QUESTION

In your area of specialization, design (conceptualize) a product, technology, or service

appropriate for the market 15 years from now. Note, justify and document the differences
between the current products and your future product/service (100 marks)

INTRODUCTION

Well over the past years, mobile applications have evolved with technological advancement. In
my opinion, making our day-to-day life fast and easy is the major reason for empowering the
market. A huge amount of tech trends has arrived in the mobile apps and yet more are to come
They have played a vital role in the growth of many smartphones and other related tech gadgets.
Due to the rise of many mobile app developments, every business organization has made its app
not mentioning the social media related apps.

OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION

The inefficiency of mobile apps (App Economy)

However, they have become less efficient; thus, they are taking up large memory of our operating
systems and utilization of the processors be it in smartphones or laptops. Due to the widespread of
technology, almost everyone who owns a smart device is affected by how these apps have slowed
down our phones when we needed them the most. The problem keeps on recurring as the number
of mobile apps installed grows every day. For example, having to install a parking app, that you
will barely ever use after that moment, this simply means it will accumulate on my memory. On
average a smartphone has 40-60 apps installed on it. Considering such numbers, they are ailing
our operating system thus making our smartphones less efficient.

CURRENT SITUATION/SOLUTION

The introduction of instant application has improved some of the services through compression of
apps to small sizes but haven’t been successful lately. Due to their small sizes, they have limited
features because of the lack of network communication as they require internet access to function
well.

What is Android Instant Apps?

Android Instant Apps is a new function available in Google Play Store that allows the user to test
the app before effectively downloading it. To do that, the user just needs to click on "try it now"
on the app's page. But it just works because the developers divide the app into little pieces — but
these pieces still have their use — and it's available on the app page. When the user accesses it,
everything works on the same page, even that it's not a complete app. If the user likes the
experience and the app, he can download it normally like everyone else.

However, as we are talking about something completely new in the market, Google Instant Apps
comes with some limitations. First, the number of compatible apps is low. There are a few outdated
smartphones that cannot use Instant Apps from Google. The focus now is to increase the number
of smartphones and apps that are compatible with this technology.

FUTURE ANALYSIS

Drivers of change that are worsening the problem going into the future

Due to the technology change, almost all business entities are moving towards the introduction of
mobile apps for most of their services. For example, mobile banking is now officially done through
one specified app. Easy rather simple and codeless platforms have made it possible for the general
tech village to develop their apps without any experience of how the code behind works.

Key sources/statistics to support the worsening of the problem

Whether for personal or business use, the number of applications downloaded in 2015 was 180
billion. And they have gradually increased to 204 billion apps in 2019. In 2020, there should be
over 592 million daily app downloads. The number of mobile app downloads will exceed 250
billion in 2022. Social media mobile apps are the most used app category. 2% of app users open
an app over 100 times per day. WhatsApp was downloaded over 230 million times during the first
three months of 2019.81% of mobile users have Facebook installed. 51% of US smartphone users
avoid downloading apps. Only 4% of all Android apps are paid. The iPhone’s App Store has 500
million weekly visits.

Forecast of the state of the problem 15 years from now

Device Proliferation.
Device proliferation is a growing trend for which IT professionals are not prepared, requiring time-
consuming day-to-day tasks to simply keep the IT lights on, helping to keep end-users productive.
Another challenge facing mobile developers is device proliferation. It might seem like today's
mobile app development process is pretty well defined: Build your app, make sure it looks pretty
on a 4-inch smartphone, and a 10-inch tablet, then submit it to an app store. It's not quite that easy
now, and it'll be much tougher soon thus more complex app means more storage needed.

Voice, Prioritized Over Touch.

Mobile developers are clamoring for API access to Apple's Siri and Google Now. There are a lot
of scenarios where you would want to build voice input into your app today. For a running or
fitness app, a phone is likely to be strapped to a person's sweaty arm and looking at your screen
while running can be a fast track into a lamp post. The same is true while driving. If you're hustling
through an airport with luggage to catch a flight, voice beats touch. Modern applications will let
people use their devices while keeping their eyes and hands off it.

Heads-Up Interfaces.

