Application Developers Alliance

Our Emerging Tech Working Group presents the next paper in their Internet of Things series.

In The Internet of Me: How Wearable Tech is Changing the Internet of Things, you’ll find a discussion of an evolving wearables industry, an exploration of future possibilities, and an analysis of developer opportunities in this space.

The Official Website of the Application Developers Alliance. The Apps Alliance is a global membership organization supporting developers as creators, innovators and entrepreneurs

Startups and small businesses who sell digital goods in Europe are gearing up for a major change coming in the new year. Despite outcry from these business owners, new EU VAT, or value-added tax, regulations are set to go into effect on January 1st, 2015.

Apple has introduced a small but important change in how apps are presented in the App Store. Now, users will see a “GET” button next to a non-paid app, instead of the previous “FREE” button. There is no public reason for the change, but we can speculate that the change is prompted by several controversies around non-paid apps with in-app purchases.

Is the same app going to be successful across USA and Europe? What types of apps need to be highly localised, and which will work globally? With the European market covering a diversity of cultures and languages, releasing apps successfully across the continent presents unique opportunities as well as challenges. In this report Eugene Stipp from Yahoo!, Thomas Sommer from Applift, and Ozgur Tohumcu from Ericsson share experiences and advice of releasing apps across Europe.

Developer Conference & Exhibition: Now in its 5th year, Apps World has grown to be the leading global multi-platform event in the app industry. 

According to a recent Comscore report, total mobile activity including mobile browser usage recently eclipsed desktop use, reaching 60 percent of browsing time. And Europeans are at the forefront as they spend 18% more time using apps than their US counterparts. This is a historical shift which requires us to rethink and appreciate that the web, once a singular digital distribution model, is now mobile and multifaceted. After all, this is the ‘connected’ generation.

If 76% of the average app’s new users will fall away within three months, how do developers know where to concentrate and maximize their marketing dollars? The Apps Alliance Business and Revenue Working Group released a best practices guide for measuring and maximizing customer lifetime value (LTV), which may increase revenue and ultimately lead to a successful, sustainable business.

LTV, defined as the total revenue generated by a single customer from app download to deletion, can be calculated in various ways, but is only valuable if the company retains benchmarks for measurement. For example, comparing LTV to customer acquisition cost can be especially helpful as companies strive for sustainability. Giving a more holistic view of the customer and revenue, LTV demonstrates the need for engaging users beyond the typical “churn and burn” strategy.

"As the app marketplace matures, companies are moving from relentless focus on acquisition to spending more time thinking about retention and LTV. This resource is a fantastic educational offering, helping companies grow their businesses and increase their emphasis on customers."  -- Robi Ganguly, CEO at Apptentive

Rather than focusing solely on total revenue, LTV helps developers identify more lucrative customer segments and provides an insightful glimpse into future profits. With an emphasis on integrating LTV into a business, the paper explores the importance of LTV, details various methods for calculation, and outlines best practices for optimizing LTV.

"The most recent whitepaper on the economics of Lifetime Value of customers is hugely important for app developers who are looking to make rational decisions about growing their business. In one paper, the Application Developers Alliance has aggregated some of the best thinking around the key issues of measuring and optimizing for the lifetime value of app customers."  -- Trevor Cornwell, Founder + CEO, appbackr inc

Again, LTV focuses on quality over quantity. There is no silver-bullet technique with LTV, and there are lessons to be learned as to how this metric fits best with any given business. Regardless of calculation method, the paper demonstrates how LTV is becoming a required metric for gauging the health of a business.

"For any mobile app developer today, failing to effectively track, measure, and optimize the lifetime value of their users is no longer an option in order to run a sustainable business. AppLift is happy to have contributed to this handy guide by the App Developers Alliance, which makes LTV as a major user acquisition and monetization tool accessible to all."  -- Thomas Sommer, Sr. Content Marketing Manager at AppLift

So, is LTV worth the time and effort if your company isn’t already utilizing this metric? The short answer is yes, and the App Developers Guide to Measuring Customer Lifetime Value will ease the learning curve as businesses begin to truly understand the value of understanding their customers in a different way.

"Mobile application developers invest a significant amount of capital and/or time in the development of their mobile apps. While tried and true justifications have been A/B tested for every aspect of the design and User Experience, very few publishers take the time to truly understand a customer's lifetime value (LTV), and as such, have a poor understanding of the top-threshold their customer acquisition cost needs to remain within to sustain a healthy, profitable business. The Application Developers Alliance's Business and Revenue Working Group did an incredible job highlighting how to best calculate, manage and optimize customer lifetime value of mobile app users - a vital step in building a successful app."  -- Keith Petri, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at IgnitionOne

Is your business calculating LTV? If so, are you taking full advantage of this metric to gain a holistic view of your users and revenue?

You can read the App Developers Guide to Measuring Customer Lifetime Value in full here. The Application Developers Alliance is also holding a Google+ Hangout discussion about this paper on October 16th.

