I think that everybody reading this has a host of apps on their smartphone, and know that some are better than others. Often the first release of an app is limited both in focus and in capabilities as developers big and small seek to stake a claim in the market and then improve on what they have started.

Some have the resources to make the next step, expanding their apps and opening up their brand to the mobile market in a meaningful way. This means not just developing for multiple platforms but developing relationships with advertisers and sponsors to monetize their work.

For many they need to turn to expert help from someone such as July Systems. July Systems is one of the behind the curtain players that enables app developers to move forward with the resources that they need to compete. It provides tools, development environments, strong partnerships and relationships to the table.

The company has an impressive customer list, with many of the major players in areas such as broadcast media, print journalism and sports leagues as its clients, but it seeks to appeal to developers large and small with its technologies and capabilities. Among the honor roll are CBS, Intel, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, ESPN, NBA, the Wall Street Journal and the NFL.

The goal of July Systems is not just to help build great apps but to do something that is just as important, to enable the developer to take the vital step to monetize the apps and create revenue streams across multiple platforms, devices and operating systems. It works not only on the IT side but also on the marketing side of the coin for customers.

Nathan Kerry, July’s senior vice president of Global Client Management and Channels said that sports brands realize there’s enormous value in mobile, from creating a loyal fan base to generating more revenue. He noted that by nature, sports fans want to be engaged and be a part of the action. Sports were one of the company’s primary focuses when it was formed.

For the sports developer the company has a huge range of services and tools. A quick look at its modules include ones for real time score updates, photos and video interaction, alert and push notifications, to name a few. Sports development was the foundation of the company and it has now been expanding into new markets.

Its platform also provides a live events package and the ability to scale dynamically. Keys in this changing time also include free automatic software updates and cross platform support that continues to grow as additional products are released.

Kerry said that is just the beginning of what it brings to the table. It works with its clients to develop a cross platform strategy from the beginning, urging them to first create in HTML5 and then add any OS specific features afterwards. This way they build once for multiple platforms, and while there are some features that they might miss out the flip side of this is that it avoids issues like OS fragmentation such as is occurring in the Android space.

Another feature the company brings is its partners, and the role they play varies a great deal. In some cases such as Amazon’s web services it introduces the client the opportunity to scale operations quickly and easily. Then there are partners such as PayPal and ComScore, which can be delivered as installable modules in a finished product.

In the past many companies focused on getting an app out now and then integrating it with the rest of its properties, now more are taking a holistic approach, seeking to have that integration, service and support from the start, Kerry said. The importance of this is that it encourages sponsors to support apps and mobile environments since unstable and poorly devised platforms will not gain any significant sponsorship, he noted.

For app developer it provides basically anything and everything that they might want to get a solid basis for their development. Starting with an Eclipse-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) it also delivers a suite of prebuilt modules that still have the ability to be configured for specific uses by the developer. Included is a range of tools for building, testing, debugging, running and managing apps all built around its Mi Platform. July Systems also offers discovery, design and development teams as well as providing operations and support for customers.

While July has an impressive list of major clients, the company is now seeing strong growth from smaller developers and it has tools for them. It has a Mi Platform Express, basically a quickstart program that would allow a company to create apps without real programming know-how, simply using marketing functions.

The quickstart program and the company’s modular approach enable mobile developer to rapidly prototype a project, say a tie in with an advertiser for a specific event, and do the development in a day rather than weeks, The compressed cycle leads to the ability to continually deliver fresh content to the market while bringing in sponsors and advertisers for new endeavors.

As customers become increasingly familiar with mobile apps for sports and other events the professionalism of the app along with the back room infrastructure will be increasingly important in order to maintain user interest and so enable the creation of revenue. Tools and development partners such as July Systems will only become increasingly important because of this trend.