platforms magic quadrant for multiexperience de velopment · 2019-09-16 · platforms published 10...

23/07/2019 Gartner Reprint

https://www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-1GTECOXP&ct=190711&st=sb 1/26

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MagicQuadrantforMultiexperienceDevelopmentPlatformsPublished10July2019-IDG00369397-44minread

ByAnalystsJasonWong,VanBaker,MarkDriver,AdrianLeow,PaulVincent

Mobileapps,progressivewebapps,conversationalappsandimmersiveappsareamongthe

manytypesofapplicationthatpeopleusetointeractwithandwithindigitalbusinesses.This

MagicQuadrantwillhelpapplicationleadersassessvendorsofMXDPs,whichenable

developmentofthesetypesofapp.

StrategicPlanningAssumptionBy2023,morethan25%ofthemobileapps,progressivewebappsandconversationalappsat

largeenterpriseswillbebuiltand/orrunthroughamultiexperiencedevelopmentplatform.

MarketDefinition/DescriptionTheterm“multiexperience”referstothevariouspermutationsofmodality(touch,voiceand

gesture,forexample),deviceandappwithwhichusersinteractontheirdigitaljourneysacross

diversetouchpoints.Multiexperiencedevelopmentinvolvescreatingfit-for-purposeappsbasedon

touchpoint-specificmodalities,whileatthesametimeensuringaconsistentuserexperience

acrossweb,mobile,wearables,conversationalandimmersivetouchpoints.Multiexperience

developmentistypicallyundertakenusingavarietyoftechnologies(see“SurveyAnalysis:Insights

toKick-StartanEnterpriseMultiexperienceDevelopmentStrategy”),butsingleplatformsare

emergingthatbringtogethertherequiredtechnologies.

ThisisthefirstMagicQuadrantformultiexperiencedevelopmentplatforms(MXDPs),its

predecessorshavingbeenMagicQuadrantsformobileappdevelopmentplatforms(MADPs).The

changeofnamereflectstheevolutionofMADPstoserveexpandingappusecasesand

developmentrequirements.Theserequirementsgobeyondmobileappstoenabledevelopmentof

progressivewebapps(PWAs),conversationalapps(voiceassistantsandchatbots),immersive

appsandwearableapps.

TheMXDPmarketcontainssomeofthelargestenterprisesoftwarevendorsthatservetheneeds

ofdevelopmentteams.Italsoincludesup-and-comingvendorsthatofferindependent

developmentplatformoptions.AllMXDPssupporttheneedofprofessionaldeveloperstouse

high-controldevelopmenttools(inorderwords,code-centrictools),andmostalsosupport

developmentusinglow-codeapproachesforhigherdeveloperproductivity.However,theprimary

purposeoftheseplatformsisnottosupportlow-codedevelopment,butratherthecreationof



multipletypesofappinsupportofthedigitaluserexperienceacrossdevicesandinteraction

modalities.

MagicQuadrantFigure1.MagicQuadrantforMultiexperienceDevelopmentPlatforms

Source:Gartner(July2019)

VendorStrengthsandCautions

Notethatallmentionsinthissectiontocustomersatisfactionscores,surveyrespondentsand

referencecustomersrefertoanend-usersurveyperformedaspartofourresearchforthisMagic

Quadrant(datawascollectedinMarch2019).Vendor-identifiedreferencecustomersscoredvarious

overall,functional,productandvendorcustomerrelationshipcriteriaonascaleof1to5(where1=

extremelydissatisfied,and5=extremelysatisfied).Allmentionscomparingavendor’sreference



customerfeedbacktothe“average”refertothecalculatedaveragescoreforeachcriterionacross

allincludedvendors(formoredetailsaboutthesurvey,seetheEvidencesection).Allreported

customercountsareasofJuly2019,unlessotherwiseindicated.

Appian

AppianisaVisionary.Appian’splatformservesasanMXDPbysupportingweb,mobileand

conversationalappcapabilities,althoughitisbetter-knownasanintelligentbusinessprocess

managementsuite(iBPMS)andlow-codeapplicationplatform.Appianprimarilyservesthe

marketsforiBPMSsandlow-codeapplicationplatforms,butisalsogainingtractionwithits

multiexperiencedevelopmentcapabilities.

Strengths

Cautions

Viabilityandinnovation:Appianisamaturebutgrowingvendorwithdeepexperienceoflarge-

enterpriseprojects.Asapubliclytradedcorporation,itismanagedforgrowthbyaggressively

reinvestinginplatformresearchanddevelopment.Thisbodeswellforthefuture,giventhatit

alsohasastrongvisionforhowtodevelopmultiexperienceappsonitsplatform.Appian

receivedoneofthehighestreferencecustomersurveyratingsinthisMagicQuadrantforits

roadmaptosupportmultiexperiencedevelopmentneeds.

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Processandworkfloworchestration:Appian’soutstandingbusinessrules,processand

decisionenginecapabilitiesmakeitastrongcontenderformultiexperiencedevelopmentin

supportofcomplexprocess-orientedusecasesthatarepartofdigitalbusinessinitiatives.

