fee] and the opportunity to sell software products at higher prices, has likely made its way through many meetings in Cupertino, onto whiteboards and mind maps, and presently rests on the desk of an implementation VP.
- With competitors trying to build consumer app stores for their devices, and RIM’s marketing counter assault on iPhone in the enterprise, the last thing Apple would want to leak now is a plan for a business-only app store. The quieter it is about this idea, the more likely they’re working on it. Apple has repeatedly declined to comment on this idea.
- An enterprise app store would represent additional monetization of iPhone and a driving element for more robust versions of the iPhone (firmware and hardware). Apple is hell-bent to be the premium-priced product in the space; a specialty store would reinforce this strategy.
- Serious business app developers suffer from lack of visibility and have no way to differentiate themselves from a tsunami of consumer apps. The business apps market is ready and eager to ratchet up their development investments if the commerce model and climate for promotional opportunities improve.
- Businesses (small and large) want the opportunity to deploy applications to their iPhone users without the distractions of iTunes. Indeed, the “Enterprise Distribution” option for internal app distribution achieves this for larger companies, but there is a much larger business opportunity that requires a slightly different model than the hyper-successful iTunes consumer approach.
- No CTO is going to wade through 200 dumb-ass note-pad apps to find a secure enterprise-scale business intelligence distribution and management platform for iPhone. Get a clue people – Apple will not try to sell enterprise-grade communications products along side “Shake This Baby” for the same reason they don’t sell Lambo’s on the same lot with Ford Fiesta’s.
The enterprise app store is already built – we just haven’t seen it yet.