Expect to see heads-up displays such as Google Glass go mainstream in the next five years as
Moore's law pushes processors to the point where such gadgets can be made powerful, lightweight,
and perhaps even stylish. Augmented-reality apps that don't work well on a phone or tablet could
be transformative when ported to a device like Google Glass. A compelling example would be an
app that provides real-time information about the people you are talking to but whose names you've
forgotten.

But heads-up displays will create a whole new slate of problems for developers. We'll have to
adapt to peripheral cues such as reminders and alerts that don't block the user's vision. We'll also
need to integrate tactile and aural feedback such as voice commands and vibrating sensors that
alert users, they need to take action. Above all, we are simply saying the app economy is going to
be large hence storage and processor usage will increase intensively.

IDEA GENERATION, CREATIVITY, AND INNOVATION

Design thinking process

Empathy and Definition of problem

We used Record Analysis and interviews as our fact-finding methods. Referring to records
uploaded on google and findings from the interviews we conducted, we discovered that the real
issue is that the mobile application has become highly inefficient resulting in fatal errors and
crashes, glitches, malfunctioning of the operating software itself.

From the data we obtained from the interviewee, we discovered that they were complaining about
the speed of their various devices due to the mobile app population. Ourselves as users we were
also annoyed by the low storage space on our devices' reason being app growth after they were
installed.

Ideate

The idea was generated through brainstorming and new knowledge acquired through google using
Drucker’s sources of innovation. So, we combined those two and refined our ideas we had
obtained from google.

Prototype

Involves building a working but limited model of a new system that will be tested, evaluated, and
improved if necessary, before building the actual system. It involves the construction of a simple
version of a program that is used as part of the design to demonstrate how the system will work.
This is an experimental phase, and the aim is to identify the best possible solution for each of the
problems identified during the first three stages.

Testing

Testing is, quite simply the process of testing your prototype on real users. During the test phase,
you will see how your target users interact with your prototype and gather valuable feedback. You
will learn where your prototype succeeds and where it needs to be improved. The insights gathered
during the testing phase will enable you to iterate on your prototype.

Product design

Nano Cloud Apps (Integration of Instant mobile Apps and Progressive Web Apps)

These will be real-time and very small-sized apps that use cloud technology to synchronize their
data. It functions like a native app, due to the use of an app shell that allows for app-style gestures
and navigations. They will be more of a streaming app that will effectively maximize the 5G or
the latest upcoming generation of a network to perform its real-time functions. The main difference
is that they won't be any need to download or install the app from the app store but rather they will
behave more like a webpage, thus you instantly run it and after you are done with it, it will be gone
and they won't see any sign of it. With the help of pre-caching, the app stays up to date at all times,
displaying the most recent version upon launching. For instance, as Google demoed, if a friend
sends you a link to a BuzzFeed video and you tap on it, Instant Apps makes it possible for your
device to pull just the part that it needs from the corresponding app to display the video but without
actually downloading the whole app on your handset.

Another example that Google showed at I/O, say that you want to pay for parking but you do not
have the time to download an app that lets you do that. Android Instant Apps uses your handset’s
NFC chip to get the necessary functionality from a compatible app to let you pay on the spot, and
with Android Pay support nonetheless.

How the new product will match the new conditions and trends

5G

Imagine the technology that can transfer millions of data packets around the world within an eye
blink. Isn’t it fascinating! According to IHSEconomics, 5G technology is going to witness a
revenue-opportunity of $12.3 trillion globally. The benefits that 5G technology can offer to your
app is greater speed to increase mobile app user retention, fast data transfer, lower latency, and
great user experience.

As you got the sneak peek of 5G's benefits for your app, this technology will be the revolution for
mobile devices as it is enabling real-time aspects. Mobile app development can take advantage of
this technology in various industries like AR/VR, IoT, Smart Cities, Supply Chain, Transportation,
and in each area that keeps the difference between 2 milliseconds and 20 milliseconds.

Integration of the internet of things and cloud technology

One of the technologies that are a buzzword in today’s times is the Internet of Things. There are
many ways in which IoT and Cloud technology can transform mobile app development. The global
Internet of Things spending is projected to be $1.1 trillion by 2023 and the market is spread in
many verticals like wearables, home appliances, smart cars, etc. IoT and Cloud-enabled mobile
applications are going to become a key trend in the coming years because of their capabilities to
handle redundant data and connecting multiple devices on a real-time basis. Cloud storage will act
as the server for the application making it accessible anywhere and anytime, thus increased
reliability.

