Appcelerator, the mobile cloud platform for native mobile, desktop and tablet applications using web technologies, and analyst firm International Data Corporation (IDC), have announced results from a joint survey of 2,012 Appcelerator developers around the world. The analysis shows that Apple and Google are accelerating their lead in mobile by redefining mobile app engagement, loyalty and cloud connectivity through their new Google+ and iCloud offerings, respectively.
Developers also indicate that they see Apple and Google making gains in the consumer application space translating into significant traction in the enterprise space over time.
As mobile app and platform leadership continues to coalesce around Apple and Google, both players are seen leveraging their strengths into the cloud in different, but compelling new ways that are likely to generate long-term value and competitive differentiation for each of their respective ecosystems. Topline findings from this quarter's report focus on how developers eye new opportunities for applications to become more social and more connected.
When asked what will impact the growth and adoption of mobile the most, Apple and Google reportedly come out on top. Two-thirds of respondents believe that Google can catch up to Facebook in social with Google+. When asked why, 68 percent of developers say that leveraging Google's assets (eg: Search, YouTube, Maps, etc) trumps Facebook's social graph lead, Forty-nine percent say that Google shows more innovation than Facebook with new Google+ features like circles, sparks and hangouts.
When asked what social capabilities are most important in their apps, developers said that features that encourage repeat usage and offer fresh content are more important than location check-ins and photo sharing. In order of priority, developers use social for: notifications (52 percent), status updates (49 percent), login/identity (44 percent), messaging (38 percent), news (35 percent), location sharing (32 percent), photo sharing (31 percent) and friend requests (26 percent).
Continuing on the real-time update theme, when it comes to iOS 5 features, developers are most interested in: improved notifications (58 percent), iCloud (51 percent), integrated Twitter support (40 percent), reminders (36 percent), and iMessage (32 percent).
iCloud may significantly disrupt the mobile cloud computing space, as developers envision a tight race between Amazon and Apple. Developers who are using or planning to use cloud services over the next year see Amazon (51 percent), iCloud (50 percent), Microsoft Windows Azure (20 percent), VMWare (20 percent) and RedHat OpenShift (17 percent) as the top five players.
Apple and Google's strengths in the mobile consumer space are seen to be making inroads in developer perceptions of the enterprise arena. When asked which platform is best positioned to win in the enterprise, respondents were evenly divided between iOS and Android at 44 percent each. Only 7 percent believe Windows Phone has a shot, 4 percent for BlackBerry, and 2 percent for webOS.
Appcelerator and IDC note that enterprises are taking a more cautious approach with Android at scale due to security concerns, in which case they are looking to Apple when they go beyond BlackBerry and Windows mobile deployments. In the near to medium-term, despite being equivalent from a developer perception standpoint, Apple is leading with CIOs today when it comes to mobile deployments beyond Microsoft and RIM.
With relatively few new product announcements this past quarter, platform priorities haven't changed significantly, it has been observed. A complete breakdown of these trends and a more detailed analysis is available online at http://appcel.us/q3_2011_report.
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