The digital media The industry often talks about how much influence, dominance and power entities like Google and Facebook have. In general, the focus is on the huge amounts of data, and the audience reaches these companies. There is more beneath the surface, however, which increases these companies’ influence on both app developers and publishers.
In the real world, software development kit (SDK) integrations are a critical component of why these monolith companies have such a strong presence. For reference, an SDK is a set of software development tools, libraries, code samples, processes, and manuals that developers can use to build or improve the apps they create.
Through a digital marketing lens, SDKs provide in-app analytics, campaign test insights, attribution information, location details, monetization features, and much more.
Through a digital marketing lens, SDKs provide in-app analytics, campaign test insights, attribution information, location details, monetization features, and much more. For companies like Google and Facebook, their ability to deliver this insight is related to their data and reach.
While this provides useful features for developers and publishers, it also perpetuates the factors that contribute to their perceived monopoly status – and the disadvantages that a lack of competition encourages.
Almost all (90%) ad-supported Android apps have the Admob SDK from Google integrated. Statista data showed. In addition, the Facebook Audience Network SDK is included in 19% of all global Android apps that use cell phone ads. It’s worth noting that the vast majority of alternative “leading” promotional SDKs outside of these two players are used in Android apps less than 13% of the time.
As the app ecosystem rapidly expands beyond the boundaries of mobile devices, app developers and publishers would benefit immensely from finding economical and secure ways to adopt more SDKs.
The state of the SDK adoption
While there are currently many SDKs available in the market, a few key factors contribute to the overall dominance of Google and Facebook. Most fundamental is the reach and awareness of the respective organizations. A bigger component, however, is the lack of resources and time that app developers have.