Apple dominated headlines in the tech industry last week with several new announcements to their product line. With the highly-anticipated iPhone 6 shipping on Friday, Apple is set to release iOS 8 -- the latest version in their praised mobile operating system. The tech giant also announced a new payment technology and even a smartwatch.

Apple's announcements grabbed the attention of consumers and tech fans, but what do they mean for app developers? We've compiled a rundown of what we're excited about and what our members think about these new opportunities.

iPhone 6: Bigger, more beautiful screens are better for your apps. Period.

Perhaps most evident is the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus' increased screen size and pixel resolution. The new devices will feature 4.7 -inch and 5.5-inch, respectively, with incredible pixel resolution. This will allow app developers to create more visually-immersive experiences on iOS apps. Larger screens also change the amount of ad dimensions app publishers can use in their apps, allowing app developers to engage larger advertisers and increase monetization.

Behind the curtain, the new 64-bit A8 processor is smaller and faster than its predecessor. The A8 offers faster graphics performance and is more energy efficient. Apple also introduced Metal in iOS 8 to enable "incredibly high performance for sophisticated graphics rendering and computational tasks" and eliminate "many performance bottlenecks that are found in traditional graphics APIs," according to Apple. 

"Apple made some big announcements yesterday, but one of the things we're looking forward to most is Metal and what it means for game development. Apple continues to make the iPhone a bigger and more powerful gaming device and Metal will definitely be a big jump for game development on iOS."  -- Ryan Lessard, Pollen - Velocity Capital

iOS 8: More access, capabilities, and awesomeness.

iOS 8 empowers developers to create better experiences for the user and leverage device and ecosystem functionality.

Deeper Access to iOS

First, Apple gives developers more access to iOS by allowing apps to tap into more of the built-in functionalities. For example, iOS 8 opens up photo and social sharing options to third-party apps, grants access to documents stored on the device for editing, and even actionable notifications right in the Notification Center. 

"With the launch of iOS 8, actionable notifications and a customizable notification center are going to give users greater flexibility in interacting with mobile apps anywhere on the device, not just inside the apps themselves. They'll have a less disruptive experience, witness more compelling and action-oriented alerts, and will have increased control over what types of communication they receive."  -- Harrison Seitz, Appboy

Communication Between Apps 

iOS 8 also opens up new capabilities for developers to communicate with other apps. Apple unlocked more than 4,000 APIs and services to developers, such as HealthKit for health and fitness apps, HomeKit for home automation and security apps. These "Kits" give developer access to any information a user has elected to share across their apps. Apple has also opened up TouchID to allow developers to enable fingerprint sign-in to their apps. These powerful APIs offer users a more connected experience between third-party apps, a more secure and seamless experience for users, and enable new categories of apps. 

Changes to the App Store: Getting your app noticed.

With iOS 8, there are a few key changes to the App Store that could prove extremely useful for app developers. 

Better Discovery in the App Store

With a few small changes, the App Store improved for developers. Apple will add subcategories to each of its 24 app store categories, making it easier for an app developer to rank within their apps' subcategory. Additionally, Apple will display search results vertically instead of horizontally; a format much more common and useful to the user. This vertical display also allows for two apps to display at once instead of just one, allowing for more apps to claim real estate on a mobile device's screen.

App Bundles

Apple introduced App Bundles as part of iOS 8, allowing a developer to "bundle" up to 10 apps and offer it as a single purchase. Developers can creatively combine different "bundles" to provide value to a user. Bundles offer a totally new cross-promotion tool for app developers, and also bring a bit more attention to all the apps created by a single developer. 

App Previews 

Perhaps my favorite addition to the App Store, App Previews allow for a developer to create a compelling 30-second video to display on their app's App Store listing. Video continues to be a dominant form of marketing, and these previews will allow a developer to visually showcase their apps. By allowing users to preview your app before they download it, it is possible that you'll see more engaged users and fewer "zombie apps" on iOS. Creating an App Preview will certainly take some work, but can be a powerful ally in driving downloads.

"App bundles and app previews are great additions to every app developer's marketing toolkit. Both will give developers of all sizes the opportunity to attract even more potential users."  -- Ariel Michaeli, appFigures

Apple Pay: Mobile payments in the mainstream

Apple introduced a new payments solution called Apple Pay that allows a user to load credit cards and securely pay using the TouchID fingerprint. As consumers get increasingly comfortable with paying for goods and services on a mobile device, the opportunity for developers to create new solutions and monetize existing apps via in-app purchases and e-commerce continues to grow.

