Mobile apps aided by cloud services

While mobile apps have been little more than conveniences in the modern tech world, cloud computing is transforming them into essential components of telecommunication, writes Nancy Gohring for PC World.

“Mobilizing enterprise apps is nothing new, yet beyond email and a few other horizontal applications, it's still a niche market,” wrote Gohring. “But combining the cloud with the newest generation of smartphones is just starting to change that.”

According to Gohring, Juniper Research projects the total market for cloud-based mobile apps to grow 88 percent between 2009 and 2014. Enterprise will play a major part in the growth, representing 75 percent of the mobile app market.

A study by ABI Research predicts that new architecture for mobile apps will dramatically change how they are made and used. Cloud services reduce the amount of code developers use to customize an app for different phone platforms.

Cloud apps are taking hold across many types of industries. One medical firm provides all its therapists with iPod touches. The therapists use an app that allows them to start and stop a time clock, tracking how quickly they respond to emails the firm gets.