Apple and Google’s strengths in the mobile consumer space are “clearly making inroads in developer perceptions towards the enterprise arena,” according to a recent survey from Appcelerator and IDC. When asked which platform is best positioned to win in the enterprise, respondents were evenly divided between iOS and Android at 44 percent each. Only 7 percent believe Windows Phone is an option, followed by 4 percent for BlackBerry and 2 percent for webOS.

The companies note that enterprises are “taking a much more cautious approach with Android at scale due to security concerns in which case they are looking to Apple when they go beyond BlackBerry and Windows Mobile deployments.” In the near to medium term, despite having the same level of support from developers, Apple is leading with CIOs today when it comes to mobile deployments beyond Microsoft and RIM.

Interestingly, there were some pronounced differences in why developers feel that Apple or Google may win in the enterprise. Some 30 percent of developers believe Android’s market share lead will be the key driver for success in the enterprise. In comparison, 24 percent of respondents believe that Apple’s consumerisation of the user experience will carry iOS into mainstream enterprise adoption.

Platform sentiment stable
In terms of absolute developer preferences, with relatively few new product announcements in the last quarter, platform priorities have not changed significantly. The iPhone remains top with 91 percent of developers “very interested” in this device, followed by the iPad (88 percent), Android for smartphones (87 percent) and Android for tablets (74 percent). Both Android platforms saw something of a rebound compared to their first quarter levels.

IDC and Appcelerator have now begun assessing developer attitudes toward HTLM5 mobile web, which arrives strongly with 66 percent interest levels. This was said to reflect the “increasing requirement for both a mobile app and mobile website, though the former continues to be the number one priority.”

Below this, the second tier of operating systems remains largely stable: Windows Phone (30 percent), BlackBerry phone (28 percent), BlackBerry Playbook (20 percent), HP web OS Tablet (TouchPad, 18 percent), HP webOS for smartphones (12 percent), Symbian (7 percent) and MeeGo (5 percent).

The companies said that the assessment now is that Android tablets are in “somewhat of a ‘no man’s land’ in terms of developer priorities,” as demonstrated by the relatively low numbers of tablet-optimised Android apps. It said that “iPhone, iPad and Android phones have all earned their status as go-to devices, but developers aren’t sure what to make of the Android Tablet picture, especially in light of the resource requirements necessary to adapt to the changing OS, hardware and form factor requirements that remain fluid to this day.”

As a follow-up, developers were asked which factors are most important for Android Tablets to succeed, with “user experience improvements” coming out on top (identified by 52 percent of respondents). This was followed by “phone-to-app portability,” and minimised fragmentation (46 percent). In its January 2011 study, before devices reached the market, price was identified as a key market inhibitor. This could mean that “the question could be moving from ‘if’ to ‘how’.”

Changing monetisation models
The survey also noted some shifts in business models. In January, 59 percent of developers said that app stores were their preferred business model, but by the time of this survey, this had dropped to 50 percent, a trend which is expected to continue into 2012. At the same time, in-app purchases increased from 42 percent stating they plan to use this model in January to 43 percent today and 50 percent by next year, rivalling app store sales.