Marketplace features 1,200-plus mobile apps for SMBs

GetApp, one of the biggest marketplaces dedicated showcasing cloud applications aimed at small and midsize businesses, has created a section focused on mobile applications. 

The new marketplace currently represents more than 1,200 services and tools for mobile devices running Android and Apple iOS. There are 25 different categories including productivity suites, communications, finance and accounting, collaboration, operations management and project management. 

The big goal: help business people find useful mobile apps without having to wade through dozens of consumer applications on more general app stores.

You can see what's trending in terms of downloads, compare up to three similar applications, check out compatibility, research pricing and even gather basic rating feedback (similar to what you'd see in the mainstream Apple or Android mobile apps stores).

"For business mobile app developers, the search volume for each app is low and they can't compete with consumer apps to be featured in general app-store rankings as their target market often corresponds to vertical or features-related niches," said Kevin Spain, general partner with Emergence Capital Partners, in a statement included with the GetApp press release. 

The focus of the GetApp mobile marketplace is industries with a big mobile demographic that are using their smartphones or tablets (or that want to use them) more heavily as part of their day-to-day job. That includes field services organizations, small healthcare concerns, manufacturing companies, transportation and real estate.

When I checked the site to write this post, the top "trending" app for the Apple platform was Lettuce, a free app for inventory and order management. On the Android, the top offering was the mobile app for Zendesk, the venerable customer service platform.