Hospitals, physician practices, medical equipment manufacturers and other healthcare organizations need to incorporate intelligent medical Internet marketing strategies. A major part of that strategy is mobile app development.
Healthcare is also going through the app development trend. It’s all about the mobile phone experience these days, and the healthcare industry needs to capitalize on this. According to Gartner, 2017 will see over 268 billion app downloads generating $77 billion.It’s not hard to see how this prediction will come true – there are already over 2.2 million apps in Google Play and over 2 million in the Apple App Store,and apps are not being used only for smartphones now.
Apps are indispensable for a host of IoT-enabled devices as well as smart cars, smart homes, wearables and other such connected devices whose use will only increase in the years to come. This also coincides with the increasing acceptance of cloud-based services and apps with the capability of real time data syncing with other devices and the server. So it’s worth looking into 2017 and what major app trends we could see this year.
Big Data Analysis
Analytics are the bread and butter of any mobile marketing strategy and app development. They enable tracking the mobile use habits of users,helping you target your marketing more efficiently. That’s what big data analysis makes possible. Incorporating actionable elements in an app that drive greater user engagement can help marketers understand the user better.
The Practical Potential of Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) will no longer be just a show. Apps are now putting AR to full use. With wearables now part of the app device list, AR just has so many practical applications. We could soon be seeing apps using word or phrase recognition. Detecting a catchphrase in an audio, video or text message could result in the app opening a related service.There could also be other such integrations involving location tracking, social media syncing, and other intelligent ideas. The sky’s the limit!
Location-based Services
We could see a significant rise in the number of location-based services (LBS) because of GPS availability on mobile devices. LBS technology could provide users with real-time information on deals or offers based on where they are located. Offers at retail stores in the user’s location, payment portals specific to the location, navigation services, travel offers, security features, indoor mapping, etc are some of the practical fields of location-based services.
This is where various tech giants have made significant advances. Beacon technology is one of the examples of the technological advancements made to facilitate location-based services, where marketers and consumers can communicate.
Realizing the Full Potential of the Internet of Things
Internet of Things (IoT) could realize its greater potential this year. As we mentioned before, app developers would be focusing not only on smartphones but also a host of wearables. IoT is influencing organizations in comprehensive fields including healthcare, so much so that these organizations are experimenting with this.
The IoT industry is therefore going through a major boom and app creators need to tap into this boom to succeed. Data analytics needs to be incorporated for easy and efficient access of stored and shared data. Enterprise backend infrastructure and complex mobile platforms need to be used by app developers for sharing data and communicating between the devices.
App Security Becomes Critical
With the large amount of user data that gets transferred through, and stored in, the smartphone thanks to these technologies, the security of the smartphone becomes really important. Though many users don’t realize how important the security of their smartphone is, apps need to have built-in security features. Apps with security features could be prioritized.
AI Isn’t much Far Back
We could see apps embedded with artificial intelligence (AI). Quite like AR, the potential of AI is also nearly limitless. And it could change the industry itself. Armed with AI, apps could be created that would customize their display to users based on their location data or their personal preferences. Rather than being run from data centers always, these kinds of services could soon be incorporated into IoT-enabled devices and wearables.
What these trends indicate is the sheer potential of mobile app development. Apps are soon going to be an important element of medical Internet marketing since healthcare apps are already getting popular. The services of an experienced healthcare digital marketing company could be helpful for your practice since the competition is heating up in digital marketing thanks to technological developments.
