This guest post has been contributed by Silicus Technologies, a leading provider of software development services.
The popularity of mobile applications has boosted incredibly over the past few years. Every business regardless of its size and market wants to have a mobile app to support their business and customers as well as to get a wider outreach. This enthusiasm and demand has taken mobile software development to new dimensions. Further, several mobile development platforms have emerged over the past decade. Developers are increasingly switching gears to get into mobile application development, because it is in high demand and can be highly profitable.
Mobile application development frameworks have been introduced to cater to the growing demand of mobile apps. Most of these frameworks have produced their own integrated development environments (IDEs) with built-in support for application development, library support, and testing and deployment automation. When there are so many options available, it can be challenging to determine which application framework to use in order to support the organization’s business needs.
Talking about the platforms available for mobile app development, Android by Google and iOS by Apple are currently dominating the mobile software industry. Also, Windows Phone and Blackberry have gained credibility. Cross platform application development platforms such as PhoneGap and Titanium are also gaining popularity, as they enable you to develop mobiles apps compatible with most of the devices.
This article is a guide to help you pick the right platform and framework for mobile software development, depending on varied factors.
Analyze your target market
Determining the app’s target market helps the developers decide which framework to use. For instance, if majority of your target audience is using Android phones, you can opt to develop an Android app which will be accepted by a larger audience. However, if your target market is a mix, you will either want to go for a cross-platform development framework or use multiple platforms depending on the budget, resource availability, and technical concerns.
Determine the type of app – web, native or hybrid?
This is one of the core decisions that the software architect needs to make before selecting a development platform. The answer quite depends on what the app is and the target market. Native apps are the ones that make use of features which are native to the mobile device – such as its camera or GPS. The introduction of HTML5 and CSS3 allows web developers to create more user friendly and UI-rich web applications which can easily be supported on mobile devices. Hybrid applications are a combination of both web and native apps. The development platform has to be chosen in accordance with this decision. For example, if it is a web application, you need to select a traditional web development platform, or simply HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
(Editor’s Note: Microsoft has an easy-if locked down-app development platform for Store apps aimed at Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. If I can figure it out, anyone can. 
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Understand the technical aspects of the framework
Some frameworks have special technical requirements to support comprehensive development of apps. For instance, if you opt for iOS development, you will need Mac computers or iPhones/iPads to test them. If the development company does not have the necessary technical infrastructure, selecting such a framework will incur additional cost and effort to purchase and configure such devices. Therefore, when selecting a mobile app platform, you need to consider the availability of technical infrastructure, as well as the technical expertise of the developers and users able to use them.
Check the availability of developer tools and other resources
The selected platform should have the right tools to support the software development team to enable them to setup the mobile app project. Also, a strong developer community which addresses developer queries and helps in fixing bugs on the framework is vital for the sustainability of the project. It is also important that the selected platform should have enough documentation and articles available for reference to help novice as well as experienced developers. Platforms such as Android and iOS have such a strong community behind them to ease the development process.
Ensure Budget availability
The selection of a mobile app platform depends on the available budget to a great extent. This includes financial aspects such as software cost, infrastructure cost, user training cost, etc. It also has to take into consideration potential gain by selling or distributing the app. An app developed for mass market helps you make greater profit in a shorter period versus an app which is targeted to a limited number of high-end users.
Given these facts, selecting a mobile development platform is a hybrid decision of the business and the technical team. Hence, all possible factors need to be considered carefully, evaluating their pros and cons, giving considerations for the customer needs, and the business prospects, in order to develop a mobile app with a real value.
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