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Operations:Appianhasanimpressiveandgrowingsetofcloudsecuritycertifications,andit

investsinstrictsecurityrequirementsandauditsthatadheretoavarietyofgovernmentsecurity

regulations.Additionally,referencecustomersreportedabove-averagesatisfactionwithits

serviceandsupport.

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Code-centricdevelopertooling:Appianfocusesonalow-codeapproachtodevelopment.

Althoughitprovidesplug-instoEclipseandIntelliJintegrateddevelopmentenvironments(IDEs)

forextensibility,itsmodel-drivenplatformisnotgearedtowardprofessionaldeveloperslooking

toworkinacode-centricenvironment.

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Salesexecution:AppianhasasmallercustomerbasethanothervendorsinthisMagic

Quadrant,sinceitprimarilycompetesforlargeprojectswithcomplexprocessautomationand

managementneeds.Prospectivebuyerswithmoreofafocusonfront-endappdevelopment

needsmaythereforefindAppian’splatformoverwhelming.AlthoughAppianhaschangedits

licensingtoaccommodatedifferentusagemodelsfordifferentapplications,itsreference

customers’satisfactionscoresforcontractnegotiationflexibilityandadaptabilitywerebelow

average.

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Marketingstrategy:Appian’smarketingstrategyshowsnosignofemphasizingthe

multiexperiencedevelopmentaspectsofitsplatform.MXDPisjustoneaspectoftheplatform,

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GeneXus

GeneXusisaNichePlayer.ItdistinguishesitselfintheMXDPmarketbyofferingaflexible

developmentplatformthatcangeneratecodeforweb,mobile,wearableandconversationalapps,

andPWAs.GeneXus’platformiscenteredonthevendor’sproprietaryIDE,whichenables

developerstowriteappsintheGeneXusscriptinglanguageandthengeneratenativeandweb

codeformultipleapptypes.

Strengths

Cautions

onethatisjostlingforpriorityinthevendor’sgo-to-marketmessagingandproductinvestments.

ThismaylimitAppian’sgrowthintheMXDPmarket,eventhoughithasasolidproductvision.

Code-centricdevelopertooling:GeneXushasitsownapproachtomodel-drivendevelopment,

usingitsdescriptiveprogramminglanguage.TheproprietaryWindows-basedGeneXusIDEisa

richdevelopmentenvironmentforprofessionaldevelopers.GeneXusgeneratescustomcodein

Java,.NET,.NETCore,JavaforAndroid,Swift,COBOLandRPG,aswellasHTML5,JavaScript

andCSS3.Thisenablesdeveloperstobuildappsinoneenvironmentandgeneratecodefor

differenttypesofappfordifferenttouchpoints,asneeded.

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Processandworkfloworchestration:GeneXushasabusinessprocessmanagementsuite

incorporatedintoitsplatformthatisbasedontheBusinessProcessModelandNotation

(BPMN)2.0standard.Thisgivesdevelopersanadvantagewhenbuildingprocess-centricapps

acrosstouchpoints.Thevendoralsooffersadeclarativeruleslanguagefordefiningbusiness

rulesthataredeployedinappsdevelopedonitsplatform.

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Meshappandservicearchitecture(MASA):GeneXus’platformoffersaserviceregistryfeature

calledtheKnowledgeMatrix,whichenablesdeveloperstodiscover,shareandpublishservices.

TheplatformalsooffersaloggingAPIthatworksinconjunctionwiththeopen-sourceElastic

Stacktofacilitatea“bigpicture”viewofservicesthathelpsavoiddependencyproblems.The

platformhasaddednewstreamsources,suchasApacheKafka,AmazonDynamoDB,

MongoDBandElasticsearch.

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Operationsandsalesstrategy:Despiteeffortstofurtherexpanditsoperationsandsalesin

otherregions,particularlytheU.S.,GeneXushasnotgainedmuchtractionoutsideitscore

customerbasesinLatinAmericaandJapan.Itsrelianceonpartnersoutsideitscoreregions

hasnotyieldedthesamesuccessasitsdirectsaleseffortsinLatinAmerica.

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Marketingexecutionandstrategy:GeneXus’strategyofhavingtrialversions,studentversions

andusermeetingstodrivemarketinghasnotyieldedsignificantmarketexpansionor

penetrationintoglobalenterprises.Thefocusonexploitingwordofmouthandbuildingits

installedbasehasnotbeenenoughtoturnthecompanyintoaworldwideplatformprovider.

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Low-codedevelopment:TheGeneXusIDEisscripting-heavyandlacksthemorevisual-centric

featuresthattheLeadersinthisMagicQuadrantprovide.Althoughthecompany’smodel-driven

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IBM

IBMisaNichePlayer.ItsIBMMobileFoundationofferingdistinguishesitselfintheMXDPmarket

byprovidingflexibledeploymentoptions,includingon-premises,privatecloud,publiccloudand

managedservice.Additionally,IBMMobileFoundationisoneofthefewMXDPsoffering

integratedartificialintelligence(AI)services,whichmakesitmorestraightforwardfordevelopers

toimplementchatbots,machinelearning(ML)modelsandotherAIcapabilitiesintotheirapps.

