It’s All About the Apps

For p-diddy, it’s all about the benjamins; For Weird Al, it’s all about the Pentiums; For software platforms it’s all about the apps!

If you are in the business of selling a software platform (which could be anything from an operating system to a browser), you need to have the most apps. Apps are what set you ahead of the competition. He who has the applications rules!

Let’s take a look at how software apps have made the difference on a variety of platforms

All About the Desktop Apps

Back in the nineties Steve Ballmer gave what is now famously known as his “monkey boy” speech in which he emphatically (and with a little too much sweat and enthusiasm) jumped up and down chanting Developers, Developers, DEVELOPERS!

It may look silly (and slightly scary) watching the video now, but Ballmer was essentially correct to laud developers. It was largely due to developers that windows became the dominant desktop platform.

Because Microsoft aggressively courted developers and made it easier and easier to develop applications for their platform (VB 6 anyone?), they had all the applications.

And having the all the applications, leads to the following benefits:

• Familiarity: When businesses and individuals went out to by computers, they bought the ones that had the applications they needed and were familiar with. For the longest time, that was the PC.
• Price: When lots of developers are competing for applications on the same platform, they start to engage in price wars which benefits the consumers.
• Specialization: With lots of developers making applications for the same platform, they begin to differentiate themselves by specializing in niches (eg – Order Tracking software for dentists).

And once you have people familiar with certain apps, it becomes very difficult to get them to change to another platform. For the longest time, I wouldn’t buy a Mac because I didn’t want to deal with “re-learning” how to do everything from composing a document to writing an email.

All About the Browser Apps

I started to use Firefox rather than IE because of its plugins (or apps). Once I started to use Firefox with all of the apps it had, there was no turning back for me. Let me give you a sample of just a few apps that won me over:

• Ad Block Plus:  I couldn’t imagine browsing without Ad Block Plus. It eliminates all the annoying flash ads and makes browsing a totally new (and much more pleasant) experience.
• Firebug: When doing web development, I now feel handicapped without firebug — the brilliant web debugging tool add-in for firefox. It does it all: Debug javascript, analyze HTML, and modify CSS on the fly.
• Vimperator: For keyboard junkies like me, vimperator makes it possible to totally avoid the mouse while browsing. Definitely a power-user tool, but I love having the option. There’s nothing like this on IE.

By making its browser easily extensible and encouraging third party developers (in the same way that Ballmer did for the desktop), firefox has leapfrogged IE in the eyes of many.

All About the Phone Apps

If you need any more proof about why developers and applications are important, you can look no further than the eponymous iPhone. When asked why most people are getting iPhones, the most common answer is because of its apps. In fact, Apple has realized this and incorporated it into their advertisements — “There’s an App for That!”

The iPhone is light years ahead of every other phone due to all the applications it has. I wouldn’t even consider using another smartphone because I’ve become so attached to all of the great apps on the iPhone. And here’s the kicker…due to the active developer community on the iPhone, it’s getting more and more apps everyday. Which means that your existing phone will be better tomorrow than it is today – simply by downloading new apps! That is a true competitive advantage.

In the software platform world, it’s all about the apps!