Let’s be honest, the rise of mobile-first websites is a clear indication that mobile apps in UAE are not only important but also essential to many online businesses. It’s true, not every project will need a mobile app but the current environment demands a sound mobile app development strategy from every other business.

But why do some business in UAE need mobile apps and not others?

Well, every business has a very different purpose and unique requirements that can assist whatever that intended purpose might be. For this reason, management needs to assess as to weigh up the importance of having an application and whether this will benefit the overall efficiency for a project.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the rising importance of mobile apps and why many businesses in UAE are scrambling to create mobile apps that can take things to the next level:

The Importance of Mobile Apps in the Modern Business Environment

Modern technology and the online landscape continues to change the world around us. For this reason, it’s often easier to look at the root cause for this rise instead of rushing ahead to the solution. In other words, we need to consider the growth of reliance on mobile devices before we can better understand the increased demand on mobile apps in UAE.

The Rise of Smartphones in UAE and Decline of Broadband

It wasn’t long ago when traditional broadband was highly coveted and the must-have for every household and organisations in UAE. However, it’s thought that at least one in five homeowners in UAE have already ditched their broadband in favor of smart phone and mobile data.

In fact, recent statistics show that the number of smartphone owners in UAE has grown from 3.1 million to 4.1 million over the past four years. Further, these same statistics indicate that the number of smartphone users around the world has exceeded two billion in that very same time frame. As if that’s not enough, the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority recently announced that 80% of revenue for the country’s two major service providers is attributed to mobile accounts.

Moral of the story: It’s no wonder mobile apps in Dubai and UAE are so popular!

Demographics and Target Markets in UAE

If we dive a little deeper into these statistics we can know precisely why these mobile devices account for such a large portion of traffic online. More specifically, we can also understand as to why this traffic is critically important and valuable to any business in UAE.

You see, recent studies show that millennials and generation Z account for more than one third of the world’s population. What’s more, these two generations are also responsible for the largest purchasing power on the planet. Interestingly, these studies also indicated that millennials open and use more apps than any other generation. When you combine these stats and consider that almost every individual in these brackets has preference for mobile devices, the importance of mobile apps in UAE is clear.

By the way, in case you might not know, the above generations refer to people who were born anywhere between the 1990s and mid 2000s.

Anyway, the point is, the target market for any project in UAE has a preference for mobile devices.

Case Studies on Mobile Usage Outside of UAE

Needless to say, these statistics and trends are the same – even outside of UAE. For example, according to a remarkable study in the United States, it was discovered that not only did most adults own a smartphone but more than 50% of these same individuals owned a tablet device. In the same study, it was estimated that more than 50% of all website traffic around the world was generated through mobile devices.

Mobile devices are increasingly important in the lives of millions and billions of people around the world. In addition, mobile devices have changed the way people communicate and significantly influenced the source of online traffic. After all, mobile devices account for a large proportion of online traffic and these figures are only expected to grow.

As for the market, the valuation for mobile apps has surpassed $30 billion and this is relatively small compared to expectations for the future of this industry.

But what does all this mean to businesses in UAE?

The Demand for Mobile Apps in UAE and Dubai

Well, it should go without saying that if mobile apps have the potential to enhance or improve businesses in UAE, it makes sense to at least consider a mobile app development strategy.

As for whether your business in UAE should look into mobile apps, there are some important questions that can ascertain whether you need one in place or not:

When you think about past customer interactions, could mobile apps improve upon those experiences?

What benefit might mobile apps bring to the business in UAE? Ie. Increased sales or efficiency.

How many customers do you expect will sign up for the mobile app? (Measure this metric)

For many businesses in UAE, the above questions can help decide the next move. Either way, the best way to proceed is always to create a minimum viable product which can be tested with the target market. In other words, creating the simplest version of the product will be the fastest and most cost efficient way to see if mobile apps will benefit the business.

After that, it’s just a case of developing and improving mobile apps to ensure that they are perfected for whatever purpose your business in UAE has in mind.

Conclusion

You see, mobile apps in UAE are often thought about as a means to communicate with customer. While this is true, communication is simply one of many facets to mobile apps. The truth is, mobile-first websites are on the rise for the very same reason as the population of mobile apps in Dubai – people want mobile and the statistics are there to back it up.

Either way, as the online world continues to grow and people become more connected, we can be sure that mobiles apps in UAE will remain important and useful to most businesses.

I guess the only question that needs to be answered is if mobile apps can benefit your business?