IBMMobileFoundationhasanopenclientarchitecturemodelthatsupportsnativeapps,popular

hybridframeworksandvarioustoolchoicesfordifferenttypesofdeveloper,fromthoseworking

onaugmentedreality(AR)tothosefocusedonmobileandwebapps.

Strengths

Cautions

scriptingapproachofferspowerfulcapabilities,customerslookingforgraphical-design-oriented

toolingmayfinditlesscapablethanotherMXDPsthattakelow-codeapproaches,although

GeneXushaspartnersthatofferintegratedvisualtooling.

Coreback-endservices:MuchofthevaluethatIBM’sMXDPofferingdeliverstocustomers

comesfromitsrobustandcomprehensiveback-endservices.IBMMobileFoundationoffers

strongsupportforAPIadaptersusedforback-endconnectivityinsupportofMASA.Logiccan

bewritteninadapterstomashupdataspecifictoachannelforconsumption.Inaddition,

Gartnerobservesthatitsstrongcoresecuritycapabilitiesareoftenimportantdifferentiatorsfor

customerschoosingtheplatform.

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AIservices:IBMMobileFoundationprovidesout-of-the-boxadaptersforsomeIBMWatson

cognitiveservices,suchasConversation,DiscoveryandNaturalLanguageUnderstanding.

OtherWatsonservices,suchasSpeechtoTextandTexttoSpeech,canbeaccessedusing

WatsonAPIs,andcodecanbegeneratedusingadapters.

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Geographicstrategyandoperations:IBMhasasignificantglobalpresenceasitoperatesin

morethan175countries.Thecompany’sSalesandDistributionorganizationmanages

dedicatedcountry-basedoperatingunits,whichgivesitanadvantageoverotherMXDPvendors

thatdon’thaveregion-basedsupportacrosstheglobe.Referencecustomers’satisfaction

scoresforIBM’sabilitytomeetallexpectationssetduringthesalesprocess,aswellasfor

integrationanddeployment,wereamongthehighestreceivedbyanyvendorinthisMagic

Quadrant.

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Offeringstrategy:Forthepastcoupleofyears,IBMhasreliedonpartnershipsforfront-end

developmenttoolingonitsplatform,suchaswithIonicandMendix,butthisapproachentails

separateproductroadmapsandadditionalpurchasesbycustomers.However,inApril2019,

IBMreleasedanewlow-codetool,theIBMDigitalAppBuilder,whichispartofIBMMobile

FoundationandasareplacementfortheEclipseIDEplug-intool.GartnerviewsIBM’sfront-end

toolingasacompetitiveweaknessagainstleadingvendors,thoughIBMDigitalAppBuilder

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Kony

KonyisaLeader.ItsrebrandedKonyQuantumplatformdistinguishesitselfintheMXDPmarket

withastrongtrackrecordformobileappdevelopment,butitcanalsosupportsmartwatch,AR

andconversationalapps,andPWAs.

Strengths

Cautions

shouldhelpclosethegap.Additionally,referencecustomersgavebelow-averagesatisfaction

scoresforIBM’sroadmapsupportingmultiexperiencedevelopmentneeds.

Monitoringandanalytics:AlthoughIBMMobileFoundationcomeswithbuilt-inclient-side

analyticsforAndroid,iOS,ApacheCordova,WindowsandReactNative,surveyedreference

customersgavetheplatformbelow-averagescoresformonitoringandanalyticstools.More

advancedanalyticscapabilityrequirescustomizationsortheadditionofIBMWatsonCustomer

ExperienceAnalyticsMobile,butreferencecustomerssaidtheyneededmoreout-of-the-box

functionalityforeffectivereal-timetrackingandanalytics.

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Processandworkfloworchestration:IBMMobileFoundationreceivedbelow-average

satisfactionratingsfromreferencecustomersforitsnativeprocessandworkflowcapability.

SupportingsuchorchestrationrequiresseparateIBMproducts,notablyIBMDigitalBusiness

AutomationandIBMCloudFunctions.CustomerscanusetheIBMbusinessprocess

management(BPM)adapterforIBMMobileFoundation,whichprovidesaccesstoIBM’sBPM

RESTAPIs.

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Offeringstrategy:Konyenablesthedeliveryofhigh-enduserexperiencesacrossmultiple

touchpoints.Itsplatformcombinesalow-codeapproachfordeveloperswithMASAbest

practices,throughtheuseofAPImanagementandcomprehensiveback-endservices.

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Industrystrategy:Konyhasstrongpresenceinanumberofindustries,andpartnershipswith

companiessuchasTechMahindra,CDWandCognizanttodeliverindustrysolutions.Its

strongestfocusisbanking,withtheKonyDBXplatformofferingarichsetofappsfordigital

banking.

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Innovation:Konydisplaysstronginnovationintermsofthefollowing:supportfor

smartwatches,withawatchcanvaswithinKonyVisualizer;ARsupportforARKit,ARCore

WikitudeandVuforia;andPWAsupportinitstooling.IthasalsoinvestedintheKonyIQchatbot

withaviewtousingAIandMLintheplatformtoimprovedevelopmentoutcomes.