In the future, apps will be more advanced. They will speak to you, in the same way, devices built
on IoT communicate. The cloud’s ability to connect many things with APIs will also be essential
in the future of mobile application development.

How AI could be beneficial for your business app?

People use mobile devices for various purposes, like gaming, entertainment, etc. And expect a
high level of features such as navigation, speech recognition, and natural language processing.
Artificial Intelligence, is the future for all the apps, has almost everything. Worldwide revenue
from the AI market is forecasted to reach $125 billion by 2023.

In the future, most AI apps will be developed using technologies such as predictive analytics and
machine learning algorithms. This will allow mobile app developers to deliver a more personalized
experience in their applications, and apps will be able to perform functions such as analyzing the
user behavior and alert them about any suspicious threats and breach of information. AI in mobile
app development will help in achieving the goal of translation for conversations in real-time. The
apps will be smarter and help you understand user behavior. The AI in mobile applications is
changing the face of technology and will take mobile app development to a whole new level.

Role of AR and VR in the future mobile app industry

According to Statista, the AR/VR market is forecasted to reach $209 billion in 2022. In 2020 the
mobile app development industry is aware of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).
These technologies will become very advanced and will be part of the great revolution in
developing gaming and entertainment mobile apps. There are various VR-based games and
applications developed like Pokemon Go, Sky Siege, iOnRoad, Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear
VR, and much more become a show stopper in the global gaming and entertainment industry.

Opportunities for technopreneurs

It's the opportunity of the technopreneurs to attract users using a mini version of their app to project
the full scope. And if we think about the competition that exists in Play Store, it's very interesting
for apps to invest in this to be one step in front of the rest. The thing is that it is different for users
to use an app without downloading it because they are saving up storage and processor utilization
for other important tasks. This will the efficiency. But all this interaction that happens before
download brings more engagement to the app and consequently, more conversions. After inside
the app, the chances that users still engage is high.

Sample Business Model

The Market

Nano Cloud App has identified four distinct market segments that will be interested in the software
product. These segments are the most likely consumers of the software. The segments are as
follows:

• Business organization

• Small and medium enterprises

• Entertainment industry

• University students

Mission

To develop a highly efficient app for smart phone users. Our software will provide a user
experience that has never been experienced by people due to its efficiency. We exist to make
products that the market demands and have a positive impact on technology trends.

Keys to Success

Develop small-sized cloud-based apps that are more reliable and efficient.

Implement a strong marketing campaign all over the social media streets to develop an awareness
of the app and its benefits within all of the target market.

Design strict financial controls for the organization.

Objectives
 • Increase sales by a triple for the first two years.
• Achieve 20% market penetration by year four.
• Assist more than 10,000 different individuals with a passion for mobile app development

EVALUATION OF CURRENT PRODUCT AND THE FUTURE PRODUCT.

NCA's (Nano Cloud Apps) are more efficient than native apps. They work on-demand and are
always accessible, without taking up a smartphone's valuable memory or data. By choosing to use
an NCA over a native version of the same application, users consume fewer data. However, this
doesn't mean users need to sacrifice the convenience of a native app. They are still able to save the
NCA to their home screen - it's installable without the hassle of a real download.

This not only highlights the improvement in user experience but also the earlier issue of consumer
buy-in. Users must make a conscious decision and even a commitment to download and keep a
native app. Uninstalling that app is an equally final decision. In contrast, clicking a simple link is
an easy task that requires very little consideration, little data storage on your device, no lengthy
download period, and no installation.

What native mobile apps, and now NCAs, bring to the table are not just about an optimized web -
cloud experience on a mobile phone. It is about customer engagement, interaction, retention, and
customer relationship building. Which is why it continues to be the preferred choice to take over
the market.

CONCLUSION

Indeed, there are always pros and cons to anything, but as we see here, the pros out-weight the
cons by a huge margin. It is a fact that you need to move ahead with the changing times if you are
looking to survive in the competition that lies ahead of you. If you fail to move ahead with the
times you are going to get obsolete and be wiped out sooner than you think. Go ahead build
yourself an app and see your business grow!
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