REMCO VAN DEN ELZEN | DISTIMO | NETHERLANDS
vp, business development

Bio: Remco van den Elzen, co-founder

 

Jovan: Distimo published comprehensive statistics about the download volume needed to hit the Top 25 on iOS. How confident are you in the figures that you cited?
Remco: The figures that we cite are based on actual transactional data collected from each app store directly; hence we are very confident about the reliability of the figures.

Jovan: Do you have similar statistics for developers trying to reach top Google Play charts?
Remco: We do indeed. Those figures, along with many other types of reports we provide, are available through Distimo Report (report.distimo.com).

Jovan: Distimo Monitor is your free product that provides developers with app analytics that can be converted into interactive charts to compare their app’s rankings against competitors and monitor how their app is doing in the market. Why is Distimo Monitor a valuable tool for developers?
Remco: We believe it is essential for developers to track their own performance on a daily basis, as well as to benchmark themselves against the market in general and to track specific competitors individually. Distimo Monitor helps developers doing so across all major stores, ad networks and countries worldwide, for free.

Jovan: How often are these figures calculated and how soon do Distimo customers have access to those statistics once they are calculated?
Remco: All figures are calculated at least daily, and they are available within minutes to hours after they are released by each appstore.

Jovan: How does this product compare to other tools such as App Annie, AppViz, orAppFigures?
Remco: Distimo Monitor has a few major advantages:
1. Support for all major appstores and ad networks.
2. Includes benchmarks, helping developers to compare their own performance against the market.
3. Allows the developer to track the source of downloads.

Jovan: How are the analytics provided by Distimo different from those provided by Apple’sApp Store?
Remco: Aside from being much more comprehensive in its visualizations and analyses provided, Distimo Monitor:
1. Includes benchmarks
2. Enables developers to track competitive applications’ rankings, price changes and featured placements
3. Supports all major stores instead of just Apple.

Jovan: Distimo recently released Distimo App Link which creates a single URL for developers’ apps that are available on multiple platforms. When the App Link is visited on a mobile device it automatically redirects the consumer to their compatible app store. Aside from saving time, what do developers have to gain from using cross platform distribution tools such as App Link?
Remco: It allows developers to track the source of downloads, which it can use to identify which marketing channels are working best for the developer.

Jovan: Distimo’s statistics show Google Play outpacing other platforms when it comes to free downloads. Does this mean that developers are not making money through Google Play?
Remco: Certainly not; many developers on Google Play generate revenue using ads or other business models. Hence, although revenue through purchases may be less than Apple, developers are certainly generating revenue on Google’s platform.

Jovan: Even though Distimo provides several tools for developers, your site also mentions that you work with manufacturers and carriers. How are you helping manufacturers and carriers?
Remco: Among other things, Distimo Report helps device manufacturers and carriers to:
1. Track and benchmark application stores’ growth
2. Identify the most popular applications and the most successful publisher
3. Gain an understanding of what types of content are most popular

Jovan: Is Distimo sharing the usage information collected from apps with the device manufacturers and carriers?
Remco: No, developers’ own data will always be kept confidential.

– Distimo Monitor free cross-platform app monitoring tool for developers.

– Distimo Report cro