1Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Mobile Development Platforms Ride the mobile wave while reducing fragmentation with an all-in-one MDP.

2Info-Tech Research Group Native mobile applications are incredibly popular with consumers and businesses. Developers need to select the right tools to reduce the costs associated with creating apps for multiple mobile platforms. Introduction IT managers who need to understand how to use a mobile development platform (MDP) to reduce fragmentation of development efforts. Developers looking to select a best-of-breed solution for easily translating code for different mobile platforms, such as iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. Development steering committees making an MDP purchase decision who need to understand the relative strengths and weaknesses of incumbent vendors. This Research Is Designed For:This Research Will Help You: Gain an overview of the MDP value proposition. Understand what’s new in the MDP market. Evaluate MDP vendors and products for your enterprise needs. Determine which products are most appropriate for particular use cases and scenarios.

3Info-Tech Research Group Market Overview Growth in mobile devices has been increasing at an incredibly rapid pace for both consumers and businesses. A recent survey by Info-Tech projects growth of over 130% for enterprise tablet use during the next year. Mobile proliferation has created costly fragmentation. iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone are all popular with consumers. This poses a challenge for developers: they’re forced to pick-and-choose which platform to develop for, or to invest in costly parallel development efforts. While web apps are an alternative to native app development, they can be a poor substitute as they neglect hardware-specific features. MDP vendors arose to help solve the conundrum of fragmentation by providing solutions that allow developers to “code once, deploy many” to multiple mobile platforms. These solutions provide other tools as well, such as debugging and emulation. The MDP market is currently in a relatively infant stage. It is undergoing dramatic advancements in technology and capabilities - and industry and enterprise change as well. For example, when we first began the process of comparing vendors, one of the vendors (OpenPlug) was discontinued, largely because it was based on Flash, and with Adobe discontinuing Flash for HTML5, Open Plug was doomed. It may be easy to say that many platforms (and approaches to mobile development) are moving towards a mobile web with many of the vendors offering hybrid solutions (part web, part native). However, this is more an indication of the volume of businesses that are becoming involved in the popularity of mobile and looking for a quick method to get the most value with a mobile solution. Native development is still and will likely always be more desirable from an overall performance and functionality standpoint. How it got here Where it’s going If your organization puts significant effort into cross-platform mobile application development, purchasing a full-featured MDP is a must. Fragmentation slows down time-to-market for native apps, while an MDP allows developers to focus on their craft without squandering time and money on parallel development. MDP vendors are moving more into a hybrid model that supports both consumer and business apps.

4Info-Tech Research Group Selection criteria: market share, mind share, and feature depth Adobe PhoneGap. Recently acquired by Adobe, PhoneGap provides a broad range of mobile development tools and a unique cloud compiler. IBM Worklight. Worklight is now backed by IBM’s extensive channel and partner network. Marmalade. Well-established among gaming developers, Marmalade is now making plays for business apps as well. MoSync. Offers a variety of mobile development solutions, including MoSync Reload. Software AG – Mobile Designer. Recently acquired by Software AG, Mobile Designer provides a host of cross-platform development options. Included in this Vendor Landscape: The mobile application development market is branched between native apps and web apps. For this report, we’ll be looking at vendors providing development tools for native apps. While web apps offer some benefits over native apps, the lack of robust access to smartphone/tablet-specific hardware features is often a deal-breaker for many developers. For this Vendor Landscape, Info-Tech focused on those vendors that offer strong capabilities across multiple mobile platforms and that have a significant market presence and/or reputational presence among mobile developers.

5Info-Tech Research Group Criteria Weighting: Mobile Development Platform criteria & weighting factors Vendor is committed to the space and has a future product and portfolio roadmap. Strategy Vendor offers global coverage and is able to sell and provide post-sales support. Reach Vendor is profitable, knowledgeable, and will be around for the long-term. Viability Vendor channel strategy is appropriate and the channels themselves are strong. Channel The three year TCO of the solution is economical. Affordability The delivery method of the solution aligns with what is expected within the space. Architecture The solution’s dashboard and reporting tools are intuitive and easy to use. Usability The solution provides basic and advanced features/functionality. Features Usability ArchitectureAffordability Product Vendor Viability Strategy ChannelReach Product Evaluation Criteria Vendor Evaluation Criteria