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Customerexperienceofdeliveryandsupport:Althoughallthesurveyedreferencecustomers

forKonywouldrecommendthecompany,onaveragetheygaveitbelow-averagesatisfaction

scoresforimportantaspectsofdeliveryandsupport:professionalservices,developertraining,

serviceandsupport,aswellasintegrationanddeployment.Wealsohearoftheseissues

occasionallyfromGartnerclients,sopotentialcustomersshouldensurethatsufficientdelivery

resourcesareavailableandthatinternaldevelopmentteamscanreceiveenoughtraining.

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Mendix

AsubsidiaryofSiemenssinceAugust2018,MendixisaLeader.TheMendixPlatformis

differentiatedintheMXDPmarketbyafocusonmultiexperiencedevelopmentproductivityfor

citizenandprofessionaldevelopers,supportedbyacommonMASA.TheMendixPlatform

emphasizescollaborativedesignanddevelopmentefforts,includingendusers,designers,product

ownersanddevelopers,inordertounitebusinessandITteams.

Strengths

Cautions

Salesexecutionandstrategy:Konyhasyettoachievelarge-scalesuccesswithitschannel

salesstrategy,andGartnerhasseenevidenceofvariablechannelexecutionforcustomers.

Additionally,asKonypaysmoreattentiontotheDBXofferingforbanking,itsexecutioninthe

MXDPmarketmaybeimpacted,soexistingcustomersshouldmonitoritsaccountsupport.

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Marketingexecution:Konyisbest-knownformobileappdevelopment,butisincreasingly

competingwithlargerormoreaggressivevendorsthatcommandbroadermarketawareness.It

isalsointhemiddleofamajorrebrandingeffort,whichwillaffectitssearchmarketingand

existingbrandequity.

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Viabilityandoperations:Siemens’acquisitionofMendixprovidesthestabilityandadditional

resourcesforMendixtooperateasanindependentbusinessunit.Mendixisoneofonlyafew

vendorstohaveestablishedstrategicrelationshipswithkeypartners(suchasSAPandIBM)

andlarge-enterprisecustomers.

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Low-codedevelopment:TheMendixPlatformstronglyemphasizesvisual-andmodel-driven

developmentthatsupportsabroadrangeofdeveloperprofiles.Itprovidesaseparatedesign-

timeenvironmentforcitizendevelopers(MendixStudio)andamorerobustdevelopment

environmentforprofessionaldevelopers(MendixStudioPro),therebyenablingappstobe

supportedacrossthetwotools.Additionally,MendixhasinvestedinusingAIwiththeMendix

Assistdevelopmentapproachtoincreaseproductivity.

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MASA:TheMendixPlatformisbasedonanadvancedMASAfoundationthathasenabled

Mendixtoextenditscorewebandmobilecapabilitieswithmultiexperienceinnovations.The

platformsupportsmultigrainservices,aswellasAPIandevent-drivenmediation,usinga

combinationofmicroflowsforcompositionandorchestration.Referencecustomersgave

MendixoneofthehighestsatisfactionscoresofthevendorsinthisMagicQuadrantforits

abilitytoincreasecode,componentandservicesharing.

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Businessmodel:AlthoughSiemenshelpsgiveMendixastrongandestablishedmarket

presence,itstransactionofMendixhasalsoledtouncertaintyamongpotentialcustomers

aboutitslong-termimpact.Mendixwillcontinuetooperateindependently,butcustomers

shouldkeepabreastofpotentialchangestoitsproductroadmapandinvestmentsdueto

Siemens’influence.

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Microsoft

MicrosoftisaChallenger.IntheMXDPmarket,enterprisesoftenconsiderMicrosoftbecauseits

suiteofVisualStudioandAzureproductsisknowntomeettheneedsofprofessionaldevelopers.

ItsPowerAppsandFlowproductsareincreasinglyusedbyITandcitizendevelopers,too.

Together,theseproductsformaplatformsuitethatiswidelyadoptedformultiexperience

development,althoughMicrosoftlacksaformalplatformnamingandpackagingconvention.

Strengths

Cautions

Marketresponsiveness:MendixhasrearchitecteditsmobileclienttouseReactNative,which

replacesitsuseofApacheCordova.AlthoughGartnerseesthisasapositivemove,theswitch

meansMendixmustcatchupintermsofsupportforAR,whichisslatedforalate2019release.

Additionally,referencecustomersreportedissueswithadvancedmobileofflinefunctionality

andappreleasemanagementthatshouldhavebeenaddressedinMendix’scurrentrelease.

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Salesexecutionandpricing:AlthoughMendixachievedsolidsalesresultsin2018,Gartnerhas

witnessedsalesexecutioninconsistenciessincetheacquisitionbySiemens.AfewGartner

clientshavefoundMendixtobeunresponsiveduringthesalescycle,andsomeMendix

customershavevoicedconcernsabouttherisingcostoftheplatformasutilizationincreases.

Althoughtheseconcernsmayrepresentoutliers,prospectivebuyersmayneedtobepatient

duringthesalesprocessandscrutinizecostsasplatformusageincreases.

