I am repeatedly blown away at the sight of my two-year old goddaughter tap-tap-tapping away on her iPad. Yep, that’s right, HER iPad. And despite protestations from her parents that it is theirs, they would probably have to concede that the tablet really does belong to their toddler and the toddler is boss.
I realise it’s not an uncommon site to see tiny children playing with smart phones or tablets these days. You will see them happily watching cbeebies, playing games or messing about on hello kitty colouring-in apps. And why not? These gadgets are so often thrust in front of kids by tired parents as a fabulous and worthwhile world of distraction.
So if all the kids are doing it, then the expansion of apps and app development has got to be much bigger than we ever thought possible. I think we can safely say that the ‘world of apps’, as I like to call it, has rapidly taken over as one of the key areas of growth in technology and related industries. It’s not just the prediction that by 2013 there will be 20% more tablets than laptops used in certain savvy industries, but also the fact that a lot of people are ever more reliant on their smart phones, location independent access and using easy apps that frankly make your life easier and get jobs done quicker.
It’s not just the kids that are getting the app development game going, it’s key technological advances like cloud computing and Exchange hosting that have grown hugely in the past few years that have given the IT industry the boost to slowly take over the world. Rapid distribution, ease of software testing and the need for less network infrastructure to create such programmes as Hosted Exchange email, means that start-ups are able to get on board the good ship Cloud and sail away with all the rewards that a well-rounded, good idea can create.
With open source app development tools readily available to anyone via cloud computing, it is becoming more and more the norm for developers to be able to produce free to use applications. This of course has huge benefits for the customer as who doesn’t like free stuff? But, of course the downside is the dwindling revenue streams for developers and businesses as cost-reduction and bad economic conditions allow this change to take place.
There’s one thing for sure, the Cloud is bringing a whole load of positives to this whole new world and it’s exciting no matter where you are with this technology. The only worrying thing is that if your average two year old is more attuned to technological development than you are, then watch your backs people – there could be a toddler revolution on its way and surely not even the top of the class developer has created an app to combat that scary prospect…
Tags: Apps, Business, Cloud, computing, developers, Exchange, Hosted, Hosting, IT, Saas, SMB, SME, software-as-a-service
