infoTECH Feature

April 26, 2012

New Cloud-based App Development Platform PhoneGap Build Targets Windows Phone

Although the consumerization of IT and the proliferation of mobile apps pose significant challenges for corporate leaders and IT, there are additional benefits, too. These include accelerated business communications (managing contacts, email, social media, calendaring, etc.), Web, and platform access for application development. In addition, smart device owners will often use device vendors for support, which reduces the pressure on IT. The cost savings this represents for small enterprises should not be overlooked and can be substantial. Application development enables smaller companies to stay current with a constantly changing mobile application landscape. Now, PhoneGap Build will let developers create Windows phone apps in the cloud.

PhoneGap Build, a cloud-based service for creating cross-platform mobile phone apps, especially for Windows Phone (News - Alert) which can be specifically targeted. This capability for cloud-based development is an important first step because instead of configuring environments and installing platform-specific tools, developers can focus on writing apps. According to Nokia (News - Alert) CEO Stephen Elop, “Soon two-thirds of the top 100 applications for competing operating systems will be available on the Windows Phone Marketplace, and that number continues to grow.”

As an example, in the past IT dealt with mobile security issues by creating ad-hoc applications. For example, to provide security for corporate-wide BlackBerry use, BlackBerry Enterprise Software (BES) was used in conjunction with Good Technology (News - Alert) tools. Sensitive corporate data leaks, data loss, and lost or stolen devices represented serious security breaches that IT needed to resolve. The gradual introduction of third-party M2M applications specifically created for mobile security represented a means for gaining much-needed device control over unsecured mobile technology. In much the same way, PhoneGap Build will function as a Web service that can seamlessly integrate with existing technology infrastructure and tools for a specific application purpose.

Once the product has been launched, the main priority is providing PhoneGap Build as a Web service that can seamlessly integrate with existing technology infrastructure and tools. The service will remain free for open source projects, and pricing details for commercial applications will be announced closer to the public launch. In addition, there are multiple connections between PhoneGap's owner, Adobe Systems (News - Alert) and the current spate of development tools. For example, Adobe has recently decided to forego Flash-based development for mobile app development and focus instead on HTML5. This is significant for PhoneGap Build which allows developers to first write their applications using HTML, CSS or JavaScript then upload the code to the Build service. PhoneGap Build will send back apps for Apple's iOS, Google's Android (News - Alert), Research In Motion's BlackBerry OS and Windows Phone.




Edited by Carrie Schmelkin
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