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Productcapabilities:VisualStudiowithXamarinoffersnative-levelmobileappdevelopment,

whileMicrosoftBotFrameworksupportsconversationalappdevelopmentforbothvoiceand

chatbotusecases.MicrosoftisalsooneofthevendorsattheforefrontofsupportingPWAand

immersiveappdevelopment.

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Viabilityandoperations:Microsofthasamassivedevelopercommunityandecosystemforall

theproductsunderitsMXDPumbrella.Bytakinganunopinionatedapproachtoitsdevelopment

platform,Microsoftallowscustomerstousewhattheyneedandtointerchangeotherproduct

andcomponentscomparativelyeasily.Operationally,Microsofthassignificantresourcesto

supportandinvestinitsMXDPoffering.

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Marketresponsiveness:Microsoftembracesopen-sourcetechnologiesandhasbeenactive

notonlyinits.NETCorecommunity,butalsointheApacheCordova,ReactNativeandLinux

Foundationcommunities.ItalsooffersanumberofmarketplacesforVisualStudioandAzure,

plustheGitHubMarketplacethroughitsacquisitionofGitHub.

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Marketunderstandingandmarketingstrategy:Microsoftmarketstodevelopersandtakesa

bottom-upgo-to-marketapproachtoitsMXDPoffering—moresothantheothervendorsinthis

MagicQuadrant.Althoughitisimportanttowintheheartsandmindsofdevelopers,Microsoft

lacksahigher-level,unifiedstrategicvaluepropositionforitsMXDPforITandbusinessleaders,

whoarethefinaldecisionmakers.

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Oracle

OracleisaLeader.OracledistinguishesitselfintheMXDPmarketbyextendingitsmobileappand

webdevelopmentcapabilitiestonativechatbots,withtrainedAImodels.ItsMXDPofferingisa

suiteofproductsthatspansfront-endtoolsandback-endservices,consistingofOracleMobile

Hub,DeveloperCloudService,JavaScriptExtensionToolkit(JET),DigitalAssistant,VisualBuilder

andAPICatalog.

Strengths

Cautions

Salesstrategy:MicrosoftgainscustomersforitsMXDPplatformsuiteasastrongincumbent

supplierofdevelopertoolsandplatformservicesinmanyenterprises.However,potential

customersmayfindthatitssalessupportandlicensingmodelsarelesscoordinatedand

focusedthanothervendorsfromaplatform-centricperspective.

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Businessmodel:AlthoughMicrosofthastakenaleadershippositioninmanyopen-source

areastoexpanditstechnologyscope,itdoesnotdemonstrateacompellingvisiontomonetize

thatactivityforitsMXDP(itsPWABuilderandVisualStudioCodeproducts,forexample,are

evidenceofthis).Also,withengineeringandgo-to-marketresponsibilitiesspreadacrossAzure,

VisualStudioandBusinessApplicationsteams,Microsoftcurrentlylacksacohesiveplatform

businessmodelthattiestogetheritsMXDPproducts.

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Coreback-endservices:Oracle’scoreback-endservicesincludeadeepportfolioofpreexisting

connectors,particularlyforOracleSaaSapplications.Additionally,itoffersabreadthofrobust

services,suchaslocation,pushnotifications,identityandsinglesign-on.

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Customerexperience:ReferencecustomersforOraclereportedsomeofthehighestlevelsof

satisfaction,comparedwiththoseofothervendorsinthisMagicQuadrant.Inparticular,

Oracle’ssatisfactionscoreswereamongthebestforoverallexperience,integrationand

deployment,serviceandsupport,andabilitytounifyinternaldevelopmentactivities.

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Code-centricdevelopertooling:TheVisualBuildertoolisbuiltonOracleJETandcangenerate

standardJavaScriptcodeforcustomizationinanyIDE.Additionally,OracleprovidesSDKsthat

workwithiOS,Android,Windows10,ReactNativeandApacheCordova,sodeveloperscanuse

awiderangeoffamiliarframeworks.ReferencecustomersgaveOracleoneofthehighest

satisfactionscoresfordevelopertrainingandsupport.

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Marketingexecutionandstrategy:Despitehavingrobustcapabilitiesacrossmultipleform

factorsandmodalities,Oracle’sMXDPattractslittleinterestoutsideOracle-centric

organizations,judgingfrominteractionswithusersofGartner’sclientinquiryservice.The

namesandbrandingoftheproductswithintheplatformhavechangedafewtimesoverthe

years,whichhasledtosomeconfusioninthemarket,evenamongexistingOraclecustomers.

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ARandVRsupport:OraclecurrentlydoesnotsupportARcapabilitiesthroughitsApache

Cordova-basedmobileclientandVisualBuildertool.Itdoes,however,supportARKitand

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OutSystems

OutSystemsisaLeader.TheOutSystemsplatformisasingle,full-stackMXDPthatemphasizesa

low-codeapproachcomplementedbyextensibilitythroughcoding.Theplatformsupportsthefull

applifecycleandhelpsachieveagilityatscaleusingamodulararchitecturethathaspotentialfor

heavyreuse,duetoitsapplicationobjectmodel.

