2015 was coined as the “Year of the Mobile Device” and it certainly delivered. So looking ahead to next year, could it become the “Year of the Mobile App”? According to Forrester Research, by the end of 2016, nearly 4.8 billion people across the world will be using a mobile phone. This is opening up unlimited opportunities for businesses in terms of developing mobile applications.

Next year is set to be a huge for mobile apps and new technological trends. Let’s take a look at some of the aspects that could shape the mobile app landscape in the next 12 months…

Consumers are always looking for new ways to use their Smartphone as a wallet replacement. 2015 has seen Apple Pay take centre stage in the mobile payment arena and that trend is set to continue into 2016. It isn’t just Apple who are taking advantage of this new app trend. The likes of Google and Samsung already offer their own wallet apps as payment options.

Moving forwards, wallet apps are set to become more integrated app experiences, including features such as loyalty points and e-receipts. We’re expecting 2016 to be a huge year for mobile payment apps.

Mobile Apps are now being developed for an array of platforms. 2015 saw the release of the Apple Watch and whilst consumer adoption still hasn’t really taken off, it may do within the next 12 months. Health monitoring apps have begun gaining people’s attention and 2016 could be the year in which apps become vital for wearable tech.

Forrester’s study found that 60 percent of corporate technology executives plan to invest heavily in enterprise app platforms that foster greater efficiency. Organizations are beginning to utilize mobile apps in order to increase efficiency, drive productivity and seamlessly complete business objectives. If 2015 was all about implementing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies, then in 2016 we’ll see more and more businesses starting to deploy Bring Your Own (BYOA) policies too.

As many as 5.5 million devices will be connected every day in 2016 as the total number of ‘things’ comprising the Internet of Things (IoT) will reach 6.4 billion next year, according to Gartner.

IoT is widely regarded as the next big thing in IT with more and more applications being made available where connectivity is integrated. IT departments will have to adjust policies and processes in order to accommodate this accelerating demographic.

The Internet of Things is opening up entirely new ways of doing business .In 2016; we may see huge growth of IoT applications.