In case you haven’t noticed, things are changing at App47.
The changes started (publicly) with our proclamation in January that 2018 would be the year of the embedded app store. In that blog, we mentioned that, while momentum around mobile apps continues to build, it’s going in a direction you might not expect. It’s going not towards apps for reserving conference rooms, but rather towards unlocking the functionality of products that used to be closed systems.
We believe in the future of embedded app stores. That much is clear. Even more than that, though, we’re committed to a new future for App47. We hope that much is clear when you look at our brand new website we launched this week.
But our new website is more than just a random change. In fact, the seeds of the “new” App47 were planted back in 2012 with one of our earliest clients, CloudLink (now ProPack). Way back when, they asked us if we could take our BYOD solution and find a way for it to support an eCommerce curated app store. That wasn’t something we’d considered until that point, but we built the solution they needed out of the tools we had, and it’s turned into a great partnership ever since.
The feature set we built out for ProPack set the foundation for our embedded app store with App47 customers like Caterpiller and GE. Embedding an app store into formerly closed systems (think a tractor or an x-ray machine) allows those companies to increase the functionality of their products, open them up to outside developers, and overall, provide a better experience to their customers. In that way, we can thank ProPack for the opportunity to win deals with national companies looking for a relatively unique solution.
While all of this was happening, we’ve been watching and listening all around the industry. The way enterprises are using apps now isn’t what we predicted 5 or 6 years ago when our company was starting to pick up steam. They’re using third-party apps that should be deployed through an MDM, not MAM, solution. Couple that with our own research and outside studies of the market, and we couldn’t imagine a better time to launch a different feature set using functionality that was already largely built into our product.
As you take a look around our website, you’ll notice a few things. One is a much simpler layout. Another is much more content about embedded app stores and connected machines. You’ll also see a fresh new look for our blog, and a high-level overview of current product features. Overall, we’re proud of our new look, and think it fits in nicely with our new direction this year.
We may be a few weeks late on the “New Year, New You” trend, but we are pleased to announce our new site, and new focus on the embedded app store.
