Apperian Puts an External Focus on Mobile App Management

When it comes to mobile computing there are two distinct classes of use cases. The one the channel focuses on most is mobile device and application management inside the enterprise. In that scenario, IT organizations are trying to cope with everything from bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies to securing the overall environment.

But as interesting an opportunity that creates for solution providers, the larger opportunity is likely to be mobile applications aimed at an organization’s customers. After all, most organizations have a limited number of employees. The number of potential customers they have is theoretically limitless.

Fresh off raising another $12 million in funding this week, Apperian, a provider of mobile application management and security software, is now starting to expand the reach of its customer base with a little help from the channel. While Apperian hasn’t put any of the mechanisms in place to support a broad-based channel effort, Apperian CEO Brian Day noted managed service providers that specialize in mobile applications are the segment of the channel that Apperian finds most attractive.

For all intents and purposes, IT organizations have no control over the mobile computing devices their customers decide to use. And yet, landing a mobile application on those devices is a major strategic initiative for just about every business. While there’s no doubt employee productivity has increased substantially thanks to mobile computing applications, senior business executives are a whole lot more interested in how mobile applications can be used to increase customer loyalty in a way that generates more revenue per customer engagement. The best way to do that is to gain a presence on the mobile devices those customers now carry everywhere.

To manage that process, Apperian developed an approach to mobile application management that can be extended to unmanaged mobile computing devices. Day said Apperian, which now has 67 employees, has enabled the deployment of 1.7 million applications and the amount of recurring revenue the company generates has increased by 250 percent. Just as importantly, Day noted the average deal size has now doubled in in the last year, and the number of end users that interact with Apperian mobile application management software has increased 400 percent.

For solution providers looking to move beyond internally focused mobile device management (MDM) solutions that have already become a commodity, the opportunity to add value by focusing more on how mobile applications are built, deployed and managed beyond the walls of the enterprise may turn out to be a much more compelling opportunity.