IDC Survey - Enterprises Looking for YOU (Mobile App Developers)

[#1]

IDC recently surveyed 350 respondents and found that AT&T took top honors when it came to enterprise users and their perceptions of vendors who offer services in mobile application development (AD) and mobile testing services for applications and devices.

The article was interesting because the enterprise needs are similar to what I find in the non-enterprise mobile application developement space: knowledge of UI best practices, rapid prototyping skillz and knowledge about APIs. Basiclly nothing short of a full stack developer.

Here are the key take-aways from the article:

• Enterprises are looking for providers who can lower the cost of development with code reusability and cross-platform portability frameworks.
• Demand for skill sets to use the latest development techniques across multiple mobile OS platforms is high with 35 percent of respondents seeing this as a primary challenge.
• There is a need for mobile user interface skills. Attention to up-front prototyping and rapid generation of user interface (UI) mock-ups is key to understanding and validating customer mobile use cases. Of the 350 respondents, 35 percent cited this as the leading capability they are seeking from providers.
• Innnovation and speed to market are critical. Pressure to innovate and keep up with the rapid pace of mobile technology change will strongly influence U.S. enterprises' plans to leverage third-party mobile lifecycle services.
• Immediate needs call for integration of mobile applications with business email and calendaring, location-based services, sales force automation, billing and payment functionality, and ERP among other critical functions.