Why Enterprise App Stores are Rapidly Gaining in Mindshare and Market Share
App stores are now becoming commonplace, once limited to only very large enterprises or the most digitally progressive companies. You could almost call them a business and workforce management staple, helping to equip teams with the tools they need, when they need it, on a device of their choice. Moreover, research suggests that enterprise apps store software will grow significantly in valuation between now and 2026, driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, what makes enterprise app stores so relevant in the B2B market rather than their original consumer engagement model? We can find the answer in 3 drivers.
3 Reasons Why Enterprise App Stores are Gaining in Market Share
1. It simplifies licensing bottlenecks
As employee dependence on business applications increases, companies must also develop multiple apps, new releases, and versions configured for different operating systems/devices. An app store environment streamlines the development, delivery, maintenance, and eventual retirement of applications with multiple licensing models available for the same app on different platforms.
2. It lets you gain from citizen developers
The availability of low code or no-code application development tools allows employees with high levels of business expertise but relatively lesser technical knowledge to build apps. In addition, a store offers these apps for consumption by the general workforce, exponentially increasing the value you derive from individual innovations.
3. It transforms enterprise services for the WFH era
While manually requesting enterprise services or raising a ticket on a service portal was feasible in the days of traditional WFO (work from the office), the times in WFH look very different. Not only are IT teams and business units distributed across other locations, but employees are also facing the gradual blurring of lines between work and personal life. It means that they will now expect the same degree of convenience, speed, and ease of use from the enterprise services as from consumer apps.
These three drivers explain the short-term rise in the popularity of enterprise app stores, reflected in increasing market share in the last few quarters. When it comes to mindshare, however, there is a different set of drivers at work.
How Enterprise App Stores Are Set to Occupy Long Term Mindshare
In many ways, the switch to WFH in 2020 is less of a sudden culture shift due to a tactical response during a crisis but more due to a gradual culmination of a long-term trend. For several years now (and one can trace this back to the startup culture in the early days of the dot-com boom, the consequent globalization, and now pervasive connectivity), we have been moving towards a world of New Work.
New Work redefines the act of labour as a driver of purpose and fulfilment instead of a transactional act that qualifies as gainful employment. Employees aren’t just influenced by what they earn but are shaped by what they do. In this context, the work experience with all its convenience/inconvenience, productivity/distractions, and rewards/failures is intrinsic to the life experience itself.
It significantly impacts how employees approach the services they must obtain from the enterprise:
but
● Inconveniences, no matter how minor, take away from overall productivity. A complex IT and HR services portal means that the organization implicitly works against the employee’s pursuit of fulfilment.
● Employees now want a sense of empowerment — the top-down allocation and decision-making of process steps, tools, assignments, and KPIs is changing due to collaborative decision making & data availability. In addition, new digital services introduce gamification for engagement experience and ease of change while giving the employees an impression that they are in control and outcomes are not deterministic.
● Walled gardens are no longer as secure and desirable. The collective intelligence of the digital community and the world at large is so massive that interconnections and the free-flowing exchange of data are central to adding value.
Therefore, enterprise app stores mark almost a revolution in how we do business and disburse employee services. Beyond basic consumerization, there is a grassroots empowerment of the employee, which means that they are now trusted to decide on the best way to get a job done.
Key Providers and Must-Have Features to Remember
All of this begins from a simple move — reimagining enterprise service capabilities across IT, HR, business enablement, and analytics into digital experiences that are consumable on demand. From industry pioneers like Apple and Google offering an enterprise version of their wildly popular app stores, you now have increasing diversification. Applivery, Appaloosa, Basaas, OpenChannel, Relution, Salesforce and ServiceNow are some companies to watch out for in this regard. No matter which one you choose and where you start your App store adoption journey, here are the seven must-have features to incorporate:
● Compatible with multiple devices and operating systems
● Three editions — native mobile app, desktop app, and browser
● SSO integration for security and convenience
● Role-based views and access
● OTT updates, push notifications and email notifications
● A screening policy to control the addition of new apps
● Availability of user support and a ticketing system
In my next blog, I discuss these seven must-have features in more detail, outlining how enterprises can go about building an app store that makes a difference in short-term market share as well as long-term mindshare. So watch this space and email me at arvind@am-pmassociates.com to continue this discussion.
