With mobile device ownership ever on the rise, an increasing number of companies are now turning to the mobile sector to extend their brands or services through applications. Research2Guidance, a mobile apps research and consultancy company, has specialised in this growing and constantly-evolving market since 2009, and provides companies with guidance for their individual mobile strategy, based on extensive statistical research on the latest trends in the market.

Grace Gair, research coordinator; and Markus Pohl, co-founder, explain further.

What motivated the founding of Research2Guidance?

Markus: Research2Guidance was founded in 2009 when we decided to write a report about a topic that hadn’t previously been reported on: the market for mobile applications. From this report, we decided to found a company specialising in this kind of research, as we noticed how quickly mobile applications were catching on with consumers.

Mobile technology is being embraced by an increasing number of different companies in different sectors. However, is there a particular sector that is especially benefitting from the use of mobile technology?

Grace:. Mobile applications as we know them now first emerged in the consumer space. However, especially in the last 12-18 months, as more consumers bring their mobile devices into the workplace, we are seeing mobile technology being used  across sectors and industries. Nowadays, we see all kinds of industries – healthcare, construction, even manufacturing – adopting mobile technology and using these kinds of devices for their employees and customers as extensions of their brands and services.

What are some of the most common challenges a firm would face when looking to enter the mobile market?

Grace: We focus primarily on observing and examining trends in the mobile market, and on reporting on that. Probably one of the biggest challenge we’ve noticed during research for our Mobile Enterprise Report is the inherent problem of fragmentation – all the different types of devices and operating systems raise the issue of compatibility of apps and platforms on these devices. A second challenge partially stemming from that fragmentation is security – for example, malware in apps, or data security in connecting to backend components – which have especially severe consequences for  the enterprise market.

Based on what you’ve observed, what general advice would you give to a firm looking to expand into the mobile market?

We are primarily focusing on researching and understanding the trends in the mobile apps market from a classic market research approach. In addition to understanding trends in the general market we are also looking at niche areas such as the m-health (mobile health) market – essentially the market for healthcare-related apps, the enterprise market, or the e-commerce market, for example.  We also offer consultative services where we work with clients interested in learning about the mobile market in order to better leverage it.

You’ve been based at betahaus for quite a while now. What do you think of this kind of working environment, and what do you especially like about it?

Markus: One of the co-founders of Research2Guidance had been working at betahaus for some time before I and some other team members eventually joined him here. What I like about betahaus is the flexibility of the space, and the strong community spirit among coworkers here. Of course, it also helps that the location is very central.