Report: IBM Positioned as a Mobile Application Development Platform Leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant

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Sep 15, 2014, 09:00 ET

ARMONK, N.Y., Sept. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Gartner, Inc. has positioned IBM as a Leader in the 2014 Magic Quadrant for Mobile Application Development Platforms.¹

For the report, Gartner evaluated the IBM MobileFirst application development portfolio that includes a complete range of tools for developers to create, deploy, manage and secure mobile apps, on-premise or in the cloud.

According to Gartner, "Leaders must represent a strong combination of ability to execute and completeness of vision. In the mobile application development platform (MADP) sector, this means that Leaders not only are good at cross-platform development, deployment and management across the full life cycle, but also have good vision of the multichannel enterprise, support for multiple architectures and standards, a solid understanding of IT requirements, and scalable channels and partnerships. Leaders must provide platforms that are easy to purchase, program, deploy and upgrade, and which can connect to a range of back-end and cloud services, from the same vendor as well as third parties."

A key component of the IBM MobileFirst portfolio, IBM recently announced several enhancements to the IBM Worklight platform to address the evolving needs of mobile app developers, including those increasingly incorporating analytics and cloud-based services to quickly build and deploy mobile apps. Other major components of the IBM MobileFirst portfolio include integrated software and services for mobile management, payments, security and engagement.

"The need for mobile apps that maximize the user experience and spur transactions is exploding. With that rising demand, organizations need to rapidly build, secure, manage and integrate those mobile apps with their back-end systems to drive better decision making," said Phil Buckellew, vice president, enterprise mobile, IBM. "We feel this recognition reinforces how IBM is redefining the mobile application development platform and putting a rich set of tools and cloud-based services into the hands of the world's developers so they can focus on creating exceptional interactions."

IBM Worklight allows enterprises to optimize mobile user experiences by supporting both native (via SDKs) and hybrid development models as well as tracking user experience with sentiment analysis and crowd-sourced feedback submissions. The platform helps developers integrate analytics, workflow and back-end systems, and ensure greater enterprise security and version management. IBM Worklight features mobile management and security capabilities for scanning apps to identify vulnerabilities early in development cycles and assist with determining problems with apps that have already been deployed.

Earlier this year, the IBM MobileFirst portfolio was recognized as a Leader in both the 2014 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed Mobility Services (MMS)² and the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Mobility Management Suites.³

About IBM MobileFirst

IBM's 5,000 mobile experts have been at the forefront of mobile enterprise innovation. IBM has secured more than 4,300 patents in mobile, social and security, which have been incorporated into IBM MobileFirst solutions that enable enterprise clients to radically streamline and accelerate mobile adoption, help organizations engage more people and capture new markets. Through IBM's partnership with Apple, the two organizations are transforming enterprise mobility with a new class of industry specific business apps. For more information on IBM MobileFirst, visit the press kit or www.ibm.com/mobilefirst. Follow @IBMMobile on Twitter, and see IBM MobileFirst on YouTube, Tumblr and Facebook.

1 – Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Mobile Application Development Platforms - Ray Valdes, Van L. Baker, Richard Marshall, Jason Wong, 2 September 2014
2 – Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Managed Mobility Services - Eric Goodness, Gianluca Tramacere, Katja Ruud, 24 July 2014
3 – Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Mobility Management Suites - Terrence Cosgrove et. al., 3 June 2014