Strengths

Cautions

ARCorethroughitsnativeiOSandAndroidSDKs.Oraclealsosupportscontentmanagementfor

ARandVR,butonlyifthecustomerpurchasestheseparatelylicensedOracleContentand

Experience,adigitalexperienceplatform.

Low-codedevelopment:Oraclehasmergeditswebandmobilelow-codedevelopmenttools

intoonedesign-timeenvironment,VisualBuilder,butalthoughthisisacapabletoolsome

referencecustomersidentifiedaneedforOracletoimproveitsUI.

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Productcapabilities:OutSystemssupportsbroadmultiexperienceuse-casescenariosenabled

bytheextensibilityofitsplatformarchitecture,aswellasitsabilitytogeneratecodeandadd

modulescreatedincodeandusingSDKs.Referencecustomers’satisfactionwithOutSystems’

productcapabilitieswasamongthehighestexpressedforanyvendorinthisMagicQuadrant.

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Marketingexecutionandstrategy:OutSystems’superiormarketingeffortshavehelpedit

achieveaglobalpresenceandmarketawarenessrivalingthoseoflarger,publiclytraded

vendors.Ithasapresenceacrossallmajorgeographicregionsandaverycompelling

messagingandvaluepropositionforenterprisesrequiringplatformmodernizationtosupport

digitaltransformation.

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Operationsandmarketresponsiveness:ScoresfromreferencecustomersplaceOutSystems

amongthetopvendorsforserviceandsupport,integrationanddeployment,anddeveloper

training.OutSystemshasaverylargeandactivedevelopercommunitytosupplementitsown

servicesandsupport.Italsohascentersofexcellencewithinstrategicpartners,suchas

DeloitteandCognizant.

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Pricing:AsOutSystemsfocusesonlarger,mission-criticalprojects,licensingcostscanbecome

anissueintermsofpredictabilityandvalueforsomecustomers,basedonitsapplication

objectlicensingmodel.AlthoughreferencecustomersgaveOutSystemsanabove-average

scoreforcontractnegotiations,Gartnerhasencounteredcustomerswhoreportrisingcostsas

theydeployadditionalapplicationsorfunctionality.

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Low-codecitizendevelopment:AlthoughOutSystemsadvertisesitselfasofferingalow-code

platformforbothcitizenandprofessionaldevelopers,theplatform’sdevelopmenttoolingis

gearedprimarilytoprofessionaldevelopers,oratleastfairlytechnicalappbuilders.Althoughit

alsooffersalimitedweb-basedIDE,OutSystems’focusisonaclient-sidenativeIDEthatis

attractivetoprofessionaldevelopersbutcouldoverwhelmmanynontechnicaldevelopers—

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Pega

PegaisaVisionary.ItsPegaInfinityofferingsupportsmobile,web,smartwatchand

conversationalappdevelopmentusingitsMXDPtooling.Thevendordifferentiatesitselfinthe

MXDPmarketbyenablingitsPegaCRMSuitetobebuiltinanduponitsMXDP,therebyextending

allofitsCRMfunctionalityviatheMXDP(althoughinvestmentinitsCRMofferingisnotrequired).

Strengths

Cautions

althoughtemplateappsandwizardsareprovided.Referencecustomersandotherclientsthat

Gartnerhasspokentoindicatedthatsignificanttrainingisrequiredforcitizendevelopers.

Industrystrategy:OutSystemshasmajorcustomersandpartnersinseveralindustries,butuntil

recentlyitlackedspecificindustrysolutionsandacorporate-drivenindustrygo-to-market

strategy.Thevendorismakingindustrysolutionsapriorityfor2019,suchassolutionsfor

banking,insuranceandhighereducation,butthesemaybeimmaturerelativetotheestablished

solutionsofothervendors.

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Processandworkfloworchestration:PegaInfinityofferscaseflows,processflowsand

application-specificflowsthataremodelednativelyinthesystem.Combinedwithcustomer

journeyvisualizationandadecisionhubrepositoryforallcustomerinteractions,thesefeatures

enabledeveloperstodesigncontinuouscustomerexperiences.

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Microapppatterns:Developerscandesignnewfunctionsordistributepartsofexistingappsas

microappsthroughtheplatform.Anunderlyingrole-basedaccesscontrolpatternandrule-

drivenconditionscandeterminethecontext,constraintsandtimingformicroappdeployment.

Chatbotscancallandpushmicroappfunctionstoaconversationparticipant,basedon

conversationlogic.

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MASA:Thedesignmodelforcreatingnewmicroservices(asynchronousandautonomous)is

thesameasformicroapps—bydesigningonceandrenderingasneeded.PegaLiveData

providesmediationacrossdistributedsystemstopresentvirtualizedviewsofbusinessentities.

MXDPback-enddevelopmentsupportsJava,JavaScript,.NETandNode.js;front-end

developmentsupportsAngular,NGINXandReactframeworks.

