As the year comes to a close, predictions about what will happen in the coming year for the IT industry are being rolled out. When it comes to Web applications, the ones with a massive user base will likely continue to dominate the market, whereas those that launch in 2014 won’t likely be competitive during their infancy. On the whole, the Web application industry will follow specific trends, and the ones that adopt new ideas in the most effective ways are sure to find themselves among the list of top performers. Here’s what’s in store for Web applications in 2014.
Storage
As people and businesses move to the cloud with even more fervor in the coming year, file storage is one of the biggest problems to address. Online file backup and sharing services such as Dropbox have been among the most common Web applications, and they’ll continue to lead the charge. Linux, Mac and Windows cloud services will also be popular in 2014.
Mobile Applications
With the increased number of mobile users, many companies are considering whether to create a cross-platform site or develop a mobile app. Many Web applications are likely to be available as mobile versions because users tend to prefer mobile apps over mobile sites. However, this may be due to the poor quality of many mobile site designs. Responsive sites will likely be sufficient for most businesses, but Web applications will be developing mobile apps that improve the user experience.
Mobile Advertising
One of the biggest reasons for developing a mobile application in 2014 is to begin serving mobile ads. Although it seems that desktop ad spending has peaked, mobile ads are rapidly climbing. For this reason, you can expect to find more ads being sent out via mobile devices. Combining the data from Web applications with the information collected by a mobile application gives a marketer a competitive advantage when trying to reach customers at the right moment to make a sale.
Personalization
Big data makes it possible for companies to understand individual customers in more detail. This will allow for an even more personalized experience with Web applications in 2014 as companies begin to gather and analyze data about user interactions. Products like Google Now are already working to provide users with information before they even ask for it. You can expect to see similar products and services worked into various Web applications throughout the year.
Mobile Device Management
More and more people are using the same devices at home and in the office. It makes sense to just have one laptop and one phone for business and personal use, but it opens companies up to a range of IT security vulnerabilities. For this reason, many companies are using mobile device management services such as AirWatch and Codeproof to manage and secure these devices to prevent any problems from happening.
Mobile Video
Mobile video has seen explosive growth in the past two years and this signals that more Web applications will support mobile video in 2014. Instagram, Vine and Facebook all support videos and more Web applications are sure to jump in on this trend.
Wearable Tech
As people begin to adopt more wearable technology, it’s only natural for more Web applications to help crunch through all that data. In 2014, people are going to need help making sense of the data collected by their bathroom scale, smartwatch, glasses and much more.
Big Data
With all this data becoming available, individuals will need tools to organize, analyze and make decisions using this data. Web applications like SumAll will fill this need and bring big data services to individual users.