June 2014

Cross-Platform Tool Benchmarking

2014
Find the right tool for your app project
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cpt@research2guidance.com
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3
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
CP Tool
Benchmarking
2014
CPT Benchmarking

CPT Market Landscape

CP Tools and services: comparison

CPT user feedback & Top 10 lists
Cross-Platform Tool Benchmarking 2014:
The 2
nd
edition of the annual study

CPT market overview
40 CP Tools and services: comparison
Ratings of 2,188 CPT users
Top 10 lists
20 benchmarking criteria
53 Pages
Published: July 2014
Including special offers from our partners




DOWNLOAD FREE REPORT:
http://research2guidance.com/cross-platform-tool-
benchmarking-2014/
Special offers in the report

Download benchmarking report to gain access to all
the results
5
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
The CPT Benchmarking 2014 represents the global CPT
user community
CPT user participation by region
Legend
North America
27%
Central & South America
6%
Europe
38%
Africa
2%
Asia Pacific
27%
6
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
Preferred information source for CP Tool selection
Benchmarking studies belong to most preferred
information channels of CPT users
31%
18%
17%
14%
9%
3%
3%
2%
1%
1%
1%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
CPT
Benchmarking
7
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
CP Tool
Benchmarking
2014
CPT Benchmarking

CPT Market Landscape

CP Tools and services: comparison

CPT user feedback & Top 10 lists
8
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
There are 6 categories current CP Tools and services
fall into
App Factories
Web App
Toolkits
Cross-Platform IDEs
Cross-Platform IDEs for Enterprise
Web 2
Native
Compiler
Cross-Platform
Services
C
o
m
p
l
e
x
i
t
y

low
high
Web Apps Hybrid/Native Apps
Output
Categories of CP Tools and services
9
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
Developers awareness of CP Tools and services
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80% Rise in awareness
as compared to 2013 (pp)
7%
10%
17%
15%
9%
20%
12%
12%
14%
6%
7%
11%
Comment: An increase or decrease in awareness is assumed whenever there has been a 5% absolute change as compared with 2013.







There are only 16 CP Tools with brand awareness of 20%
or more
10
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
Andorid ahead of iOS: 76% of CP Tool users publish
on Android
Platforms CPT users publish their apps on
7%
1%
2%
3%
3%
4%
7%
7%
7%
7%
8%
8%
9%
14%
16%
19%
20%
27%
28%
69%
76%
Other
LiMO 4
LG webOS
Bada
Sailfish
Tizen
Java ME
Firefox OS
Kindle
Ubuntu
Facebook
Symbian
Blackberry 7 and lower
OSX (desktop)
Html 5
Blackberry 10
Windows Phone 7
Windows (desktop)
Windows Phone 8
iOS
Android
11
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
Primary selection criterion for choosing a CP Tool
Output, quality of reference apps and costs are the
primary selection criteria for choosing a CP Tool
1%
3%
4%
5%
7%
9%
13%
19%
39%
Extent of vendor support for app distribution and
marketing
Quality of support services
Extent of functionalities
Fit for industry/ app category focus
Complexity of the tool
Number of supported platforms
Quality of reference apps
Costs of the cross platform tool (license, etc.)
Output of the tool (type of apps, e.g. hybrid, native, web)
12
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
User base varies between vendors. Some report
100,000s of users (including free trial users)
User numbers by CT Tools and services
Tools # users Tools # users Tools # users
Uni ty 2.500.000 AppYoursel f 25.000 Magi c XPA 200.000
GameSal ad 700.000 Magmi to 25.000 GeneXus 100.000
Qt 600.000 Smartface App Studi o 25.000 EachScape 10.000
Appcel erator Ti tani um 600.000 CodenameOne 10.000 Genero 5.000
i GenApps 400.000 Weever Apps 8.000 FeedHenry 5.000
Appcel erator Ti tani um 400.000 Mi crostrategy 5.000 I BM Workl i ght 5.000
Como 260.000 V-Pl ay 5.000 Servi ce2Medi a M2Acti ve 300
AppShed 200.000 Mobi Forms 3.000 AppConKi t 80
Embarcadero Appmethod 100.000 Vi zi Apps 1.200
Vaadi n 100.000 NeoMAD 500
MobAppCreator 100
Mobi l eSmi th 100
Appuri fy 30
Big Players Challengers IDEs Enterprise
13
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
Comment: An increase/decrease is assumed whenever there has been a 5% absolute change as compared with 2013.



