Apps are the pulse of the consumer market space today. For everything from ordering a taxi, food, online shopping and invoicing to hiring freelancers, there are apps available! Thus, the mushroom growth of numerous apps in various marketplaces too. Especially with cloud-based solutions taking over the world by storm, mobile app development companies are vying to provide software solutions to the problems of businesses and consumers. So, once an app is developed, it does appear as though it should be smooth sailing for the developer, right? This unfortunately is not the case. Distribution is a major challenge for developers and they are forced to operate out of one of the few marketplaces available out there. Such being the case, getting the app to the right customer does become a hurdle for the developer. This is where the Blockchain Technology can be very handy. In fact, it is being touted as the solution for some of the key issues faced by the mobile economy today.
Blockchain Technology – an overview
Blockchain by no means is something new! It has been around since 2009 and was originally described as early as the year 1991. Blockchain has garnered a lot of popularity owing to Bitcoin and that’s why the name seems very familiar. Blockchain is simply a chain constituted of blocks and is completely open (and by that we mean to anyone) and yet it cannot be altered. These blocks simply contain information. Its key feature is its security and its applications given its incorruptible nature are immense. They can be used to store not just financial information but anything and everything of value. Now that we’ve had a glimpse into what the technology is all about, let’s move on to the key issued faced by the mobile app economy.
Key issues faced by the mobile app economy and how Blockchain Technology can help
As with every business, the key challenge in the mobile scenario is taking the product to the customer. As a leading mobile app development company, we find that advertising, distribution, getting the app approved and the traditional model of in-app purchases are some of the key issues faced by the mobile app economy.
Getting your app approved is no easy task
Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store are the major destinations for every mobile app that is being developed. The approval processes are solely decided by these companies and the quality assurance policies and distribution ones are not all that transparent. We understand that if everything were transparent in the current scenario, there is the risk that malware apps could get propagated to users. Overall, the whole business of getting your app approved and getting it published is no easy task and it is a harrowing experience for the developer most of the time.
So, how can Blockchain Technology help here? The approval process for apps can be made transparent and easier by employing a system such as a developer reputation system. Here’s how this will work in short: The developer submits his/her app on a website or platform and is temporality stored, the app is then scanned using various antivirus programs and then signature validations take place. Post this, anti-malware engines are used to filter and scan the app and only then will the app be allowed to get installed. Based on such a system, developer rankings can be maintained on a public ledger and users can make their decision based on the ranking. This will streamline the approval process and make it more transparent.
There are a lot of middlemen in the advertising arena
With their being millions of apps in both the Play Store and the App Store, it isn’t easy to dominate the marketplace and grab the user’s attention. Whatever be the mobile application platform, there is a lot of competition to contend with and advertising is quite a challenge. To advertise, developers have to rely on CPI campaigns where CPI stands for Cost Per Installation. Typically, for a CPI campaign to work, the flow between the developer and user is not direct, it involves a lot of middlemen from the RTB/exchanger. CPI network, Ad Servers, DSP, SSP, Attribution Platforms to the Publisher. Thus, the earnings are diminished when they reach the developer.
With Blockchain, the aim is to establish a newer advertising model called Cost Per Attention. This will link the developer and the user directly and the user will be rewarded based on the amount of time he/she has spent on the app and whether it meets the minimum requirement and so on.
The in-app purchase scenario too is similar to the advertising one where by the time the developer gets money, he/she has to wait for a long duration. User typically pay using cards or wallets and there are a lot many things to deal with from bank transfer fees, fraud charges, payment not going through and chargebacks and so on. The developer only gets a 70% share of the user’s money and the rest is trapped in the in-app processing. Also, most users around the world are still yet to buy credit cards and update themselves with the latest payment techniques. With Blockchain, it is estimated that the developers will get an increased share of up to 85% of the money spent by the user on the purchase as opposed to the 70% that they get now.
Apart from these areas, Blockchain has interesting applications in the areas of authentication of devices across mobile application platforms and ensure infrastructure protection as well.
Author Bio:
Pranay Agrawal is an entrepreneur, tech-enthusiast and the co-founder of MobileCoderz Technologies. He has helped many a start-up build and execute their mobile strategies and has helped companies storm the mobile app market and revolutionize their business. Pranay Agrawal occasionally dabbles in writing about technology, strategies for mobile app development and latest trends that are ruling the tech industry. You can find Pranay on LinkedIn.
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