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Marketingexecutionandstrategy:GartnerobservesagenerallackofawarenessofPega’s

offeringamongpotentialMXDPcustomers,whichthevendorneedstodomoretoremedy.But

themainchallengeliesinhowPegapackagesandgoestomarketwithitsplatform,sinceit

alsocompetesintheiBPMS,roboticprocessautomation,CRMandlow-codeapplication

platformmarketswithessentiallythesametechnologiesandsimilarmessaging.

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Customerexperience:Referencecustomersexpressedconcernsabouttherequirementtohave

significantknowledgeofPega’splatformbeforetheycouldproperlyunderstandtheir

implementationchoices,aswellasaboutinsufficientsupportdocumentationforsomefeatures

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Progress

ProgressisaLeader.ItsMXDPofferingistheProgressKinveyplatform,whichincludes

technologiesacquiredandorganicallybuiltinrecentyearstoaddresscode-centricandlow-code

multiexperiencedevelopment.Thecloud-nativeplatformoffersKinveyStudioforbuildingmobile

appsbasedonNativeScriptandPWAsbasedonAngular.ItalsooffersKinveyChatforchatbot

developmentandNativeScriptplug-instosupportimmersiveandwearableapps.

Strengths

Cautions

andtheneedformoreconfigurationthanexpected.TheirsatisfactionwithPega’sdeveloper

trainingandsupportwasbelowtheaverageforvendorsinthisMagicQuadrant.

Salesstrategy:PegaderivesminimalMXDPrevenuefromitschannelpartners.Itsdirectsales

forcealsosellsbasedmoreontheneedforiBPMSandCRMthanfordevelopmentspecifically.

Asaresult,PegamayfinditdifficulttocompeteforMXDPbusinessthatdoesnotinvolvethose

othercapabilities.

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Coreback-endservices:Progresshasoneoftherichestsetsofconnectorsforenterprisedata

sourcesofanyvendorinthismarket.Inaddition,itsplatformhasstrongdatatransformation

capabilitiesandbroadservices,includingnotificationsandauthentication,withtightintegration

toawiderangeofenterpriseauthenticationofferings(suchasOkta,Layer7SiteMinderand

OpenIDConnect).

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Code-centricdevelopertooling:Progresscreatedtheopen-sourceNativeScriptframework,

whichoffersprofessionaldevelopersusingtheAngularframeworktheabilitytoincorporate

nativecodeforiOSandAndroid.DeveloperscanaccessthefullrangeofAPIsthatareinthe

nativeOSs.Inaddition,theKinveyplatformseamlesslyintegrateswithawiderangeof

frameworks,includingKubernetes,Node.js,Electronandothers.Kinveyback-endservicesare

managedviaabrowser-basedconfigurationtool.

■

AIservices:KinveyChathasextensivelanguagecapabilities,includingnativenaturallanguage

processing(NLP)functionality,andintegrateswithmostmajormessagingplatforms.Its

conversationalcapabilitiescanbeextendedtomobileandwebapps.Inaddition,Progresshas

strongcapabilitiesforbuildingpredictiveanalyticsmodels.

■

Industrystrategy:Progresshashistoricallyservedtechnologyandmanufacturingindustries,

butitsonlyindustry-specificsolutionisProgressHealthCloud.TheKinveyplatformcanstillbe

usedtodevelopawiderangeofindustrysolutions,butothervendorshavemoreindustry

acceleratorsandsolutionsforcustomersseekingdomain-specificsolutions.

■

Low-codedevelopment:Progressretainsitsfocusonprofessionaldevelopers.Ithasbegunto

rolloutnewtoolsfocusedonlow-codedevelopers,butthisnewefforthasyettoproveitselfin

themarket.SomereferencecustomersforProgressidentifiedthecomplexityofthecurrent

■



Salesforce

SalesforceisaLeader.ItdistinguishesitselfintheMXDPmarketbycombininglow-codeandhigh-

controldevelopmentacrossitsplatform,backedbyacommonmetadatamodelandapp

components.TheSalesforceLightningPlatform,Heroku,SalesforceMobileSDK,EinsteinVoice

andEinsteinBotBuildermakeupanMXDPofferingthatsupportsmultiexperiencedevelopment

bybothbusinessandITteams.

Strengths

Cautions

offeringasanissue,andtheirsatisfactionscoresforoverallproductcapabilitieswerebelow

theaverage.

Salesstrategyandmarketingexecution:Foracompanywithover1,500employeesandannual

revenueofalmost$400million,Progresshasarelativelysmall,butgrowing,directsales

organization.ItdoeshaveanactivepartnerchannelthatcontributestoitsMXDPrevenue,but

sellingdirectlytoenterprisesseemsstilltobeachallengeforProgress.Additionally,witha

stringofacquisitionsandproductnamechangesoverrecentyears,Progresshasnotgained

muchmarketawarenessforitsMXDPofferingormarketeditsplatformeffectively.Reference

customersgavebelow-averagesatisfactionscoresfortheabilityofitsproductroadmapto

meettheirmultiexperiencedevelopmentneeds,despiteexpressingabove-averagesatisfaction

withtheoverallexperience.

