What clicks with consumers? Ask Appiterate

The company, which tests and experiments with app features, is betting on speedy solutions and emerging segments

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When Varun Sharma, along with Tanuj Mendiratta, Anuj Bhargav and Mayank Kumar, quit their jobs at reputed companies to start Appiterate, their sole goal was to "make lives easier". When Sharma expresses this desire, many questioned how A/B testing for mobile applications could contribute towards that.

(This is used to test changes to a webpage by diverting surreptitiously a small fraction of users to a new version and comparing their behavior against the rest on the standard site. If the new version gets more clicks, longer visits or more purchases, it displaces the original.)

"When we simplify mobile applications, we make lives easier for consumers and developers. Some mobile apps are more popular than others. Companies such as Appiterate find what clicks with consumers - from the colour of tabs to pictures and designs, we test and experiment with features of apps to find what is more popular and gets better traction," says Sharma, co-founder and chief operating officer.

THE TEAM & FIRM’S USP

• Mendiratta and Varun Sharma are alumni of IIM-Calcutta
• Mayank Kumar is an engineer from IIT-Delhi and Anuj Bhargav comes with an experience in design thinking and cognitive ergonomics
• The company says it distinguishes itself over the ease of use offered to developers
• It offers its developers instant updates on the mobile apps without any user intervention

Founded in January 2013, Gurgaon-based Appiterate recently raised $500,000 in seed funding from SAIF Partners and a bunch of angel investors. The company focuses on iOS and Andriod users, targeting about 80 per cent of mobile app users. It shares this market with start-ups such as Optimizely and Wingify, each offering faster, on-the-fly solutions for mobile applications. Global giants Google and Apple already have a host of A/B testing systems for mobile applications.

Working on a monthly subscription revenue model, the company bets on speedy solutions and detailed focus on client needs. So far, it has recorded 200 subscriptions on its website, of which most are free. Key clients are Taxiforsure, Reviews42 and Spice Labs. The fee charged is between $50 and $2,000. The company claims to be first in the segment to have developed a user-friendly editor, through which clients can experiment with style and design to find popular trends. "It works just like WordPress (a weblogging platform); you can drag and drop tabs and change colours without getting into coding," says Sharma.

Appiterate's founders point out earlier, mobile app coding updates would take seven-eight weeks to go live; now, the process takes merely seven days.

Gartner, an American information technology research company, had said most start-ups in the mobile apps segment would find it difficult to sustain, as about 95 per cent of mobile downloads would be free by 2017. Experts say currently, most of Appiterate's consumers are on the free subscription mode.

To address this, the company is focusing on mobile gaming. Sharma says the company will also focus on the US, Europe, Germany, Italy, Japan and Singapore; adding start-ups, gaming and small gaming studios will be key priority areas. In 2013, the mobile gaming segment had accounted for revenue of about $6 billion in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a report on the sector. It is expected globally this segment will grow 27 per cent annually.

EXPERT TAKE: Rahul Khanna

Unlike legacy A/B testing tools that optimise for the web, Appiterate has built a suite of A/B testing capabilities with a ‘mobile-first’ orientation, which takes into account the unique attributes of the interface, including device size, interaction method (touch vs keyboard), and user behaviour (activity levels, frequency, location, other app interaction, etc). All these capabilities help app publishers optimise the level of engagement and drive conversions in categories such as gaming and e-commerce.

Equally critical is the fact the a simple change in features/menus can take weeks or even months to make their way to the end user, as all updates to apps need to go through the distribution channels of Apple or Google. Using Appiterate’s rapid deployment software development kit, app developers can instantly change features and aspects of an app already installed by users, without any effort on behalf of the user to download a new version of the app.

To stay ahead of competition, the company needs to quickly hone in on its target publisher market and establish some early wins in the category to break out from the pack. This will also help it gain some credibility and mindshare in a fairly competitive environment. As the focus of the company is the US market, it also needs to put some resources on the ground, especially if it plans to go after larger publishers.

Rahul Khanna is managing director at Canaan Partners

Another key area will be global e-commerce players, especially those abroad. With many similar start-ups coming up in Europe and the US, investors say the company, with its strong team and technological innovation, can address their needs.

"Currently, there are no big players in the US or any other country focusing on A/B testing for mobile applications. There's huge opportunity for Indian start-ups to capture that space," says Mayank Khanduja, vice-president, SAIF. He adds Appiterate's investors aren't in a hurry to churn profits; they will wait for the company to establish a strong client base.

Appiterate's founders say the markets in Europe and the US are favourable, as companies there have realised the importance of app testing during initial stages. In India, however, A/B testing kicks off only once the app is established, says Sharma.

Experts agree. Ankur Bisen, senior vice-president (retail and consumer products) at Technopak India, says Indians have woken up to the reality that mobile applications will be the next big step to connect with consumers. He hopes in the coming days, banks, insurance companies, etc, will be potential clients for start-ups in the A/B testing market for mobile apps. The company's success, he adds, will depend on how much it can simplify solutions for end users and the quality of assistance and services it offers.

Sharma seems focused on his goal: "We want to do for IT products what Infosys did for IT services."