How can companies achieve sustainable competitive advantages in the mobile world? We investigated this question in a comprehensive market study and examined what role custom apps play for business success. The results show: Individual mobile applications are increasingly evolving from nice-to-have to strategic must-have for companies that want to reach their customers where they spend the most time – on their mobile devices.
The fact is: competition for mobile user attention is becoming increasingly intense. Current surveys show that a large portion of successful medium-sized companies already use custom mobile applications to optimize their business processes or open new sales channels. At the same time, customers today expect a seamless mobile experience – slow, confusing, or functionally limited apps are quickly uninstalled and sustainably damage brand perception. The use of modern UX design principles is therefore essential.
Forward-thinking companies meet this development with individually developed mobile solutions that are precisely tailored to their specific requirements and the needs of their target groups. Unlike standard apps or adapted web interfaces, custom applications offer the highest level of flexibility, performance, and seamless integration into existing business processes. Our app development experts accompany companies on this path of digital transformation.
1. From Business Idea to Market-Ready App: The Development Process as a Success Factor
The development process of high-quality business apps today follows a holistic approach that goes far beyond pure programming. At the beginning is always the strategic conception, where business goals, target groups, and added values are clearly defined. User experience (UX) plays a central role – because only an intuitive, appealing user interface leads to high user retention and acceptance. The integration of professional web design is crucial in this regard.
In the subsequent development phase, choosing the right technology determines long-term success. Various approaches are available here, each bringing specific advantages and disadvantages: Native apps offer maximum performance and access to all device functions, while cross-platform development saves time and costs. At ACCELARI Development Ltd. & Co. KG, we have found that technology-agnostic consulting is crucial to find the optimal solution for each use case – whether Swift and Kotlin for high-performance native apps or frameworks like React Native for efficient cross-platform development.
2. Mobile-First Instead of Afterthought: Why Companies Must Rethink
A fundamental shift in the approach to digital products is the consistent mobile-first strategy. While existing desktop applications were often adapted for mobile devices in the past, successful companies today develop their digital offerings from the ground up with a focus on mobile usage. This approach considers the specific requirements of mobile devices – from screen sizes to interaction patterns to offline functionality – already in the conception phase. Software automation plays an important role for seamless integration.
Particularly noteworthy is the success of such applications consistently designed for mobile use: Our data shows that apps with a mobile-first approach are used significantly longer and have a considerably higher engagement rate than solutions optimized for mobile retrospectively. This is directly reflected in measurable business results – from higher conversion rates in e-commerce to increased employee productivity in internal applications.
3. Seamless Integration: How Apps Become the Heart of Digital Ecosystems
The true value of custom business apps often unfolds only through their seamless integration into existing business processes and IT landscapes. Unlike isolated standard solutions, individual developments can be precisely aligned to interfaces with ERP systems, CRM platforms, or backend services. This integration enables smooth data flow between different systems and creates a coherent digital ecosystem.
A practical example: For a medium-sized production company, ACCELARI Development Ltd. & Co. KG developed an integrated solution that combines ordering processes, inventory management, and production planning in a mobile application. The app communicates in real-time with the existing ERP system and enables employees to access current data and control processes from anywhere. The result: Order processing times were significantly reduced while inventory accuracy was markedly improved – a substantial competitive advantage in a margin-sensitive industry.
4. Scalability and Evolution: Apps as Long-term Investment
A decisive advantage of custom developments lies in their evolutionary capability. Unlike finished products, individual apps can be continuously adapted to new requirements and extended with additional functions. This scalability makes them long-term investments that grow with the company and can adapt to changing market conditions. Consideration of data security standards is an essential factor.
This becomes particularly clear in our work process at ACCELARI Development Ltd. & Co. KG: After initial development and market launch, we establish feedback cycles that enable continuous improvements based on real usage data. Through this iterative approach, apps continuously evolve and remain technologically and functionally up-to-date. At the same time, costs for updates and maintenance are significantly reduced through modern development infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines.
Practice shows: Companies that invest in scalable, custom app development achieve a significantly higher return over the entire lifecycle of the application than those that rely on short-term, cost-effective standard solutions.
An article by Volodymyr Krasnykh
CEO and President of the Strategy and Leadership Committee of the ACCELARI Group
