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Software application and database development toolmaker Embarcadero Technologies has announced its new technology strategy for developers to build a new breed of connected apps for the burgeoning Internet of things (IoT) market.
Embarcadero’s strategy for IoT is to focus on four key areas of interconnection: mobile and desktop devices, gadgets, cloud services and data. The company said it is offering new technologies to address these key areas and enable the development of a new breed of connected apps for the IoT market.
According to Gartner, IoT will grow to 26 billion units installed in 2020—in addition to 7.3 billion PCs, tablets and smartphones, representing an almost 30-fold increase from 0.9 billion in 2009. The results of a new Embarcadero developer survey echo this growth trend, with 31 percent of respondents already engaged in IoT projects. Of those not yet developing for IoT, 86 percent have plans to begin their first connected app projects starting within the next three years.
“The device landscape has exploded beyond PCs, tablets and smartphones,” Michael Swindell, senior vice president of products at Embarcadero, said in a statement. “Now, wearables, sensors, home automation and connected cars present a completely new app ecosystem. Apps no longer live on a single device and instead are interconnected across a broad range of ‘things’ to deliver an integrated yet distributed solution. With the increasing focus on IoT app development and the potential for the number of connected ‘things,’ developers will need to focus more on the creation of innovative and practical apps that leverage IoT, and less on the mechanics of connecting each ‘thing.'”
Also, according to Gartner, IoT product and service suppliers will generate incremental revenue exceeding $300 billion, mostly in services, in 2020. It will result in $1.9 trillion in global economic value-add through sales into diverse end markets.
“The impact of mobile solutions is undeniable,” said Ray Konopka, president of Raize Software, which uses Embarcadero software and is a company partner. “Companies are investing heavily in infrastructure to support a new breed of interconnected apps. In the past, mobile solutions tended to be rather isolated. Today, application developers are increasingly being challenged to extend their mobile solutions to communicate with other ‘things’ such as printers, kiosks, turnstiles and sensors. Effective developer tools like those from Embarcadero are essential for managing the complexity that all of this interconnection introduces.” Raize has partnered with Embarcadero since 1995.
Embarcadero’s new technologies for developing connected apps for IoT include the company’s new FireUI user interface design for multiple form factors and devices. It enables developers to create a shared master UI form across all devices and form factors, leveraging common user interface source code that can be optimized for the native platform experience on each specific device form factor.
Embarcadero Sets Strategy for Building Connected Apps for IoT
Meanwhile, a new Bluetooth and WiFi app-tethering system enables developers to instantly connect disparate devices via Bluetooth and WiFi app tethering, enabling app connected solutions that span the thousands of consumer and industrial gadgets, devices, PCs and sensors available today. And Enterprise Mobility Services (EMS) support connectivity with backend enterprise data and APIs needed for building connected apps for the Internet of things. As a turnkey mobile middleware solution, EMS can be deployed on-premise or into a private cloud, and provides user authentication and analytics.
And with the Sept. 8 launch of the latest release of Appmethod, Embarcadero’s new technologies for enabling the development of connected apps are available now.
Embarcadero has long provided technologies and tools that enable developers to build apps natively for all major mobile and desktop platforms using the same source code across all devices. Additionally, Embarcadero has delivered app-tethering technology to quickly connect, share data and drive actions between apps and devices.
The company has also delivered its hallmark enterprise and embedded data access technology for local, middleware and server-side databases across all of these platforms. While these solutions, together, have represented a revolution in modern application design, Embarcadero’s IoT strategy and its most recent product releases represent a convergence, the company said.
“The Internet of things will advance the utility and productivity of software for consumers, enterprises and industries,” Swindell said. “Its gadgets and sensors are today’s new key UX [user experience] elements that can extend the user experience beyond the screen while leveraging data from multiple endpoints. The next big challenge and opportunity for developers will be building the apps that power the Internet of things.”
Moreover, Embarcadero fielded an online survey of developers in August to better understand how IoT is affecting their area of focus, as well as their short- and long-term application development plans. Of the 920 respondents, 31 percent said they are already working on IoT apps, and 86 percent of those not yet engaged in IoT are planning to begin connected app development starting in the next 18 months. Another 68 percent said they plan on spending at least the same or more time on developing apps for IoT within the next year.
In addition, 79 percent of respondents said it is important to have multi-device and IoT platform development tools, yet security (44 percent), privacy (31 percent) and authentication/authorization (27 percent) are the biggest challenges when creating apps for IoT.
Regarding platform, those currently or planning to develop apps for IoT ranked the Android platform (87 percent) as the most important, the Embarcadero study found.