Analyst firm Gartner said that with enterprises under “extreme pressure” to develop and deploy mobile apps, more than 50 percent of those deployed by 2016 will be hybrid HTML5/native.

This approach combines the “portability” of HTML5 web apps with a native container which provides access to core device features, which will “appeal to many enterprises”.

With the growth of bring-your-own-device meaning that staff are using a wide range of smartphone platforms, enterprises are needing to support a broader range of terminals.

And while web apps provide the easiest way to target a broad device base, native support is often needed to access location information, notification systems, mapping capabilities, and other hardware features.

Van Baker, research VP for Gartner, said: “Our advice would be to assume the enterprise will have to manage a large and diverse set of mobile applications that will span all major architectures.”

“Enterprises should consider how applications can be enriched or improved by the addition of native device capabilities and evaluate development frameworks that offer the ability to develop native, hybrid and Web applications using the same code base. Where possible, development activities should be consolidated via cross-platform frameworks,” he continued.