Growth set for mobile cloud-based apps, research predicts

Posted by Louise Tate

The market for mobile cloud-based applications aimed at enterprise customers is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, according to a new report.

Juniper Research's Mobile Cloud Applications study told IT outsourcing users that the sector could have more than 130 million customers by 2014.

The report claimed that the expansion will be caused by the entry of more platform-as-a-service offerings from large companies such as Microsoft and Google.

Dr Windsor Holden, the study's author, added that enterprise mobile cloud-based applications will be similar to those used on Apple's iPhone and could lead to a number of benefits for users.

"For enterprise customers, outsourcing application management to a remote third-party, costed on a scalable, pay-per-use basis, offers far more flexibility combined with a significant reduction in capital expenditure," he commented.

The research also claimed that enterprise users will account for the majority of cloud-based application revenues in the next five years, although consumer products such as social networks, music and games will make up a significant proportion.

Last month, Mobile Choice magazine editor Natasha Stokes predicted that market for smartphone security applications is likely to grow in the next few years.