The difficulty for any business, though, is likely to be proving this. Large organisations with in-house development teams might be able to develop a few iPhone, BlackBerry, Android or Windows Mobile apps as a sideline to their day to day duties. In other companies, funds for mobile apps will need to come from marketing budgets.
Then there is the question of who to bring in to develop applications, and how much to pay. Companies that have gone "outside" for iPhone apps report wide variations in quality, as well as wildly varying costs, for apps and by all accounts the marketplace still has something of a Wild West feel about it.
But these difficulties have to be set against the cost of not developing mobile apps, where competitors are already doing so. BA, for example, says that its apps encourage customer loyalty; they are tied in to its Executive Club frequent flyer programme. And it is much cheaper for BA if its passengers check timetables on an app, rather than by calling the call centre, and check in on their mobiles, rather than using a check-in desk.
The economics of rail travel are different, but apps are increasingly about convenience and customer service, not raising revenues. And, of course, rail passengers still have access to the basic, free journey planner on www.nationalrail.co.uk or even a paper timetable.
Stephen Pritchard is a contributing editor at IT PRO.
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