widespread adoption of mobile devices and, with it, the proliferation of

purpose-built software applications, or apps. Presently, 18% of

Australian businesses offer a mobile app, but in a recent survey more

than half of the participants said they planned to develop one within

the next five years. For companies getting app-happy, it's not just a

case of dishing up what they think will be good for users. Experts

insist that app success depends on ensuring the relevance of the

offering and its functionality. Co-creation is the name of the game. The

activities of banks and media players make them natural-born app

purveyors, but less digitally adept businesses are also benefiting from

app-ing it up.