"Apple's new Apple Pay is a great development for the entire mobile payments industry. Apple has perfected the art of enhancing technology standards to influence mainstream consumer adoption. In this case, Apple is helping drive NFC adoption and getting folks used to paying with their phones. But the best opportunity is in creating new in-store purchase experiences that inspire consumers to buy."  -- Bruce Parker, ModoPayments

Apple Watch: The highly-anticipated wearable

Apple introduced its first new product line since the iPad in 2010 with the new Apple Watch. The includes a brilliant display and includes an impressive touch functionality to allow ample control by a user; a feature that has lacked in other smartwatches. Apple's ability to drive consumer trends will truly be put to the test and the Watch appears to be up to the challenge. 

"The Apple Watch is the first wearable that stands to involve consumers on a broad basis. The Apple Watch should quickly open up new territory for consumer computing. As with location, camera, and accelerometer, this new form factor is one more factor that distinguishes mobile developers from any others. We want to see the Apple Watch succeed, and quickly."  -- Pete Johnson, Apollo Matrix

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 At the end of August, the Apps Alliance team met in San Francisco for our App Strategy Workshop. Panelists discussed how app developers can break into the market, monetize their apps without damaging the user's experience, and monetize their apps in international markets. With more than 250 attendees, it's safe to say the workshop was a hit! 

 We've compiled a list of 4 key takeaways from the App Strategy Workshop. Sign up today for an App Strategy Workshop in your city.

 4 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM OUR APP STRATEGY WORKSHOP:

START WITH SOMETHING SIMPLE: Create an app that meets the needs of a user in the simplest way possible. The expected overall success of your app can be indicated after day one of its release.

NOT ALL APPS ARE CREATED EQUAL: Pick one or a few metrics to focus on that signal if users will spend time and money using your app. App developers can get lost in engagement metrics when initially building an app. 

KEEP LEARNING: Plan ahead about the type and frequency of mobile advertising you integrate into your app. New targeting and native ad formats can tailor to your app and target audience to improve the app experience and increase revenues.

LOCALIZE IN ORDER TO MONETIZE: Consider the opportunity and cost when tapping into international markets. Depending on what specific market you choose, you will have to localize your app in order to understand the behavioral patterns of users in that specific country.

You can see video from the San Francisco App Strategy Workshop on DEVSBUILD.IT.

Today, our Mobile Payments Working Group released an infographic about how consumers use mobile payments in their apps. The infographic is intended to help developers understand how payment tools can make the user experience more convenient and enjoyable and can lead to higher retention and increased revenue. The group includes representatives from Applico, CardFlight, Fortumo, Gloebit, Intel, Intuit, JumpRope, Lotaris, Parks Associates, PayPal, Pillsbury, SimPalm, and TabbedOut.

Here are a few key takeaways from the infographic:

37% of U.S. consumers reported using mobile payments. The primary use is a quick check-out experience.

Even more, 41% percent of North American smartphone users are highly aware that their phones can be used as mobile payment devices at a retail store. There is a huge opportunity for mobile retail apps.

Yet only 16 percent have actually used their phone as a mobile payment device at a retail store. Making your customers aware of your mobile payment features is key.

The most popular reason consumers try a mobile payments app is for deals and offers. This can be a great way to drive users to your app and promote your mobile payment feature.

Mobile payments are primarily served through payment platforms, point-of-sale (POS) services, peer-to-peer (P2P) services, and mobile retail apps.

Does your app have a mobile payment component? If so, how does it help your users?

“Go to court or pay $250,000 to settle.” Those words were written as an ultimatum to NYC startup, CarShield, by the patent troll, 911 Notify, LLC. This group had been granted a patent on “notifications” and believed CarShield overstepped boundaries.

Surprisingly, this kind of extortion is becoming more common. The recent increase in lawsuits by patent trolls has reached unprecedented levels. More than 6,000 patent lawsuits were filed in 2013; 12-percent increase from the previous year.  Last April, patent trolls filed 184 lawsuits in a single day as an act of rebellion toward Senate’s Innovation Act; a bill to shield businesses from patent trolls.

Litigation can cost companies millions of dollars that could otherwise be used for hiring new employees, creating new services and products, and ultimately helping grow the U.S. economy.  

Due to help from the Brooklyn Law Incubator and Policy (BLIP) Clinic, a participating school in The Law School Patent Troll Defense Network administered by the Application Developers Alliance, 911 Notify dropped the lawsuit. The Law School Patent Troll Defense Network is a nationwide group of law schools, law students and lawyers, working together to provide free legal services to app developers and other small entrepreneurs that are threatened by patent trolls.

“This was a new experience for us, but we knew it was extortion,” David Lepejian stated earlier this week. Lepejian is a co-founder and the CEO of CarShield. “We learned that the business model for these non-practicing entities is built on the practice of approaching companies to extort money with no intention of going to court.”

In the latest Voices of the Industry Podcast, Si Shen, the co-founder & CEO of Alliance member Papaya Mobile discusses the opportunities that await developers in China & provides valuable insight on the fast growing app ecosystem in China.

Brian Koles, Business Development Director at challengepostblog, talks with Jacob Goldstein to discuss the process, value and growth of developer evangelism and outreach.