A mobile app drives digital transformation when it removes friction and manual work, gives the business real-time data, and opens new sources of revenue. That takes the right kind of app for your goals, built well and measured. Mobile is no longer a nice-to-have: it is how many businesses now operate, reach customers and grow.
Why do so many transformations fall short?
A well-executed mobile strategy can cut costs and increase revenue, yet in a 2022 McKinsey survey, companies reported capturing a median of only 31% of the revenue benefits their digital transformations could have achieved.
One common mistake is relying on generic software rather than apps built for their needs. Custom apps allow deeper integration, better automation and smarter decisions, and can make the difference between a transformation that succeeds and one that stalls.
What trends are shaping mobile apps?
- AI and machine learning, to automate responses and customer support, personalise experiences from user behaviour, and streamline operations.
- The cloud, for lower infrastructure costs, faster updates, and better security and compliance.
- Real-time analytics from the data an app collects, to understand customers, work more efficiently and decide faster.
- Super apps, which bring social, shopping and services into one place, and the metaverse, virtual spaces where people work, shop and meet.
- Smart devices: smartwatches for fitness and health tracking, voice assistants such as Alexa and Siri, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices in homes and industry.
Which kind of app should you build?
The wrong type wastes time and money. The right one balances performance, cost and fit with your business strategy.
- Native apps, built for iOS or Android, are the fastest and give the best experience, but take longer and cost more to build.
- Cross-platform apps use one codebase for both, saving time and money with solid performance.
- Hybrid apps are web apps in a mobile shell: the quickest and cheapest to build, but they may lack performance and access to the device's features.
If performance comes first, go native; if cost and speed matter more, cross-platform or hybrid may suit you better. How 4 Roads built Gates Ventures a native iOS and Android app.
How do you measure an app's success?
By engagement: are people downloading it, still using it over time, and how often and for how long? By efficiency: is it improving workflows, and are employees or customers actually using it? And by financial impact: is it increasing revenue or reducing costs, and what is the return on investment? If an app isn't delivering on these, rethink the strategy. How 4 Roads built Thermomix's app, and what it achieved.
Why does mobile matter now?
The best companies are building mobile-first business models, using AI, the cloud and data to scale, automate and engage, and tracking and improving performance all the time. Mobile is at the centre of digital transformation, and businesses that don't adapt will be left behind.
How 4 Roads designs and builds apps.
Updated on 19 September 2026.
