Key Messages
- Cross-platform tools are addressing real challenges for developers Cross-platform tools
(CPTs) allow developers to create applications for multiple platforms - usually mobile, but increasingly
tablets or TV screens - from almost the same codebase or from within the same design tool. CPTs reduce
the cost of platform fragmentation and allow developers to target new platforms at a small incremental
cost. More importantly, cross-platform tools allow software companies targeting multiple platforms to
reuse developer skills, share codebases, synchronise releases and reduce support costs.
- PhoneGap and Sencha lead developer mindshare Our survey of over 2,400 developers revealed
that PhoneGap and Sencha lead in terms of mindshare, as they are currently used by 32% and 30% of
cross-platform developers, irrespective of their primary tools. Completing the top-5 ranking of our
Mindshare Index are Xamarin’s MonoTouch / Mono for Android, Appcelerator and Adobe (Flex). The
second half of the top-10 CPTs in terms of current use are Unity, Corona, AppMobi, RunRev and MoSync.
- PhoneGap, Mono and Unity lead developer IntentShare. Our survey indicates that PhoneGap
(23%), Xamarin Mono (22%) and Unity (22%) are the tools most developers plan to adopt, irrespective of
their primary tool. This market is in constant flux, with developers experimenting and trying out new tools
– for example PhoneGap is a stepping stone to cross-platform development as it leads Mindshare,
IntentShare, but also comes third in the tools being abandoned. The most widely used CPT accounts for
just half of the Mindshare seen in the iOS and Android platforms in our Developer Economics 2011 report.
- Cross-platform tools flatten the playing field Just as the Apple/Google duopoly began to look
impenetrable in 2011, a major disruption is flattening the playing field for competitors like Microsoft's
WP7, RIM’s BlackBerry OS and Samsung's Bada: cross-platform tools are letting developers target
multiple platforms with low incremental costs and high levels of code reuse.
- Cross-platform tools challenge the Apple/Google duopoly 2012 marks an inflexion point in the
war of mobile ecosystems where the network effects built by Apple and Google are being challenged by an
unsuspected new entrant. Cross-platform tools (CPTs) make it easier for example for an iPhone developer
to reach Android and Windows Phone 7 users. CPTs dilute network effects by allowing other ecosystems to
compete not just in terms of the number of apps listed, but also the availability of top apps, the time-to-
market (an app rarely appears at the same time across all platform app stores) and the overall app quality.
- Democratisation of development The dozens of CPTs available cater to every developer segment,
from creative designers to C++ gurus to hobbyist website enthusiasts to Fortune-500 CIOs. Cross-platform
tools reduce barriers to entry and democratise app development, by allowing developers from any language
(HTML, Java, C++), any background (hobbyist, pros, agencies, corporates) and any skill level (visual
designer to hard-core developer) to build mobile apps. The result could be termed a “democratisation” of
software development (in the words of Unity’s Dan Adams), in that mobile platforms may be opened up to
all types of developers.
- Past the early-adopter chasm We have identified over 100 cross-platform developer tools, in a
market that’s booming with new players in 2011. Cross-platform tools have passed the “early adopter”
phase, and are now moving into mainstream. For example vendor Sencha counts 1.6 million SDK
downloads, Corona apps have reportedly been downloaded 35 million times in 2011, Unity reports
200,000 developers active each month, while Appcelerator boasts 35,000 apps published using the tool
and deployed on 40 million devices.
- Mergers, financings and the survival of the strongest Since 2011, cross-platform tool vendors
have raised major VC funding, have been acquired, or achieved major releases. In the CPT space we have
tracked 10 acquisitions, and over US$ 200 million in funding rounds. This is a market that takes cash to
survive: CPT vendors are subsidizing their entry to market with free products, based on ample VC funding.
For example OpenPlug ceased operations as it failed to find a monetisation model, with its key challenge
