Reality for Windows developers: Users want Android, iOS apps

Windows application developers moving into the mobile realm must grasp the reality that the platforms users want are not necessarily Windows.

A report released today entitled "Entering the Brave New World of Mobile Apps" emphasizes both the demand Windows developers are facing for mobile software as well as the reality that the two platforms most in demand by their users are Google Android and Apple iOS, not Windows platforms, which rank third and fourth in the survey. The report was authored by Dimensional Research and sponsored by software development tools vendor Embarcadero Technologies. Participants included 1,337 persons involved in Windows desktop application development, either as developers, engineers, or development managers.

The survey found that 85 percent of respondents had requests for mobile applications, which involve mobile capabilities for existing applications, new applications altogether, or replacing existing mobile systems. Android was the most requested platform, with 83 percent getting requests for it, followed by iOS (67 percent); Windows Phone (33 percent), Windows RT (13 percent), and RIM BlackBerry (14 percent).

Credit: Dimensional Research

Windows developers having to build for iOS and Android face challenges, said researcher Diane Hagglund, a principal with Dimensional Research: "They have to do it. They're figuring it out. These are really smart guys, but it's making challenges for them." Developers must build new skills, she said.

Meanwhile, 92 percent of respondents reported having concerns about building mobile applications, including a need for new development skills, the high costs of developing for multiple platforms, and inadequate tooling. Eighty-five percent said native apps are best, and 74 percent found HTML5 and JavaScript-based development challenging due to issues like accessing device features and inadequate language capabilities. Ninety-five percent see value in common source code for desktop and mobile applications. Embarcadero is positioning its RAD Studio XE 5 tooling platform, being announced Wednesday, as a solution in this vein, supporting multiple mobile platforms including Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac OS.

This story, "Reality for Windows developers: Users want Android, iOS apps," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.

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Salesforce.com mobile app developers gain security tools

Good Technology has integrated its Dynamics Secure Mobility Platform with Salesforce.com's Mobile SDK to help developers build mobile applications that are more secure and easily managed.

The growing popularity of smartphones and tablets combined with the BYOD (bring-your-own-device) trend presents several challenges to IT departments, including developing mobile applications and then efficiently managing and protecting them. Salesforce.com's Mobile SDK (software development kit) helps with the former and Good's Secure Mobility Platform offers the latter.

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The goal with the integration is to make it easier for Salesforce.com developers to build apps compatible with Good's containerization technology, which offers features such as app-level encryption as well as compliance and jailbreak detection. Enterprises can also put in place data loss prevention and automated actions that lock and wipe applications without impacting a user's device or personal data, according to Good.

The Mobile SDK, which is available for Android and iOS, is a key part of Salesforce.com's accelerating mobile push. It lets developers choose between building applications directly for Apple and Google's OSes, web applications or so-called hydrid applications -- which make it possible to embed HTML5 apps inside a native container.

Recently, Salesforce.com announced version 2.0 of the SDK, which added the SmartSync data framework allowing developers to create applications that work with data both off and online.

Good isn't the only mobile management tool vendor that's working with Salesforce. On Tuesday, competitor MobileIron announced Anyware. The hosted enterprise mobility management service lets administrators distribute mobile apps to employees as well as manage their devices from the Salesforce administration console, MobileIron said.

Send news tips and comments to mikael_ricknas@idg.com.

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Salesforce.com mobile app developers gain security tools

IDG News Service - Good Technology has integrated its Dynamics Secure Mobility Platform with Salesforce.com's Mobile SDK to help developers build mobile applications that are more secure and easily managed.

The growing popularity of smartphones and tablets combined with the BYOD (bring-your-own-device) trend presents several challenges to IT departments, including developing mobile applications and then efficiently managing and protecting them. Salesforce.com's Mobile SDK (software development kit) helps with the former and Good's Secure Mobility Platform offers the latter.

The goal with the integration is to make it easier for Salesforce.com developers to build apps compatible with Good's containerization technology, which offers features such as app-level encryption as well as compliance and jailbreak detection. Enterprises can also put in place data loss prevention and automated actions that lock and wipe applications without impacting a user's device or personal data, according to Good.

The Mobile SDK, which is available for Android and iOS, is a key part of Salesforce.com's accelerating mobile push. It lets developers choose between building applications directly for Apple and Google's OSes, web applications or so-called hydrid applications -- which make it possible to embed HTML5 apps inside a native container.

