Dublin mobile app agency Furious Tribe has launched a new ‘App Builder’ platform to allow businesses to create apps and gain a share of the US$17.5bn mobile market.
Furious Tribe’s new ApptivateHQ platform will allow anyone to easily and inexpensively build mobile apps for their company or organisation.
While ApptivateHQ will initially focus on the iPhone platform, Furious Tribe has plans to add iPad and Android support in the near future.
With more than 4.6 billion mobile subscribers worldwide, the launch of Apptivate is a strategic move that will position Furious Tribe as a leader within in the European app market, claims its managing director, Patrick Leddy.
About Furious Tribe
Furious Tribe has already done well in the enterprise market, acquiring accounts ranging from O2 to Citibank, EMI Music, Royal Sun & Alliance, RTE, TV3 and more.
“While we have always seen a strong demand in the enterprise market, we have witnessed an ‘insatiable demand’ for mobile apps in the SME market,” Leddy said.
“We realised that SMEs needed to go mobile, as well, but more often than not, they lacked the budget to deliver meaningful mobile experiences. We identified this gap in the market 12 months ago, and work on ApptivateHQ.com began,” Leddy added.
ApptivateHQ is provided as ‘platform as a service’ and is entirely web based and allows anyone to build and manage iPhone applications.
“The product is based on a ‘freemium’ business model, meaning that ApptivateHQ.com is completely free to sign up to and build your first app. You can build a fully functional app and then preview it in the web-based simulator before publishing to the Apple App Store.
ApptivateHQ.com charges a US$399 submission fee for the publishing of apps, plus a US$25 monthly fee.
The monthly fee includes hosting of the app on the ApptivateHQ cloud and ongoing access to the ApptivateHQ content management system.
“Thanks to our patent pending technology, this means that you can update your content at any time without the need to resubmit your app to Apple,” said Leddy.
Disruptive business model
He said the new platform is a perfect example of a disruptive business model. Currently, developers charge up to $500 per day for iPhone development services.
“Our product aims to ‘level the playing field’ and turn the market on its head.
“Now everyone can have a mobile app to represent their business and engage customers on their own terms. It’s a simple, pay-as-you-go service, said Leddy, no need for contracts and you can cancel at any time.
“It is the simplicity of the offering that allows brand managers to bypass their IT departments, and simply sign up with the company credit card. The platform is completely self-contained, we manage the servers, technology and submission to Apple. We will substantiate a monthly fee through continually adding value to our offering – with improvements added weekly, meaning everyone is always on the latest version.”
The platform will be targeted primarily at the North American market and will focus initially on launching apps for newspapers, popular blogs, bands and events.
Yesterday, Furious Tribe signed a deal with EMI Music Ireland to publish a number of artists on the Apptivate platform, starting with the artist Codes.
“Mobile is the future, and companies that do not adopt a mobile strategy in 2010 will become reactive followers in 2011,” Leddy warned.
By John Kennedy
Photo: Furious Tribe managing director Patrick Leddy
