News

Telerik Update Aims to Speed Cross-Platform Enterprise App Development

• By David Ramel
• December 2, 2015

The latest edition of Telerik's cross-platform mobile app development platform is all about speed, shipping enterprise apps quicker and shortening update cycles.

Telerik Platform 2.0 aims to do this through a new unified, app-centric interface that allows quick access to all phases of an app's development and deployment lifecycle.

"Developers are able to develop, connect, test, deploy and measure the app from a single unified interface, cutting through the unnecessary effort often required when working with multiple disparate technologies," the company said in a statement yesterday.

The company said faster app development fills an enterprise need identified by research firm Gartner Inc., which Telerik quoted as saying, a "major growth driver [for Mobile App Dev Platforms] is the need for high-speed app development and short update cycles that organizations are scouting for to align with their digital business initiatives."

Telerik, a Bulgarian company recently acquired by Progress Software, said the new app-centric interface also simplifies the integration with the cloud to provide back-end services such as push notifications, incorporating that functionality and other components such as app performance analytics into the development process. As part of the platform upgrade, the company said it also beefed up its analytics, with new top-level dashboards, engagement cohorts and more.

The platform also includes the latest enhancements to NativeScript, its new-age JavaScript framework that allows for the creation of truly native apps -- iOS, Android and Windows Phone -- through Web-based technologies. In the Telerik system, developers can use a library of UI components to visually design and build an app, whose code subsequently gets exported into JavaScript and wrapped in a container that facilitates distribution via app stores, something not possible with pure Web apps.

Telerik uses Cordova/PhoneGap technology to achieve this hybrid approach to cross-platform native apps, and has maintained a Verified Plugins Marketplace featuring Cordova plugins. With the new platform upgrade, Telerik is also offering a NativeScript section in its plugin marketplace.

For hooking up apps to various data sources, Telerik Platform 2.0 features new connectors for accessing data hosted in Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL or Salesforce.

"Today, mobile developers are required to deliver cross-platform apps with powerful back-ends, insightful user analytics and engaging notifications -- all while keeping development costs to a minimum," Progress exec Brandon Satrom said in a statement. "As a result, the need for synergy between tools and services that support multiple devices, operating systems and business models has never been higher. Telerik Platform 2.0 gives developers a glimpse into what is possible for cross-platform mobile application development, with enhancements to deliver high-quality apps faster than ever before."