Major barriers to CPT markets growth
Information & communication issues are the main
barriers to CPT markets growth
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Other
Insufficient vendor support
Too little demand for cross platform tools
Too complex
Too expensive
Shortage of skilled developers
Too low quality of results (apps) compared to pure native
development
Too fragmented and intransparent market for cross platform
tools
Too hard to keep pace with the high innovation rate of the
mobile operating systems
Too little awareness in the developer community
+11%
+14%
-16%
-10%
-6%
-6%
14
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
In 3 years CP Tools will be used to develop...
CPT users have an optimistic view on the further
incorporation of CP Tools into app development
More apps than with
pure native
development
38%
As many apps as with
pure native
development
25%
Every app
16%
Fewer apps than with
pure native
development
11%
No apps
1%
In 3
years
Cant tell
Interested in more info on the
CPT market landscape?
Download the free report:
http://research2guidance.com/cross-
platform-tool-benchmarking-2014/
15
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
CP Tool
Benchmarking
2014
CPT Benchmarking

CPT Market Landscape

CP Tools and services: comparison

CPT user feedback & Top 10 lists
16
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
iOS and Android are the must have output platforms
for a CPT vendor
Platform support by CP Tool and service
The top 5 platforms which are
supported by CP Tools and service
providers are iOS, Android, WP8,
BlackBerry 10 and HTML5.

iOS and Android are the must have
output platforms for a CPT vendor.

Over the course of a year, WP8 has
made a significant progress in terms
of the number of tools which
support native WP8 app output.
17
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
The majority of CP Tools require no programming skills
Tools
No
programmi
ng skills
Java Script HTML CSS Java Lua C++ C Other Comments
Web App Toolkits
Vaadi n
CP IDEs
Appcel erator Ti tani um
Embarcadero Appmethod Pascal
Marmal ade Objecti ve C
NeoMAD XML
Qt QML
Smartface App Studi o
Xamari n C#
CP IDEs Enterprise
AnyPresence
AppConKi t
Appear I Q
EachScape Acti on Scri pt
FeedHenry
Genero
GeneXus
GeneXus
Language
and I DE
1)
I BMWorkl i ght
Magi c XPA
Magi c
Metadata
Paradi gm
2)
Servi ce2Medi a M2Acti ve
App Factories
AppShed PHP
AppYoursel f
Como
GameBui l der Studi o
GameSal ad
i GenApps
Magmi to
Mi crostrategy
MobAppCreator
Mobi Forms
Vi zi Apps
Weever Apps
CP Services
Appuri fy
Capri za
Codename One
Mobi l eSmi th
Research2gui dance, CPT Benchmarki ng 2014
1) Model dri ven devel eopment through knowl edge-representati on wi th propri etary l anguage
2) Propri etary metadata based devel opment paradi gm focusi ng on the busi ness process rather on the technol ogy al l owi ng qui ck real i zati on of compl ex projects
Uni ty
V-Pl ay
QML & JavaScri pt for scri pti ng
wi th Qt Qui ck; Mi xi ng wi th C++
possi bl e
C#
Boo
Users choose between C#,
Javascri pt & Boo
QML
The majority of tools can be used
without any programming skills.
Drag & drop solutions allow
anyone to develop an app.

Web developers experienced in
using Java Scrip, HTML and CSS are
targeted by a larger share of CPT
vendors.

Some CP Tools like GeneXus and
Magic XPA require their users to
learn their propriety language and
commands.

Compatible programming skills by CP Tool and service

18
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
Tools
Smart-
phones
Tablets
Feature
phones
Smart TVs
Game
consoles
In-car
devices
Desktop /
PC
Other
Web App Toolkits
Vaadi n
Appcel erator
Corona SDK
Embarcadero Appmethod X X X Googl e Gl asses
Marmal ade X X X X
NeoMad 1)
Qt Web embedded
Smartface App Studi o X X Googl e Gl asses
Uni ty Web embedded
V-Pl ay
Xamari n
AnyPresence 2)
AppConKi t X X
Appear I Q
EachScape Googl e Gl asses
FeedHenry Web embedded
Genero
GeneXus I BMAS/400 servers
I BMWorkl i ght
Magi c XPA
Servi ce2Medi a M2Acti ve*
App Factories
AppShed
AppYoursel f
Como X X
GameBui l der Studi o
GameSal ad
i GenApps
Magmi to
Mi crostrategy
MobAppCreator
Mobi Forms
Vi zi Apps
Weever Apps
CP Services
Appuri fy
Capri za
Codename One
Mobi l eSmi th
Research2gui dance, CPT Benchmarki ng 2014
CP IDEs Enterprise
CP IDEs





Most CP Tools focus on supporting
app development for smartphones
and tablets.


Only few address the needs of
desktop PCs, TV-sets, game
consoles, in-Car devices or feature
phones.

Smartphones and tablets are the most widely supported
devices
Supported devices by CP Tool and service

Want to see these & 7 other tables
which compare the features of CP Tools
and services? Download the free
report:
http://research2guidance.com/cross-
platform-tool-benchmarking-2014/
19
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
CP Tool
Benchmarking
2014
CPT Benchmarking

