Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA), a global strategic market intelligence and advisory group, has issued a report predicting that device-neutral web applications will soon challenge single-platform native applications.

Native apps are currently the dominant digital distribution platforms for mobile content and services. These primarily include Apple’s App Store, Research In Motion’s App World, Nokia’s Ovi Store and Google’s Android Market. All that is slated to change, according to the Native or Web App whitepaper, 
a study conducted by GIA among developers, publishers, service providers and design agencies that collectively serve millions of consumers over mobile media.

The study projects that web apps will become more viable as a mobile distribution platform, and will in future lead to a proliferation of content distribution beyond typically tightly-controlled app store environments. This development is very much like the evolution of the internet experience on computers, the company says. This is particularly true for subscription-based mobile services such as news and weather, which rely on iterative design and user analytics.

According to the report, the key consumer drivers for the move towards web apps appear to be:

• Explosive growth in mobile web usage, such as for social media and mobile e-commerce
• Access to richer user experiences. New generation web apps will have access to native device features, such as global positioning services (GPS), cameras, Near Field Communications (NFC) as well as contacts and address books, within the next three years
• Preference to access popular content and services on any platform, such as laptops, smart phones and tablets such as the iPad.

Publishers and businesses that responded to the survey said that through their experience, web apps offer:

• Architectural advantages in reaching users across multiple device platforms
• Greater distribution control
• Clear cost advantages
• Greater usage “stickiness”
• Faster go-to-market (often weeks quicker to deploy)

“Businesses that are considering subscription-based services over multiple devices, such as tablets and smartphones, are likely to choose web apps over native ones,” says Lie Luo, lead consultant for mobile and wireless at Global Intelligence Alliance. “This will be especially applicable for news and weather, sports publications, financial services and healthcare. Web apps allow them to engage and track their subscribers more effectively than native apps. This is a critical factor in maintaining usage stickiness and customer retention.”

The GIA whitepaper also indicates that native apps are currently more favoured by smaller and pay-per-download application providers, who have a greater need for monetization, and value the benefit of established app store distribution channels.In the future, the report says, native apps are likely to remain the preferred approach for pay-per-download services and heavier applications such as 3D games.

You can download the whitepaper here.