In the first in a series articles Sarat Pediredla, partner and co founder of hedgehog lab assesses a major moblile dilemma#

"With the exponential growth of smartphone sales pioneered by Apple's
iOS platform and Google's Android platform, a lot of brands and
businesses are starting to factor mobile apps and a mobile strategy
into their marketing and operational activities.

"In this mobile app gold rush, there is a general (and false)
perception that the best way to reach the largest number of customers
is to target every major mobile platform out there. On the surface, it
seems like a good strategy to ensure your app is available to a wide
array of users but fails to take into account the Pareto
Principle rule applied to mobile apps, the Pareto
principle would translate into "80% of your customers/engagement comes
from 20% of the market". In this case, the 20% being Apple's iOS
platform.

"Although there is no hard data (yet) to prove the matter as a fact, it
is generally accepted that Apple's iOS platform tends to have better
engagement rates with consumers downloading an average of 62.5 apps
each. Typically, success of apps is measured using download
numbers but that means nothing if your not actually spending time using the app.

"Finally, an often overlooked fact remains that Apple's iOS environment
is a great test-bed for any innovative app concept you have. If your
app is a success on Apple's platform, then it is very likely it is a
good candidate to be ported to other platforms (as is the case with
hugely successful games like Angry Birds).

"With development budgets heavily restricted and the nascent stage of
the mobile apps market, my advice to our customers is always to start
where you will see the most ROI than invest large sums of money on a
mdoulti-platform strategy and realise that 80% of your efforts (i.e.
developing for platforms other than Apple's) only return 20% benefits.
Thankfully for us, it's a strategy that seems to be working."

Sarat Pediredla is founder and partner of the hedgehog lab