96% value common source code for desktop and mobile development and 94% believe natively compiled apps deliver better user experience and performance
SYDNEY, Australia – July 16, 2014 – According to a new survey by Embarcadero Technologies, a leading provider of software solutions for application and database development, New Zealand companies that have developed Windows applications are now under pressure to develop mobile apps with 90% receiving requests from users or business stakeholders.
Two thirds (66%) of the 50 New Zealand developers surveyed had been asked by users or business stakeholders to develop new applications for mobile devices. A similar proportion (66%) had been asked to deliver some functionality of existing applications on mobile devices, whereas 44% had been asked to replicate existing applications. Only 10% had received no requests.
Almost all, or 96% of respondents, said it would be valuable to have a tool that allowed developers to use common source code to produce both desktop applications and native mobile apps with a single development effort. In addition, 94% believed natively compiled apps deliver better user experience and performance than a scripted or interpreted language solution like HTML5 or JavaScript.
Embarcadero offers an approach that ticks both these boxes. Withlast month's release of Appmethod, developers can use C++, the world's most widely used programming language(1), to create complete apps for Android, iOS, Windows and Mac OS X. Appmethod is Embarcadero's multi-device application development platform for building natively compiled, multi-device apps with a single codebase without compromising performance, platform access or user experience. Embarcadero's RAD Studio XE6, C++Builder XE6 and Delphi XE6 also provide these capabilities along with additional features.
"The shift to mobile and other device-specific apps has been like a land grab," said Malcolm Groves, Embarcadero's Sydney-based Senior Director, Asia Pacific and Japan. "But in the rush to deliver apps developers have taken risks and sacrificed things like performance, user experience and platform independence. With Embarcadero's tools, you don't have to make those sacrifices to develop apps quickly. You don't have to pick iOS first and do Android later, you can do them both at the same time."
Most, or 61% of respondents, experienced challenges when using HTML5 and JavaScript to develop mobile apps. While these approaches require fewer skills than native platform-specific development tools and can be deployed on multiple devices, they also have limitations. In particular, 26% of respondents cited inadequate programming language features, 19% found it difficult to access device features and 16% experienced poor performance.
Reflecting their heritage, 96% of respondents said Windows was still important for their users to have applications for. Other important platforms now also included Android (78% of respondents), iOS (72%), Windows Phone (18%), Windows Slate / Surface Pro (18%), OS X/Mac (16%) and Linux (14%).
About Embarcadero Technologies
Embarcadero Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of award-winning tools for application developers and database professionals so they can design systems right, build them faster and run them better, regardless of their platform or programming language. Ninety of the Fortune 100 and an active community of more than three million users worldwide rely on Embarcadero products to increase productivity, reduce costs, simplify change management and compliance, and accelerate innovation. Founded in 1993, Embarcadero is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices located around the world. To learn more, please visit www.embarcadero.com.
(1) Global Developer Population and Demographics Survey: Volume II, Copyright 2013, Evans Data Corp.