Technology in Education: The 'App Economy'

Kidz B Kool first blog post in our new series Technology in Education is exploring the App Economy by looking at the App Stores recent information and data regarding the amount of money made by developers. You might be thinking- “what does the App Economy” have to do with Education so firstly let look at the facts.

2015 was a record-breaking year for the App Store; I believe this is just a start to more App Economy growth right across the world which means more jobs and job stability. This past holiday season was the biggest ever for the App Store and since 2008 the App Store has brought in nearly US$40 billion for developers! Not bad for such a short time, but let look at the App Store more recent data:

• Customers all over the world spent over US$1.1 billion on apps and in-app purchases in the two weeks ending 3 January

• 1 January, 2016 marked the biggest day in App Story history with customers spending over US$144 million

With that US$40 billion since 2008, over one-third of that amount was generated in the last year alone! These stats are huge, it’s not just the developers and the App Store making money from the App Economy; it has opened up job opportunities in many different areas such as:

• Marketing

• Development

• Finance

• Legal

• Management

• Product Management

• Engineering

• Customer Service

• And of course IT

The iOS App Economy has created 1.4 million jobs in the US, along with 1.2 million jobs in Europe and 1.4 million jobs in China. Now that’s some job growth right there which will continue to grow and with schools including computer science in their curriculum that opens a lot of possibilities for these students that find their passion in technology.

One example of how the App Economy is creating jobs for people of all ages including those still in school is this news article from The Age.

Spencer Porter is an entrepreneur from Melbourne, who created the app called LOWK8

LOWK8 is the friend in your pocket who will keep your locations safe by your side. LOWK8 will keep all your favourite or new destinations in an easy to navigate manner.

Porter is just 16 years old with his app stocked by Apple!

Porter is self taught so imagine if App Development was a part of what teachers were teaching students. How many more students could break into the app economy and pave a way to a future of endless possibilities?

Are you as shocked as us with the App Economy growth? Do you see it continuing to grow? Comment below

*Job creation estimate based on research by Dr. Michael Mandel, Progressive Policy Institute. “App Economy Jobs in the United States,” 6 January, 2016