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11th November 2013

Part 1: The Mobile Revolution

Rise of the Web App

Ah, it’s only a web app. It’s just a cheaper imitation of the real thing.

That’s what your average app provider will tell you. And, until recently, they wouldn’t be wrong. But don’t look now, technology has changed yet again (like it does).

Over the course of the next three articles, we’ll be looking at the question of native apps vs web apps. What’s the difference? How are they evolving? Why do I give a rats?

So, let’s begin by asking this simple question: How can you serve mobile content in a format that’s compatible with the growing range of devices, without eating into your event’s budget?

This question is vital for most event marketers, even if the answer comes back, ‘you can’t avoid eating into the show’s marketing budget’. Mobile internet usage is growing at an astronomical rate. As of August 2011, almost 50% of internet users were accessing the internet via mobile phone data connections*. And, nearly one in every three adults now uses a smartphone**. Businesses everywhere are embracing the benefits of this technology, and at the same time there’s an increasing frustration for the users of various devices trying to access valuable information through them. Even with the dawn of tablet computers, many sites don’t convert well, and they certainly don’t exploit the advantages of touch and hand gestures. Imagine a delegate trying to read the programme details for an event on a website built for an average 17″ screen on their approximately 3″ device.

Over the last few years, we have seen the success of Apple’s App Store, and the overwhelming range of technologies that have followed suit, including Android, BlackBerry, Amazon and Windows. The land rush to develop an iPhone app to deliver content was tremendous. However, in a maturer market, with the many alternatives available for consumers and businesses alike, the cost of keeping up to date can spiral as native apps for different platforms need to be created.

So what is the answer?

Web Apps

These are apps that can deliver the same sorts of results as native apps, and are a fraction of the development cost of a native app. Being web based, they don’t need the development of multiple versions for device compatibility, and don’t require lengthy and (often) costly submission times to app stores. Data and content delivery is processed server side, and provided in a format that’s cross compatible with a multitude of platforms.

Here are a few of the advantages of a web app for your event:

_ Multi device compatibility
_ Low cost
_ No lengthy submission process
_ New communications stream for visitors
_ Additional sponsorship vehicle
_ Reduce (or even eliminate) printed event brochure costs
_ Always up to date, no reliance on the user updating their phones

To develop native apps for the following platforms could thousands…

Using event web apps, you could be publishing your cross compatible information across mobile devices everywhere, within days. Meeting the needs of information-hungry delegates who want to access your event information in a way that is intuitive, and is easy to use.

Get in touch for a quick (15 minute) demo.

[Sources]

* http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14731757

** http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14397101

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Mobile, Websites