X
Tech

Appcelerator: Apple set to take the lead on mobile enterprise apps

Just as the iPad surprisingly took off with business customers, Appcelerator projects that Apple will be the leader in developing mobile enterprise apps.
Written by Rachel King, Contributor

Even if the iPad and iPhone were originally rolled out with the intention to be consumer devices, it's undeniable that they have also taken off in a big way in the enterprise world.

Thus, it might be no surprise that Apple is being projected to be leader in the mobile enterprise app space, according to a new report from mobile platform company Appcelerator.

According to company researchers, the "most significant finding" in the 2Q 2012 Mobile Developer Survey is that Apple has a 16 percent lead over Google’s Android mobile OS over which operating system will win in the enterprise marketplace.

At least with 53.2 percent of mobile developers that participated in the survey believed that iOS will win while 37.3 percent pointed towards Android for the win.

Analysts added that this is the culmination of a significant shift over the last three quarters. In the Q3 2011 report, both iOS and Android tied for developer predictions at 44 percent each. Thus, the rise in Apple's favor is being attributed to the strength of the iPad in the enterprise matched by growing concerns and threats surrounding malware on Android, among other concerns.

But Scott Ellison, vice president of Mobile and Connected Consumer Platforms at industry analyst firm IDC, hinted that Apple might not be alone for long on the mobile enterprise app leader board.

"Android appears to be evolving more towards a consumer play, which in turn provides a key competitive opening for Microsoft in the enterprise mobile app space," Ellison added.

The hurdle there is the pending release of Windows 8 tablets and the Metro UI. IDC and Appcelerator described that developers are "cautiously optimistic" about this, so really we won't know how much of a threat Microsoft poses for at least a few more quarters.

Nevertheless, researchers did have some room for hope for mobile enterprise app growth for Android, mainly citing larger shipments and more affordable price points as positive attributes.

For reference, Appcelerator and industry analyst firm IDC polled more than 3,500 developers worldwide for the report.

Editorial standards