This is the era of information technology innovations ruling the roost of the business world to give birth to creative and bespoke user services in a way that no one has ever imagined before. With the emergence of mobile-friendly culture and dynamic business sense, India is gearing up to become a prominent player on the international platform.
As reported by IAMAI, India had 400 million internet users as of December 2015 with the report testifying an increasing trend in the users spanning the urban and rural sections. As mobile users near the iconic billon figure, the telecom sector has the visible evidences of rapid digital endeavors. Charting out the usage trend in the country, it would be significant to mention here that in 2015, it was estimated by the Yahoo in its online survey that the total app usage shot by 131 per cent in the past three years alone. The figure speaks volumes about the demand supply curve, the usage pattern, the growing cyber awareness, and the booming Internet ecosystem.
With smartphone penetration growing at a rapid pace and Wi-Fi ruling the internet ecosystem, the sector has undergone a paradigm shift since the year 2008 when the first app store was launched. Ever since, the app economy has witnessed a key transformation in the delivery of digital services and frequent innovations. The Indian app usage is fast catching up to the global figures and India is striving to become one of the primary app development markets. The growth graph of app developers in India over the last two years is remarkably steep and this highlights the key strategy of app developers to expand their services within the Indian market.
In the recent times, the app development strategy of the country has been radically transformed to suit the needs of the target audiences and to match up the demand supply analytics. With high-end software giants taking a plunge into the app development segment, the country is sure to witness a higher scalability and monetization in the coming future.
Software industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has already initiated a startup program to launch around 10, 000 startups within the country to accelerate the mobile app ecosystem. The segment aims to take in the loop a large chunk of unemployed manpower that can be exploited in escalating the app growth.
Yet, app monetisation remains to be the key challenge for the app developers. It is rather difficult for the app developers to generate sustainable revenue from the app development. Coupled with the problems in portfolio distribution, the app economy faces some serious constraints. The Indian app market is largely limited to the entertainment and gaming apps compelling the app developers to outsource the finance and business category.
Talking of limitations, the inadequate phone capacity and congested network top the list of frequent problems that a user faces. As for the service providers, the global competition and ever changing brand strategies pose a challenge to their diverse expansion.
India’s unique position and untapped potential has caught the attention of leading internet giants that are investing billions in the Indian app market, ensuring radical breakthrough.
India has technological resources, acumen, and the right demand supply curve in place to support its underlying target of being the leading app development player on the global platform. What is needed is a planned internet ecosystem that streamlines the human, technical, and infrastructural capital of the country. The government and the industry players must collaborate in this direction to ensure the much needed app infrastructure.