Windows developers are feeling the demand for mobile apps, but they say their current tools and skills are preventing them from delivering those apps.
Adding to the pressure, the demand for mobile apps is layered upon the expectation that developers will continue to support and enhance existing applications.
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Those sentiments are echoed in a survey of 1,337 developers with responsibility for Windows desktop applications conducted last month by market research specialist Dimensional Research. The research was sponsored by Embarcadero Technologies, a vendor of database tools and development software.
Users have high expectations for mobile apps
Developers told Dimensional Research that most end users expect business apps to be available in some form on their smartphones and tablets. Sixty-five percent want at least partial functionality from an existing desktop app, while 43 percent want the entire functionality of a desktop app on their mobile app. In addition, 58 percent of Windows developers say they have fielded requests for entirely new mobile applications.
And user expectations of these apps are high: Windows developers who have received requests for these mobile apps say 54 percent of end users expect the simple mobile app experience they have come to expect from consumer mobile applications, even for very complex applications.
In addition, 51 percent of Windows developers say end users believe that all desktop functionality can be made to work as a mobile app, even on devices with limited capabilities. Also, 45 percent of Windows developers who have received requests for mobile applications say end users want the mobile apps to support every mobile platform on the market.
Windows developers struggling with mobile apps | Application Development - InfoWorldDespite its challenges in the enterprise world, developers say user demand for Android apps is highest, at 83 percent, with demand for Apple iOS trailing closely at 67 percent. Demand for Windows Phone and Windows RT apps place third and fourth at 33 percent and 17 percent, respectively.