Apple App Store as a Business Model Supporting U.S. Navy Requirements

Abstract

Naval Open Architecture (NOA) is the confluence of business and technical practices yielding modular, interoperable systems that adhere to open standards with published interfaces. This approach significantly increases opportunities for innovation and competition, enables re-use of components, facilitates rapid technology insertion, and reduces maintenance constraints. A key enabler of the NOA initiative is the Software Hardware Asset Reuse Enterprise (SHARE) repository. The repository was created in August 2006 to facilitate the reuse of software and thereby reduce future development costs. The total benefit of the repository will correspond to the quality and quantity of the applications deposited into it. Indisputably, the most successful software repository in the public sector is the Apple App Store. As of October 2011, Apple lists more than 425,000 applications available. The purpose of this research is to examine the business model of the App Store to identify which of its effective business practices might be applicable to the SHARE repository.