Windows Phone Is Developers’ Top Choice Future Platform, Survey Says

In my previous post I reviewed results of the recent IDG Connect’s study on current versus future use of tablets by business professionals and concluded that iOS will most likely concede its leadership to Android due to such factors as BYOD and lower price. But what about software developers? What platforms do they use most now and where’re they heading in the near future? A recently published Q2 2012 Developer Intentshare Index by VisionMobile suggests that future platform preferences of software engineers are somewhat different from those of business professionals. While Android is considered to be the most preferred platform among future tablet users, Windows Phone (WP) is the platform that most of software engineers intend to adopt in the months to come.

Let’s look at the graphs below to see the percentage of developers planning to adopt different platforms for different purposes:

1)      To promote a brand, 67% of developers intend to use WP, 31%  – Chrome and cumulative 30% – Android and iOS

Top Platforms Developers Intend to Use to Promote a Brand In the Future

2)      To reach as many users as possible, 62% of software engineers are planning to use WP, 28% – iOS and 21% – Android

Top 5 Platforms Developers Intend to Use to Expand Their Future Reach to Users

3)      To monetize their apps, 56% of developers will turn to WP, 30% – Mobile Web, 29% – iOS and 27% – Android

Top 5 Platforms Developers Intend to Use to Monetize Their Apps In the Future

4)      To deploy within companies they work in, 46% of developers will recommend WP, 37% – Bada Samsung, 28% – iOS and only 17% of software geeks will vote for Android

Top 5 Platforms Developers Intend to Deploy Within Their Companies In the Future

5)      To attract funding, 65% of engineers will adopt WP, 50% – Chrome, 32% – Android and only 16% – iOS

Top 5 Platforms Developers Intend to Use to Attract Funding In the Future

The Intentshare Index captures the views of 1,500+ developers across 83 countries and represents which platforms developers plan to adopt in the future, irrespective of which single platform they currently consider to be their ‘primary’ one. Today, Android and iOS are used by 76% and 66% of software developers globally. The majority of developers (57%) that intend to adopt a new platform in the future admit planning to adopt Windows Phone.

However, intention doesn’t directly translate to adoption: according to VisionMobile, 32% of developers said they intend to adopt WP in 2011, but the share of WP among developers only rose by 1% in 2012.

Microsoft is planning to launch its Windows Phone 8 in fall 2012 and some mobile experts believe it’ll join the race for the global mobile market share along with Apple and Google. According to Tristan Louis, a famous entrepreneur and technology blogger, “it may be a smaller mar­ket today but I would bet the future of apps rolling out on Win­dows Phone is brighter than that of sim­i­lar apps rolling out on Android”. The time will show whether Tristan is right in his assumptions, but what is clear now is that Microsoft has already begun temping developers into joining its WP coalition and this may have a significant effect on the future look of the global mobile landscape. Do you agree?

Source: VisionMobile, 2012

About Viktor Bogdanov, PR Manager at Ciklum (53 Posts)

Viktor has 7+ years of online marketing and PR experience and specializes in content management, copywriting, tech blogging, market research, SMM and screenwriting.