No one can deny that the original telephone Alexander Graham Bell invented in 1876 has changed significantly. From a luxury item proudly displayed as the centerpiece of the home to something small, portable, and powerful that people keep within arm’s reach 24/7, the humble telephone has evolved into a mini personal computer capable of much more than traditional voice phone calls.

With the advent of various smart phones, such as the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Droid, phones have gotten, well, smarter. People can now download apps (short for applications) directly to their phone to help them with a number of everyday tasks. Whether you want to check flight schedules, create a to-do list, convert currency, track your daily caloric intake, relax to soothing sounds, or perform any number of business or personal tasks, chances are there’s an app for it.

As a result, businesses in every sector have been creating apps directly related to their core offerings. Some would even say that companies are “scrambling” to enter the apps market, believing that attracting additional customers and revenues is directly related to their app offerings.

Is creating apps a smart thing for businesses to do? Of course. Just as the phone has evolved, so has business. Having the ability to “touch” your customers when they’re not in your store or on your Web site is vital to stay competitive. Yet as technology and smart phones continue to evolve, and we know without a doubt that they will, the apps that companies create have to change too. And that’s exactly where many companies are missing the mark.

Daniel Burrus is one of the world’s leading technology forecasters and business strategists as well as the author of six books, including the highly acclaimed Technotrends, which has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He is the founder and CEO of Burrus Research (http://Burrus.com), a research and consulting firm that monitors global advances in technology-driven trends to help clients better understand how technological, social, and business forces are converging to create enormous, untapped opportunities. Burrus also founded of Visionary Apps (www.visionaryapps.com), which seeks to utilize the constantly evolving smart phone, smart pad, and smart TV to bring never before seen opportunities designed to engage and empower the user in new and exciting ways in the fields of real estate, healthcare, purchasing, logistics, supply chain, sales, marketing, energy, security, and many more.

Where We Go From Here

While creating apps with mass-market appeal is good, such as apps for finding a good restaurant or creating action lists, few companies are thinking about the evolution of apps and what the next generation will be. So what exactly will tomorrow’s apps look like? The natural progression will be for apps to target the enterprise level. There will be apps for purchasing, logistics, supply-chain management, lead generation, patient care, and so on.

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