Report: Business mobile app market to double by 2012

This year US businesses are predicted to spend an estimated $4.9 billion on mobile applications, with that number expected to climb over $11 billion by 2012, says Compass Intelligence. The group's report claims that one driving force behind the expansion is the sheer number of new apps being created, increasing the mobile devices' value as a productivity resource. Companies including Apple and Google have been leaders in promoting mobile platforms which are open for developers to create free or fee-based applications, such as those on the App Store.

Businesses are said to be using apps for a variety of tasks, including e-mail, security, contact management, GPS navigation, content sharing and project collaboration. Compass Intelligence anticipates the government and service industries to be the biggest spenders on mobile apps, with healthcare also near the top. Over half of the spending by 2012 is expected to come from small- to medium-sized enterprises.

Filed under: industry, enterprise, Apple
Other story tags: App Store