A September 2010 developer survey from IDC, sponsored by Appcelerator, asserts that “the next big wave of innovation may come from business application developers tapping into vast stores of data in the cloud and bringing this data to bear on highly local experiences.” It notes that there are some commonalities between business and consumer apps: products in both categories are “web-connected and leverage the power of native smartphone capabilities.” A number of vertical markets are also likely to lead the way in the adoption of mobile apps, including CRM, healthcare, financial and retail.

The top categories for business applications are productivity, document management, salesforce automation, messaging and communication, and vertical-market software. Here, the cross-over with the consumer sector is less clear, with different priorities very much in evidence: top consumer titles focus on social networking, entertainment, utility, games and lifestyle.

The survey also found that 72 percent of developers believe that Android is “better positioned to power a large number and variety of connected devices in the future,” including smartphones, tablets and connected TVs, with 59 percent stating that this platform offers the “best long-term outlook” – compared to 35 percent for Apple’s iOS. Significantly, the number of developers feeling that Android has the greatest potential has increased during the most recent quarter, despite the recent success of Apple’s iPad.

A full analysis of the survey results will follow later this week.