Fortune Magazine has released its much awaited top businesses lists is various categories for 2019. Of these, one of the most exciting ones is the Future 50 – a list ranking top 50 companies that hold the highest growth potential in the coming decade. Fortune Magazine uses a specially developed system to predict which companies will perform particularly well in the upcoming years, despite the random unpredictable variables of the business landscape. Companies like Workday, Square, ServiceNow and Spotify top the list among others. 

We studied the top ten companies on this list and found 9 of them have one thing in common – they all have a mobile app that plays a predominant role in driving success. Let’s a look at who these promising toppers are and what their apps do. This will help you understand just how global business leaders utilize the mobile app economy, allowing you to recreate their success for your own startup or business. 

1. Workday

Workday is a cloud-based, on-demand ERP software, focused on human capital management and financial management. It unifies a wide range of HR functions including payroll, time tracking, recruitment, and many more, giving employees and employers constant access to their key performance indicators that enable businesses to make better decisions. 

To make this experience truly seamless and always-on, Workday designed a mobile application to take advantage of all the accessibility that a smartphone has to offer. With the Workday app, managers can supervise their people from anywhere, mobilize their workforce, store crucial data securely in a cloud, keep information up-to-date, access reports and insights on their fingertips and manage the entire business much more effectively. From viewing team calendars to reviewing information on performance or compensation, tax details, leave permissions, approving expenses and much more, the Workday app allows HR managers and executives to do their jobs easier, faster and better. 

2. Square

The success of Square hinges on a unique and elegant hardware and software solution that addressed a widespread issue being faced by numerous small businesses world over. Back in the day, it was illegal for non-registered merchants to accept credit card payments. So anyone from a hot dog stand owner to philanthropic groups raising funds for a cause, was limited to only those carrying cash.  

Further strengthening their ground in the payments niche, Square developed the Square Cash app that beautifully complements this mission turning any smartphone with this app into a card reader. The app is super sleek, easy to navigate and easy enough for non-tech savvy business owners to operate. The App also allows friends to easily send and receive money. This peer-to-peer payment feature brought Square to the forefront of consumer app economy. in addition, Square also developed a Square Register App that is a free point of sale (POS) app for mobile devise, Square App Marketplace and a few other apps that together create a powerful ecosystem of apps that support each other.  

3. ServiceNow

In the words of Fred Luddy, the creator, ServiceNow is a platform, a technology, that lets people automate processes in a business. It started off in the IT service management, helping IT service personnel and regular employees in a company find a better way to address regular, repetitive and mundane tech issues. ServiceNow transforms old, manual ways of working into modern digital workflows. Employees and customers get fast, simple and easy access to everything they need. 

To truly deliver on this promise, ServiceNow has developed a potent app that allows users to easily submit requests and raise tickets, maintain incident management, dynamic workflows, direct communication, contextual reports and notifications, right from their smartphone, all aimed at increasing productivity on the go.

4. Spotify Technology

Spotify turned a free music service into a $30 billion company. As of February 2020, the Spotify App has more than 271 million active monthly users with 124 million paid subscribers who don’t go a day without tuning into their favorite music streaming app. The strength of the business greatly lies in the fact that they created a stand apart app that easily beat out incumbent players with its design, pricing, features, content and cataloguing. The freemium business model lowered barriers to entry, allowing users to take their time forming a bond with the app before becoming a paid member. In the last few years, the company has been placing strong emphasis on international expansion and creating new distribution channels like original music and artist collaborations. No wonder Spotify finds a cozy spot on the top 10 Future 50 companies.

5. Atlassian

Atlassian, an Australian software company, has not just an app but an ecosystem of apps, including the ever popular Jira. The popularity of Atlassian App Marketplace along with their strong work culture and cutting edge software products makes Atlassian a company to look forward to in the future. 

Atlassian builds tools and platforms for businesses and owns bragging rights to having some of the most desirable clients including NASA, Netflix, Toyota and even Facebook and Twitter. 

6. Xiaomi

Chinese electronic giant Xiaomi has become a force to reckon with is a comparatively short span of time. From starting as a smartphone manufacturer to quickly becoming a top player in China and then in India – the world’s largest smartphone market, with products beyond smartphones including Smart TV’s, Smart Bands, Speakers, Security Cameras and much more. 

In addition to building great products at affordable prices, Xiaomi’s mobile app strategy too has played a significant role in catapulting the company to the forefront of global digital business. By building diverse and functional app and mobile services, Xiaomi has been able to efficiently compete with stalwarts like Apple and Samsung. Apps like Mi Credit – an online lending platform, are distinctly aimed at solidifying their grip on the fintech market. Today Xiaomi has a thriving app ecosystem with apps like Mi Home, Mi Launcher, Mi Remote, ShareSave, and even its own app store, the Mi Store. 

7. Crtip.com International

The success of Ctrip – China’s leading online travel agent firmly rests on the merits of its Android mobile app. The app offers travellers thousands of cheap flights to China and a low price guarantee on over 20,000 hotels in China. It allows users to easily book plane tickets, train tickets, do airport transfers, hotels, car rentals and so much more. Over time, Ctrip has evolved into a global platform called Trip.com and now helps travellers across the world. 

8. Salesforce

It would be hard to have a Future 50 list without including Salesforce – the definitive company that has revolutionized business mobility in the last decade. SalesForce’s mobile app has been of remarkable importance in the growth of the company. It is essentially an enterprise class mobile app that lets users instantly access their company’s CRM data from their phone or tablet in a secure manner. With an app that lets users carry their workplace anywhere with them on the go, Salesforce has redefined enterprise mobility. To sweeten the mix, Salesforce made their app cross platform and gave it offline capabilities, so that your work doesn’t depend on internet connectivity. 

9. Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a global biotechnology company that uses advanced scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for patients with life-threatening diseases. While biotech innovation is at the core of Vertex’s success, the company has truly leveraged the power of digital technology to help their patients through their treatments. 

Vertex developed apps like GPS Connect by Vertex – a free app for people enrolled in the Vertex GPS Guidance and Patient Support Program. Anyone who has been prescribed a Vertex medicine or their caregivers can use the app to seamlessly and comfortably connect with their patient support specialist and easily find assistance on matters like refill information, insurance details and many other resources. Another breakthrough Vertex app is the CF Genie App that is an educational app for healthcare professionals.

Such apps truly take the efforts of Vertex to a new level of patient care, perfectly blending pharmaceutical breakthroughs and consumer technology to make patients’ lives easier. 

Wrapping up – A Mobile App Truly Adds Wings to a Business

Developing a mobile app isn’t a fancy feature businesses add to their portfolio. A mobile app is truly a medium for any startup or business to reach out to its customers and create an engagement channel. A mobile app extends the reach of your product, taking it to the farthest corners of the world, thanks to the ubiquitous smartphones. These incredible companies that Fortune has recognized as the world’s most promising companies have all utilized the power of a mobile app to take their business to new heights. Be it creating new distribution streams or just making their customer’s lives infinitely easier thereby earning their loyalty, these leading companies show us the true power of a mobile app. So what are you going to do with this great power?