The App Store Needs to Go Corporate

The iPhone broke open the world of mobile computing in ways that earlier so-called smart phones managed with only a fraction of their customers. While it was theoretically possible to use a browser on other phones, many of us (my geeky self included) never bothered to figure out how. The iPhone changed all that, and Android phones have successfully followed.

I look stuff up on my phone all the time. Usually it’s a movie title I can’t remember, as opposed to some intellectual tidbit or research for a client, but nonetheless, I use the computer part of my phone habitually now. I’m clearly not alone. It wasn’t too long after the introduction of the iPhone, and again following the introduction of the iPad, where my clients would look wistfully at me and ask, “How can this help my business?” While everyone can sense the promise of mobile computing, unlocking its power has eluded many businesses.

To understand the reasons for this, I think it’s important to consider why the iPhone and iPad have been such a success. Not only do they combine a great user interface with a screen capable of displaying web pages in a reasonable manner, there’s a one-stop-shop for software (and another for music and movies). I think the App Store has as much to do with the iPhone/iPad success as the design of the devices themselves. (And, as an aside, it’s my opinion that the fragmented stores on the Android platform will be a thorn in Google’s side and competitive advantage for Apple.)

Without the App Store, we’d just have a phone connected to a web browser. Imagine what your iPhone would be like without the ten or twenty or fifty apps you’ve installed. Apple gave consumers a direct conduit to the great work of thousands of third party developers; all three — developers, consumers, and Apple — have profited well from it. I don’t begrudge Apple’s commission one bit.

Now extend this to the corporate world… oh, wait… you can’t.

If a company develops a mobile application, they are often faced with the challenge of getting it deployed onto phones. They either need to develop it on the shoulders of an existing technology — FileMaker Go is an excellent example where developers may create data files that are then read by the app — or posting it, usually for free with a secure login, on the public App Store.

We at Soliant Consulting have developed apps using both strategies and neither is perfect. It’s awkward at best to post an app on the public App Store and say in the description, “gosh, don’t use this unless you’re an Acme Company employee”, and at times companies may not want to build an app on a proprietary platform such as FileMaker.

Imagine a world in which a company could create its own App Store. Apple has done this in some select cases with strategic partners, but I’m talking about every company getting their own store where not only can employees download applications, but internal teams can easily post them as well. Not only would this solve a critical deployment problem — corporate employees would easily be able to download corporate applications — but consider the real strength of the iOS platform: it opens a world of third party developers to their users.

Software tools could be invented, shared, and distributed in as easy a manner as buying a song from iTunes. Imagine if your accounting department created a handy expense tool and posted it on the Company Store. Or your marketing department posted the latest PDFs of your product line. This is where the power of mobile devices is unlocked. I can see where Apple may not have a direct economic incentive. These apps, by definition, would have to be free within a company, but perhaps Apple could charge for the creation of a store?

Surely there are enough smart folks in Cupertino to figure out how to monetize something of such obvious usefulness. So come on, Apple. Give us all the more reason to buy iPads: we need a means of sharing the custom apps we’ve built for our clients.