There’s an app for everything these days and people are always talking about building the next “Uber for X”. But why is this so important?

Here is the breakdown on everything you need to know about the on-demand economy, and how you should approach it:

On-demand services are basically just a subset or a derivative of traditional B2C and B2B services. Uber’s success in creating a market for technology–enabled, on-demand transportation has encouraged entrepreneurs to look to other, often basic, and routine tasks that can be tech-enabled to result in higher accessibility and therefore greater adoption.

Statistically, almost half of the adult population of the USA have used at least one on-demand service, and it’s interesting to note that only 20% of this group come from the high economy strata; which implies that having on-demand offerings gives you access to a whole new group of customers that would otherwise not have considered buying into your service. Infact, the on-demand economy is attracting more than 22.4 million consumers annually and $57.6 billion in spending.

This higher buy-in has also resulted in many traditional service providers facing stiff competition from on-demand providers who run their entire operation at a fraction of the cost owing to lower infrastructure and staff overheads. We covered in a post earlier this month that traditional service providers need to re-evaluate their offerings and how they deliver services to the target group; or be forced out of business.

Helping fuel things even further, a significant rise in funding trends have also been seen for on-demand services, with more and more venture capitals trying to tap into this segment. So far, it is estimated that over $4.8 billion in capital has been invested in on-demand companies in the past 3 years. This has incentivized entrepreneurs to ideate towards disruptive and innovative ways of approaching vanilla services.

So without question, it’s fair to say that service-on-demand is here to stay.

With the increased requirement for building the next Uber-for-X, ergo it makes sense for developers to “commoditize” mobile application development as well. Adopting a framework for the development of on-demand apps offers benefits such as faster time to market, cost savings, and most importantly, the flexibility to test the waters to see what really works for your target audience, and then continuously adapt your service offerings.

Here are 3E’s assessments for Top 4 things to look for in commoditized on-demand mobile apps provider:

1. SERVICE COMPANIES WITH MOBILE APPS ON-DEMAND FRAMEWORK
Identify a development team that has been there and done that, with a good back-history in app development as a service. Their experience as a service provider will help to assess your requirements and provide fair assessments on the feasibility, pitfalls and best practices you need to be aware of before you get started.

2. CLIMBING THE VALUE CHAIN WITH ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Find an on-demand apps provider with cross-domain knowledge so that you don’t limit yourself, but have the opportunity to get the benefit of wider industry information which would help your app scale in the future. In other words, look for a partner keen to help their customers innovate, rather than a supplier looking to sell their product.

3. SPECIALIZATION
It’s never just about programming an app. It’s about making an app that cuts it in a highly saturated marketplace. Find a provider who specializes in User Experience Design, Business Planning, App Marketing and is tied up with and can leverage partnerships with industrial leaders to your benefit.

4. CUSTOMIZE
Recognize and repeat this mantra – “One size does not fit all”.

Even when using a on-demand apps framework, be willing to think outside the framework to achieve a solution that truly resonates with your target group. Ideate to bring improvements that the competition does not have, and custom build these features into your app. The last thing anyone needs is a copy cat app.

At 3E, we specialize in powering the on-demand economy through our mobile framework offerings. Contact us to find out more on how you can leverage our framework to kick start your app development.

ABOUT 3E IT SOLUTIONS
3E IT Solutions has been a leading provider of business enabler IT solutions in mobile, immersive experiences and cloud based product engineering for the past decade. With 10 years of experience and a team of 50+, 3E has built successful relationships with enterprises and start-ups alike, across various industry verticals, including Automotive, Real Estate, Healthcare, Retail and Financial Services.

Author:

J Boby

CEO, 3E IT Solutions Pvt Ltd

Original Article available at Linkedin