Canalys unveils Mobile Application Analysis service suite

Canalys today unveiled Mobile Application Analysis, the first suite of services designed to provide market intelligence on consumer trends for those involved in the creation, development and evolution of the mobile application ecosystem. Its service modules address key issues facing the mobile application community, such as how to identify the applications that consumers really want, how to make money from application stores, and how to best market and deliver applications.

Fuelled by an explosion in mobile devices, the mobile application market continues to grow exponentially. According to Canalys estimates, the smart phone market alone grew by 64% annually worldwide in Q2 2010 and is forecast to grow to over 576 million shipments annually by 2014 – a compound annual growth rate of 28.2% over 2009.

With more advanced devices, consumers are experimenting more and more with mobile applications and connected services, especially as applications they use on the PC move to the mobile phone. Out of the 6,490 consumers around the world that Canalys surveyed in the first half of 2010, 29% had downloaded and used applications and games on a mobile phone.

‘As mobile apps increasingly represent the springboard from which consumers interact with a growing number of wireless services, they’re creating a highly streamlined, personalized user experience,’ said Rachel Lashford, Canalys Managing Director for Mobile and APAC. ‘Mobile apps are driving a renaissance in software development, but also in consumer behaviour.’

Serving mobile device vendors – across phones, tablets, pads and PCs – mobile OS vendors, mobile operators, and independent application store organizations, at its heart the suite has the core Mobile Application Delivery service, plus four add-on modules focused on key application categories: Community and Communications, Games and Entertainment, Information and Advertising, and Navigation and Mapping.

‘Mobile apps are all about instant gratification for the consumer. Being at the right place at the right moment is critical to vendor success,’ said Canalys Chief Analyst Adam Daum. ‘With our new Mobile Application Analysis service, we’re helping clients home in on the right mix of creativity, functionality and business value.’

Underpinned by global end-user surveys, the Mobile Application Analysis services suite provides independent assessment of how different market players are positioned to take advantage of and shape developments within their respective application sectors. Via regular reports, the services deliver in-depth analysis of consumers’ engagement with various application types and the evolution of end-user demand and behaviour across multiple mobile device types, such as smart phones, mobile phones, notebooks, pads, portable gaming consoles, e-readers and MP3 players. The services also provide user forecasts and new Canalys analytical tools, such as the Mobile Application Perception Index.

Chief Analyst Adam Daum joins Canalys

Canalys also announced today the arrival of Adam Daum as Chief Analyst and major contributor to the Mobile Application Analysis services suite. Prior to joining Canalys, Daum worked for 11 years at Gartner, where he was a Research VP on the Media Industry team. He was responsible for helping traditional media companies, such as TV broadcasters and newspaper publishers, navigate the transition to digital services. His specialization areas include mobile media, social media, digital TV and trends in consumer behaviour.

About Canalys

Canalys specializes in delivering high-quality market data, analysis and advice to the world’s leading technology vendors. It is recognized as a key provider of continuous advisory services and confidential custom projects for marketing managers and strategists within blue-chip IT, telecoms, navigation, and consumer electronics companies. It has unrivalled expertise in routes to market for all kinds of high-technology products and services and provides worldwide market data and trends analysis. Canalys does not release preliminary, incomplete data and uses consistent definitions and methodologies to ensure total consistency across all of the market data that appears in its services. The company publishes its final market data every quarter for every country tracked simultaneously on the same day.

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