CPT Market Landscape

CP Tools and services: comparison

CPT user feedback & Top 10 lists
20
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
Estimated time savings realized with CP Tools
33% estimate 50% + time savings thanks to CP Tools
1%
0% 0%
1%
2%
1%
7%
3%
7%
13%
11%
13%
36%
7%
-50%+ -50% -40% -30% -20% -10% same 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 50%+ Cant tell
Faster Slower
21
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
Users of the leading CP Tools report different
extent of time savings
Top 10 CP Tools: Greatest time savings
Rank Tool
50%+
slower
10-50%
slower
Same
10-50%
faster
50%+ faster Can't tell # Ratings
1 V-Play 0% 0% 0% 31% 69% 0% 62
2 Unity 0% 0% 5% 25% 62% 8% 106
3 Qt 0% -1% 2% 34% 56% 8% 122
4 Corona SDK -2% -5% 3% 39% 50% 2% 106
5 Xamarin -2% -1% 10% 43% 37% 8% 105
6 Cocos 2D 0% -5% 7% 40% 28% 20% 60
7 Windows Visual Studio 0% 0% 14% 49% 26% 11% 73
8 Adobe Air -5% -3% 7% 54% 25% 6% 87
9 KonyOne 0% 0% 11% 67% 22% 0% 55
10 PhoneGap -3% -6% 8% 57% 22% 5% 102
Benchmark (Average all tools) -1% -1% 7% 48% 36% 7%
-1 -1 1 1 1 1
Research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking 2014
22
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
Quality rating of apps developed with a CP Tool - compared to native development
Quality of apps developed with CP Tools is rated as same
or better than of purely native apps
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Design
Usability
Performance
Much lower Lower Same Higher Much higher Cant tell
23
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
Overall quality of apps developed with CP Tools:
better than of natively developed
Top 10 CP Tools: Best overall app quality (design, usability and performance cum.)
Rank Tool
Much
lower/
lower
Same
Much
higher/
higher
Can't tell # Ratings
1 Qt -6% 35% 56% 3% 342
2 Windows Visual Studio -8% 32% 51% 9% 201
3 Cocos 2D -14% 29% 50% 6% 171
4 Unity -17% 27% 48% 9% 312
5 Windows Azure -8% 32% 47% 12% 99
6 Adobe Air -23% 30% 45% 2% 255
7 Marmalade -20% 36% 39% 5% 297
8 V-Play -1% 49% 39% 11% 138
9 jQuery Mobile -34% 22% 37% 7% 128
10 Sencha Touch -35% 27% 33% 4% 147
Benchmark (Average all tools) -16% 40% 41% 3%
-1 1 1 1
Research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking 2014
24
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
Cost-performance ratio of developing apps with CP Tools
50% of CPT users say that developing apps with CP
Tools led to low costs and great results
Poor value: way too high total costs and bad results
Costly: in total more costly than pure native development and unconvincing results
Average: not significantly cheaper than developing from scratch and sufficient results
Okay: cheaper than developing from scratch and good results

2%
3%
14%
31%
49%
Poor value Costly Average Okay Good value
25
research2guidance 2014
Source: research2guidance, CPT Benchmarking Study 2014, n=2,188
CPT users claim that the tools deliver good value
for money
Top 10 CP Tools: Cost-performance ratio
Want to see these & 7 other Top 10 lists which reflect
users view on the performance of CP Tools and services?
Download the free report:
http://research2guidance.com/cross-platform-tool-
benchmarking-2014/
Rank Tool
Poor value
or costly
Average
Okay or
good value
# Ratings
1 Qt -2% 0% 98% 104
2 Titanium -6% 2% 92% 51
3 Unity -4% 5% 91% 103
4 Corona SDK -7% 2% 91% 97
5 Windows Visual Studio 0% 16% 84% 64
6 Cocos 2D 0% 17% 83% 54
7 Adobe Air -4% 13% 83% 82
8 Xamarin -7% 13% 80% 99
9 PhoneGap -3% 17% 80% 88
10 KonyOne -11% 11% 78% 55
Benchmark (Average all tools) -5% 14% 81%
Want to read more of the reports insights?
DOWNLOAD FREE REPORT:
http://research2guidance.com/cross-platform-
tool-benchmarking-2014/
Download the free report and get access to more insights,
these include, among others:

A detailed overview of the CPT markets landscape
Comparison of 40 CP Tools and services along other than
already mentioned qualities
CPT user ratings: more Top 10 lists
Results based on the responses of 2,188 CPT users
Discount codes for the special offers of: Appear IQ,
Marmalade, Qt, Unity,, V-Play





Want more details: Read our new report about CPT user
profiles and a comparison of 14 leading CP Tools
FIND OUT MORE:
http://www.research2guidance.com/shop/index.php/cross-platform-tools-market-leader-benchmarking-2014
If interested in an direct comparison of the leading CPT solutions,
check out the newest report: CPT User Profiling and Market Leader
Benchmarking 2014

A comparison of 14 leading CP Tools (Adobe Air, Corona SDK,
Cocos 2D, jQuery Mobile, KonyOne, Marmalade, PhoneGap,
Unity, Qt, Sencha Touch, Titanium, V-Play, Windows Visual Studio,
Xamarin
50 different benchmarking criteria
User profile for 150 CP Tools
User profiles and usage for 14 leading CP Tool
CP Tools compared with each other and against market average
99 pages
Publishing date: July 2014


July 2014
CPT User Profiles and Market
Leader Benchmarking 2014
A detailed user profiling and comparison of the
leading CP Tools
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