Near native performance will become a reality in 2018 thanks to ongoing improvement of development tools for multiplatform applications. This is according to Cassie Lessing, CEO, Strato IT Group, a business application specialist, who says that the intent of multiplatform apps is to provide users with a similar experience irrespective of the device they use: “There is still some work to be done in this respect, but we can expect the gap to be closed completely within the next few years as multiplatform overtakes native mobile app development in the race to win the customer.”

He says that user demands and expectations will constantly change as more and more mobile applications are developed: The future is definitely about multiplatform apps as more businesses implement mobile business applications. The biggest challenge companies face is scope management as it is difficult to restrict your expectations once you have been exposed to the great potential of mobile business applications. This means that user demand and expectation is ever increasing and that puts tremendous strain on the available resources,” says Lessing.

He says that 2018 will see the adoption of more mobile business applications and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions will also accelerate further in 2018: “We expect that demand will exceed supply and that many businesses may not meet their short term objectives due to a lack of resources in the market. This demand will attract new entrants, but it will take some time for the new entrants to establish quality capacity.”

Lessing says while more companies are embracing cross-platform development, it is still common practice for App developers to develop solutions in native mode and then adapt their solutions for other native platforms. This is expensive to develop and support, as well as time consuming: “Cross-platform apps have limitations, but this is changing rapidly, and more tools are becoming available for those who want to develop cross-platform apps.” He says that the key to any app design is to focus on the user experience when developing: “The only way to meet the ever-changing expectations of consumers going forward, within a realistic timeframe, is by adopting a multiplatform approach.”

The IoT apps market is still in its infancy according to Lessing, but an increasing number of developers are working and experimenting on IoT projects. He expects that IoT will grow exponentially over the next few years as organisations realise the benefits of multiple connected devices and end consumers start expecting it as standard.