Recently, Salesforce.com announced version 2.0 of the SDK, which added the SmartSync data framework allowing developers to create applications that work with data both off and online.

Good isn't the only mobile management tool vendor that's working with Salesforce. On Tuesday, competitor MobileIron announced Anyware. The hosted enterprise mobility management service lets administrators distribute mobile apps to employees as well as manage their devices from the Salesforce administration console, MobileIron said.

Send news tips and comments to mikael_ricknas@idg.com

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2012 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

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Amazon lets developers make money by selling physical goods from Android apps

Developers can sell physical and digital items from Amazon.com within their apps using the new Mobile Associates API for Android-based devices.

When using the new API, developers earn up to 6 percent on qualifying in-app customer purchases while allowing their users to buy and receive goods through Amazon's 1-Click checkout and Prime shipping, the company said Tuesday.

[ Learn how to work smarter, not harder with InfoWorld's roundup of all the tips and trends programmers need to know in the Developers' Survival Guide. Download the PDF today! | Keep up with the latest developer news with InfoWorld's Developer World newsletter. ]

Developers can, for example, sell a toy version of one of the characters in a game and then automatically enable users to play as that same character or if the app is about improving nutrition over time they can offer health-related products like vitamins and supplements, Amazon said.

When a customer makes a purchase from within an app the merchandise is presented with a dialog box showing product details and cost. The customer can then complete the purchase using 1-Click and the items are shipped directly from Amazon to the user, according to the retailer.

To integrate, developers first have to initialize the Mobile Associates API, and tell Amazon what they're selling. Developers can choose to supply a specific set of ASINs (Amazon Standard Identification Number), search terms, or use the Amazon Product Advertising API to query a list of ASINs and product information, according to Amazon.

To help users get started, Amazon posted a start guide, sample code, and documentation on its developer website.

Amazon has in the last couple of months stepped up its developer push in a number of different ways.

Earlier this month, Amazon Web Services announced Simple Notification Service with Mobile Push, which the company pitched an easier way for developers to add notifications than previously has been possible. Using one API, developers can send notifications to iOS and Android-based devices, including Amazon's own Kindle Fire tablets.

Developers can now also submit Web apps and offer them alongside native Android-based programs on Amazon's Appstore.

Send news tips and comments to mikael_ricknas@idg.com

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Windows 8.1 RTMs -- but developers won't get it until October

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10 hottest IT jobs: Developers, developers, developers

It's a job seeker's market, if you've got the right tech skills.

Modis this week called out the 10 hottest IT jobs. The IT staffing specialist based its ranking on the skills and roles that its clients across the U.S. are eager to find and fill. Namely: software developer (including mobile development); business/data analyst; helpdesk professional; project manager; quality assurance analyst; systems administrator; network/telecom analyst; database developer/administrator; data warehouse (analysts, specialists, programmers); and ERP (administrators, analysts, programmers).

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Software developers in general -- and mobile developers in particular -- are among the most sought-after hires.

"We get .Net and Java requests every hour," says Dan Pollock, senior vice president at Modis. Developers who have experience with iOS and Android platforms are highly coveted, and companies are also looking for IT pros with knowledge of PHP, HTML5, and Ruby on Rails, he adds.

Demand varies geographically, but some of the hottest hiring markets include the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Minneapolis and Houston. "If you're a [capable] Java developer in the Bay Area, you're going to have multiple job offers within days. Especially within the temp world, where things move really quickly," Pollock says. (See also: Top 11 metro areas for tech jobs)

Some of the current hiring demand has to do with timing. "It's typical for Q3," Pollock says. "August, September and October are traditionally our busiest months."

But that doesn't mean Modis expects things to slow down anytime soon, particularly in regions such as Silicon Valley. "At some of the tech giants, the appetite is insatiable. They're not backing down on hiring. The war for talent for highly technical people is raging," Pollock says.

[[HIRING: 10 reasons for IT job-hunters to be optimistic]]

At the height of the recession, the unemployment rate for the information sector was 11.2%, Modis says, citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Four years later, it's at 5.8%, and in many markets, the demand for IT talent outweighs the supply.

In addition to developers, there's a growing need for network pros as companies migrate to cloud environments. "You need folks who understand cloud, you need people who understand platform-as-a-service. It's a hot skill," Pollock say. "Companies are trying to save money on infrastructure costs by moving to cloud-based offerings. Understanding what to outsource and what's critical to keep in house -- that's very important."

Helpdesk workers, too, are in demand.

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