The mobile software market will be worth an estimated US$ 67.3 billion in 2013 – up from US$ 17.9 in 2007 – as the number of mobile devices grows and minutes of use increases steadily.
This revenue growth will be fuelled by mobile carriers’ willingness to carry data apart from voice and the introduction of third-generation (3G) smartphones.
That’s the conclusion of analysts at Frost & Sullivan in their report “World Next-Generation Mobile Software Market”.
They say that with the expansion of memory, an increase in processor speed and the availability of better networks that allow for faster data transfer, mobile software is in for exponential growth.
Daniel Longfield, research analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said there was a mass move towards mobile devices as people used them for tasks that a few years ago were performed on a desktop computer, a laptop, a MP3 player, an electronic gaming platform, or a digital camera.
He said mobile software was key to placing mobile devices at the forefront of consumer habits by incorporating the applications and capabilities of other electronic devices into mobile devices.
This, in turn, will benefit all members of the mobile value chain.
“Over the next decade, the cycle of software development, where many mobile software products and applications were developed originally for other types of devices, will reverse,” said Longfield.
“This reversal is likely because the number of mobile devices manufactured is expected to continue to outpace all other types of personal electronics and also due to smartphones possessing more processing speed and memory.”
The report predicts that the mobile software market will grow at a faster rate than the total software market, thereby increasing its segment size.
But it warns that as mobile carriers are extremely cautious about spending, mobile software vendors will have to prove the value proposition and return on investment of their products before clinching deals.
Going forward, the mobile software market expects to witness greater standardisation, technological advances, and competitive changes. All these will further increase the mobile software market size.
“Mobile software vendors are poised to receive large revenue increases from carriers and other mobile market value chain members,” said Longfield.
“However, these spoils will not come without great effort to patch endless gaps in the current carrier service infrastructure and business models.”
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