Your brand’s app has never been more important to your bottom line—not only do consumers use apps to browse and purchase online, they also use it when shopping in stores to compare and find out more about products. So whether you develop your own app or enlist a third-party vendor (which is much more common), it’s critical that the developer incorporates certain key features that users look for, such as appropriate security and—of course—seamless ease of use.
The results of a new survey from real-time app capabilities platform PubNub of app development professionals paints a clearer picture of the sometimes competing priorities and ever-evolving technological landscape faced by app development teams worldwide. The survey’s more than 600 respondents come from various industries and are directly involved in app development or product management at their organizations.
The firm’s new Application Development & Real-Time Interactivity Benchmarking report identifies several major takeaways for app development organizations, including:
- Real-time features like in-app chat and multi-user collaboration have become table stakes to remain competitive.
- Reliability, maintenance, and security are standout concerns—and areas of focus—for top app development teams.
- Nearly two-thirds of respondents find third-party vendors for real-time functionality preferable to building in-house.
- Ensuring an app’s future success requires development teams to focus more on cybersecurity, real-time features, and AI/Machine advancement.
- More than a third of respondents plan to add AI to existing apps, while a quarter intend to develop new AI-related apps in the next 8-12 months.
These findings reinforce that companies can build competitive and engaging apps that end users return to by addressing security concerns, leveraging third-party services effectively, and prioritizing user experience.
“We wanted insight into how app development teams view today’s app landscape, where they’re headed in the future, and how that relates to delivering the most useful, engaging apps that end users enjoy,” said PubNub co-founder and CEO Todd Greene, in a news release. “What we learned was that striking a balance between building in ‘must have’ functionality while maintaining reliability and security is a big concern.”
Download the full report here.