6Info-Tech Research Group MDP applications are becoming increasingly commoditized: we evaluated core features to ensure their presence Mobile Development Platform Features: Info-Tech scored each vendor’s features offering as a summation of their individual scores across the listed advanced features. Vendors were given one point for each feature the product inherently provided. Some categories were scored on a more granular scale with vendors receiving half points. Scoring Methodology Tools for finding and eliminating bugs.Debuggers Ability to virtualize target platform.Emulators Plug-ins for popular development suites.IDE Integration Multiple input languages supported. Program Languages Supports multiple mobile operating systems. Cross-Platform Mobile Output Ability to wrap code in installing app. Installer and/or Packager Tools for ensuring integrity of source code.Testing Tools such as application compression. Resource Management Tools for designing graphical user interfaces.UI Designer Ability to support web compilation or I/O.Web Capabilities What we looked for: Feature For an explanation of how Advanced Features are determined, please see Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation in the Appendix.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation

7Info-Tech Research Group These solutions offer solid Java-based application conversion into a variety of multiple mobile formats, including iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. Developers for mobile business applications have a few good picks in front of them Why Scenarios? In reviewing the products included in each Vendor Landscape TM, certain use cases come to the forefront. Whether those use cases are defined by applicability in certain locations, relevance for certain industries, or as strengths in delivering a specific capability, Info- Tech recognizes those use cases as Scenarios, and calls attention to them where they exist. 3 2 Business Application Development 1 For an explanation of how Scenarios are determined, please see Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation in the Appendix.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation Exemplary Performers

8Info-Tech Research Group Marmalade’s C++ focus and MoSync’s versatile capabilities make them a favorite for mobile gaming. Game developers can rely on the core strengths of these vendors to help transcode their apps Why Scenarios? In reviewing the products included in each Vendor Landscape TM, certain use cases come to the forefront. Whether those use cases are defined by applicability in certain locations, relevance for certain industries, or as strengths in delivering a specific capability, Info- Tech recognizes those use cases as Scenarios, and calls attention to them where they exist. 3 1 Gaming Application Development 2 For an explanation of how Scenarios are determined, please see Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation in the Appendix.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation Exemplary Performers

9Info-Tech Research Group Native apps provide a variety of benefits over web apps, but these platforms allow you to harness the best of both worlds with HTML5 compatibility. Need to develop native apps alongside those for mobile web? Check out the following vendors Why Scenarios? In reviewing the products included in each Vendor Landscape TM, certain use cases come to the forefront. Whether those use cases are defined by applicability in certain locations, relevance for certain industries, or as strengths in delivering a specific capability, Info- Tech recognizes those use cases as Scenarios, and calls attention to them where they exist. Exemplary Performers 2 1 Hybrid Deployment Approach 3 For an explanation of how Scenarios are determined, please see Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation in the Appendix.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation

10Info-Tech Research Group Appendix 1.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Overview 2.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Product Selection & Information Gathering 3.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Scoring 4.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation 5.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Fact Check & Publication 6.Product Pricing Scenario

11Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape Methodology: Overview Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscapes are research materials that review a particular IT market space, evaluating the strengths and abilities of both the products available in that space, as well as the vendors of those products. These materials are created by a team of dedicated analysts operating under the direction of a senior subject matter expert over a period of six weeks. Evaluations weigh selected vendors and their products (collectively “solutions”) on the following eight criteria to determine overall standing: Features: The presence of advanced and market-differentiating capabilities. Usability: The intuitiveness, power, and integrated nature of administrative consoles and client software components. Affordability: The three-year total cost of ownership of the solution. Architecture: The degree of integration with the vendor’s other tools, flexibility of deployment, and breadth of platform applicability. Viability: The stability of the company as measured by its history in the market, the size of its client base, and its financial performance. Strategy: The commitment to both the market-space, as well as to the various sized clients (small, mid-sized, and enterprise clients). Reach: The ability of the vendor to support its products on a global scale. Channel: The measure of the size of the vendor’s channel partner program, as well as any channel strengthening strategies. Evaluated solutions are plotted on a standard two by two matrix: Champions: Both the product and the vendor receive scores that are above the average score for the evaluated group. Innovators: The product receives a score that is above the average score for the evaluated group, but the vendor receives a score that is below the average score for the evaluated group. Market Pillars: The product receives a score that is below the average score for the evaluated group, but the vendor receives a score that is above the average score for the evaluated group. Emerging Players: Both the product and the vendor receive scores that are below the average score for the evaluated group. Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscapes are researched and produced according to a strictly adhered to process that includes the following steps: Vendor/product selection Information gathering Vendor/product scoring Information presentation Fact checking Publication This document outlines how each of these steps is conducted.

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