Unraveling Impact Of Mobile Apps - Serving as a Catalyst In Making Digital transformation a success

The ongoing pandemic has rattled the global economy and uncertainty around the prospective vaccine or drug offers no respite. With safety protocols like social distancing and face masks now a common norm, leveraging digital payment mobile apps like Google pay, Paytm, etc.. and video conferencing apps like Zoom, Skype is expected to further flourish.

Although several countries, in the last month, have opened up their respective economies to complement the livelihoods of its citizens and foster the deteriorating GDP, the recent surge in positive cases may force the governments to roll back the decision. Does this mean Work from home will continue for more duration? Can mobile apps prove to be detrimental in advancing towards digital transformation?

It would be fair to admit that a mobile app is the top tenet of digitalisation and thus plays a crucial role in digital transformation success. Today, apps dominate the total mobile minutes spent online.

For instance, we all recall the journey of TVs in the Indian market. From cuboidal shape sets featuring yesteryear shows like Shaktiman, Malgudi Days, to slick flat panel sets with internet capabilities, the television industry has improved quite well over the last few years. However, owing to the advent of over-the-top (OTT) media services through mobile apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and JIO TV, TVs are seldom used for entertainment purposes.

That said, it is not just the entertainment factor which signifies and boosts the growth of smartphones. From general browsing to reading emails, everything is being done through mobile. It provides a wide scope for the businesses to make use of the technology to bring together every element of their business on a single platform. It is perhaps this feature which has made work from home seamless for many organisations and businesses during the pandemic.

Could anyone have imagined such coordination a few years back? Connecting all these elements on a common platform at one go is a daunting task. It is the years of expertise, IT leaders, innovative & disruptive ideas, adequate R&D, that has catapulted into defined resolutions in the form of Mobile apps— helping portability grow & emerge as a winner.  

Benefitting from Mobile Apps: 

According to Smaato, for every 8 minutes that users spend on their smartphone, 7 are spent accessing applications. For every use, there is an application in the market. From freelancers to businesses, everyone is contributing to this emerging market, which is necessary for digital transformation and also for seamless business operations.

For example, recently, Metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Delhi were tasked with sending migrants back to their villages, due to an overwhelming and unprecedented halt in the industrial operations. For that, the Union government permitted opening up of Indian Railways. Although, operations might have been similar but what changed this time was the large queue at the reservation counter as it was replaced with travel apps. Many users leveraged travel applications like IRCTC, Make My Trip, Ibibo, etc.., to book the tickets.

A distinct yet essential example is prominent in the containment zones as well. People aren’t allowed to step outside their houses without a special permit— a special provision to contain community transmission. During such times, people have been relying heavily on mobile apps like Zomato, Big Basket and Amazon. 

Mobile apps: A way to Engage better 

These are testing times for everyone, nevertheless, if there is one successful example, it is the digital world, driven largely by mobile applications. A mobile app is the easiest route to reach over a large population and engage people in a similar fashion. This was well understood by businessmen and governments, a couple of years ago, as they promoted and emphasised on the need for digital education and transformation. 

Even though lockdown was enforced on March 22nd in India, many businesses opted for work from home much before that. When the whole country was observing lockdown, these businesses were operational. People coordinated and completed their tasks with the help of video conferencing apps, social networking apps, and other mediums.

As cases continue to surge in India, it is expected that work from home may continue for non-essential services and businesses. With each passing day as education and work continues online, the world would need more robust and efficient platforms— providing the entrepreneurs and technopreneurs with an opportunity to accelerate the growth of revolutionising mobile apps.

Is this our biggest opportunity to drive towards digital transformation? Whether it would be a success or not, only time would tell. However, it is certain that we have been able to run some operations coherently amidst pandemic due to accessibility of smartphones and user-friendly mobile apps in the market. If market trends are scrutinised, then we could see more mobile apps hitting the market soon— expected to be more lucid and effective in making digital transformation successful.