Today mobile apps are the most highly demanded type of software product, especially when it comes to custom development. The level of smartphone penetration is unbelievably high among all social groups that’s why mobile apps are widely used practically in all industries and all spheres of our life. Their use sets new standards and significantly increases the quality of many services, facilitates numerous tasks, and streamlines multiple processes.

In this article, we offer you to have a look at the new opportunities that are provided by the Internet of Things-powered apps. We will also explain how mobile technologies help to efficiently operate and manage IoT systems of different types and show how the development of both IoT and mobile technologies influence each other.

IoT mobile apps use cases

To begin with, we’d like to enumerate a couple of spheres where IoT apps for mobile devices are already actively used and explain their role in IoT networks of connected devices.

• Smart homes. This domain is probably the first one that many people will recollect when asked to name any IoT applications. Mobile apps in such systems help to easily manage numerous devices simultaneously and fully remotely. A single app can unite functionality for operating a wide range of different devices on a single dashboard.
• Healthcare. Mobile apps are also widely used in telemedicine. Today patients can have practically full-scale consultations with doctors even without leaving their homes. Moreover, smartphones can play a very important role in vital parameter tracking and patient state monitoring as well as in helping to organize the treatment process in a proper way. The simplest example here is notification features that can remind patients of the necessity to take a pill or measure a sugar level.
• Fitness. Fitness IoT apps usually presuppose using different kinds of wearables (like smart bands or other devices with sensors). In this case, smartphones functions as devices that accumulate all the relevant data and provide users with access to them.
• Agriculture. The agricultural sphere can also greatly benefit from the opportunities provided by the Internet of Things. Farmers can install various sensors and smart devices in their fields and facilities for monitoring inventory, tracking temperature changes, and analyzing other conditions. All this info with real-time updates can be available in a mobile app.
• Retail. IoT lets shop owners and managers track sales processes in real-time via mobile apps, monitor all supply chain stages, analyze buying patterns, as well as make conclusions about the current state of the supply and demand ratio.
• Smart cities. While smart home systems are already a common thing for many of us, smart cities are viewed as a rather new concept. However, namely, this domain has probably one of the widest spheres of application of mobile software solutions. For example, they can be used by people for tracking traffic and situation on the roads in general for better route planning. Authorities can also use IoT for smart outdoor lighting and cost saving.

Benefits of mobile apps in IoT

It may be rather challenging (and even impossible) to name all the advantages of using mobile apps in IoT solutions. However, let us mention at least a few of them that have the highest importance in our opinion.

• Cost-efficiency. Mobile apps allow users to operate different devices fully remotely which lets enterprises reduce the number of their employees and eliminate risks of human mistakes. As a result, it is possible to cut down labor costs and also avoid expenses caused by various types of errors.
• Increased performance. Thanks to IoT mobile apps, you can automate many tasks for your employees and, consequently, reduce the time needed for this or that task.
• A better understanding of clients’ needs and behavior. Regardless of the business type, one of the most crucial priorities for any company is to understand its clients’ needs, interests, and demands. Thanks to IoT powered by mobile solutions, businesses get access to a wide range of customer-related data which can be used for further strategy development.
• Enhanced safety. Thanks to IoT solutions, you can more easily monitor high-risk environments for building safer workplaces for your team. When you get access to real-time data via your smartphone, you can faster react to all possible issues.
• Better analytics. Regardless of the industry or the app type that we are talking about, data and its high-quality analysis play a crucial role in the efficiency of your solutions. Smartphones are very convenient devices for viewing data in real-time as well as data history. Moreover, many mobile apps can also practically immediately provide data analytics reports.

As you can see, mobile applications can take a central place in IoT systems. And it is a well-deserved position. Today businesses widely use mobile apps as a channel for communication with their clients as well as for organizing their working processes within a team.