It's always good to know who you're up against in business. Here are some companies and products that I feel would compete with VideoAppShack.

Competitors

Mobile Roadie

Mobile Roadie claim to be the world's most powerful mobile app creator. They were founded in 2009 out of California and have a number of high-profile brands, including Rolling Stones, Cirque du Soleil and Adele.

They have a number of integrations, such as Facebook/Twitter, YouTube and Vimeo, but implementation feels ropey and outdated.

The apps that Mobile Roadie builds are based on a technology that creates mobile websites and packages them as native apps. They do this to simplify their codebase and make their product more flexible, but this approach doesn't come without drawbacks. Apps packaged in this way are have detrimental affects on performance and user experience. They're built using technologies that were intended for portability as opposed to performance, something that should be a priority when it comes to video.

Overall, Mobile Roadie offer a very flexible service that is tailored to brands that are looking to jump on the app bandwagon as opposed to providing a quality user experience.

AppMachine

AppMachine is a dutch company founded in 2011. They are the only other app creation platform that claims to output native apps. This is kind of a half-truth though. They use a platform called Xamarin to keep their code cross-platform that has it's own quirks and isn't officially supported.

The AppMachine platform in itself feels unfinished. When I tried to create an app using it the interface was clunky and full of bugs. Two of the three apps I downloaded that were from AppMachine crashed on my phone. Plus, their interface takes inspiration from Lego.

Overall, very similar to Mobile Roadie. They try to cram features in and don't offer a dedicated video experience.

Rokk Media

Unlike the above, Rokk Media are an agency as opposed to a platform. They're based in Exeter and have an impressive list of clients, including HSBC, T-Mobile and Sport England.

I couldn't find any apps in their portfolio that were video based, but as an agency offering app development they should still be considered competition.

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Of the above app creation platforms, I feel none currently match the standard that I want VideoAppShack to achieve. None of them provide tools for creating a video-focused app, which is the primary goal of VideoAppShack. They also compromise on quality for flexibility. In order to broaden their target audience, they focus on providing quantity over quality. The more integrations they have, the wider their audience is.

I want VideoAppShack to specialise in video apps and become the best solution for creating video-on-demand apps.

I consider Rokk Media to be the biggest competitor in the South West, as they have the ability to create rivalling apps, but their focus is on producing bespoke apps for individual clients.

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Competitor Interview

I've made an effort to contact both AppMachine and Mobile Roadie but didn't receive a response from them within my timeframe, so I've been in contact with the Creative Director of Blue Juice Multimedia Ltd. who are an agency that focus on the creation and delivery of video content.

*D: Roughly how many clients have you produced videos for since the company started?**

C: We have worked with nearly 100 clients producing more than 1000 videos since the company started in 2009.

*D: And how many of these do you think could justify having a branded video app?*

C: Probably 10-15 clients have either enough content, or have a very strong business case to create more content that could be delivered in a mobile app to their audience

*D: How many clients have you worked with to create bespoke video apps?*

C: Currently 4

*D: Could you give a rough timescale of how long you would work with a client to create one?*

C: 6-8 weeks from scope, wireframe, backend, UI, develop, test, roll out

*D: Would you see VideoAppShack as direct competitor to your business?*

C: Yes

*D: Do you think it's viable as a product?*

C: As businesses create more and more video content, the need to consolidate and manage the content and the viewers ability to find content increases. Creating a controlled platform becomes valuable for audience reach. So the need for a video app is viable - whether a WYSWIG web based platform can give the level of customisation / functionality needed remains unknown - most of the larger organisations will have specific requirements that may require custom development

*D: Is it something that you would consider recommending to your clients?*

C: Yes

*D: If VideoAppShack offered an agency partnership/reseller program, would you be interested?*

C: Yes