■

Low-codedevelopment:Salesforceprovidesavarietyoflow-codeapproachesforweband

mobileappandchatbotdevelopment—allbackedbyextensivetrainingfromitsTrailhead

community.TheSalesforceLightningDesignSystemalsohelpsenforceuserexperience

consistencythroughUIpatterns,navigationmodelsandwebcomponents.Reference

customersforSalesforcegaveoneofthehighestsatisfactionscoresforitsoffering’sabilityto

unifyinternaldevelopmentteamactivities.

■

Viabilityandinnovation:SalesforcecontinuestoinvestheavilyinitsMXDPcapabilities

spanninglow-codeandhigh-controldevelopmenttools.Itsdevelopmentplatformissuitablefor

awiderangeofpersonas,fromcitizendevelopers(usingdrag-and-dropeditors)toprofessional

developers(usingSDKsandthird-partytools).Referencecustomers’satisfactionwith

Salesforce’sroadmaptosupporttheirmultiexperienceneedswasamongthehighestforany

vendorinthisMagicQuadrant.

■

Industrystrategy:Salesforcehassignificantcustomertractionandstrategicdeliverypartners

innearlyeveryindustry.ItalsofocusesonafewkeyindustrieswithitsFinancialServicesCloud,

HealthCloud,GovernmentCloudandPhilanthropyCloudsolutions.

■

Offeringstrategy:Salesforce’sMXDPofferinghasthemakingsofapowerfulplatform,butthe

separateproductcomponentsindicatealackofacohesiveplatformstrategy.Theofferingis

spreadacrossSalesforce’sLightningPlatform,HerokuandEinsteinproducts,whichleadsto

■



SAP

SAPisaChallenger.ItsMXDPoffering,theSAPCloudPlatform,placesstrongemphasison

integrationbyprovidingintegrationbetweenmultipledevelopertools,out-of-the-boxintegration

withawidevarietyofthird-partysystems,andstraightforwardintegrationwithSAPbusiness

applications.SAP’sMXDPoffersseveraltechnologies,includingSAPFioriapptemplates,SAPUI5

hybridandnativeSDKs,PWAsandmodel-drivenapps,allofwhichdeliveracommonSAPFiori

userexperience.SAPWebIDEisthecompany’sprimaryprofessionaldevelopertoolforbuilding

multiexperienceapps.

Strengths

Cautions

ambiguityanduncertaintyaboutthecoherenceofthevendor’svisionformultiexperience

development.

Salesstrategy:SalesforcecontinuestorelyonitsSaaScustomerbasetoupsellitsMXDP

offering,whichleavestheplatform’svaluepropositionmorevulnerabletocompetitorsif

potentialcustomershavenotalreadymadesignificantinvestmentswithSalesforce.Reference

customersalsoreportedbelow-averagesatisfactionwithSalesforce’scontractnegotiation,and

Gartnerhascomeacrosscustomerswithconcernsaboutpricingcomplexity.

■

Marketresponsiveness:GiventhecomplexityandinterconnectednessofSalesforce’sMXDP

offering,itmaybeslowertorespondtomarketchangesandcustomerdemandthanother

vendors,especiallyassomecustomerscontinuetowrestlewithmigrationsfromSalesforce

ClassictoLightning.Inparticular,referencecustomerspointedtoinconsistentsupportfor

DevOpsandaneedformoreadvancedmobileappfunctions,suchasbarcodescanning.

■

Coreback-endservices:SAPhasintroducedBackendServiceGeneratortoprovideaneasyway

tovisuallydesignanapppersistencelayeroraddcustomapplogicthatorchestrates

multichannelengagement.TheSAPCloudPlatformintegrationserviceisoftenusedtocreate

composite/mashupservices,andsupportsprotocolconversion,complexdatatransformation

anddataorchestration.

■

Businessmodel:SAPCloudPlatformhastwomainpillarsinthisregard:directsubscriptionand

consumption-based,andindirectrevenueviamultiplepartnermodels(white-labelOEMand

independentsoftwarevendorapps).SAPhasincreaseditsfocusonthepartnerchannelby

runningaprogramwithAccentureandundertakingjointcustomerengagementswithmany

midsizepartnersinitsPartnerEdgeprogram.

■

Low-codedevelopment:SAPCloudPlatformoffersmultipleoptionsforlow-codedevelopment,

whichcanbeuseddependingontherequirementsofthecustomer’sproject.Optionsinclude

SAPCloudPlatformRapidApplicationDevelopment(RAD)byMendix,SAPCloudPlatform

MobileServices(includesmodel-drivenvisualappcreation)andSAPWebIDE(supportslow-

codeoptionsincludinghigh-productivityextensionsformobilizingSAPFioriapplications).

■



ServiceNow

ServiceNowisaNichePlayer.ItsNowPlatformprovidesdevelopmentcapabilitiesformobileand

webapps,aswellaschatbots.ItpositionsitselfintheMXDPmarketbyofferingmultiexperience

developmentinthecontextofcustomworkflowapplications,forwhichitexploitsitsscaleasa

SaaSproviderandtakesalow-codedevelopmentapproach.

Strengths

Cautions

Offeringstrategy:Referencecustomers’satisfactionwithSAP’soverallproductcapabilitiesand

productroadmapwerebelowtheaverageforvendorsinthisMagicQuadrant.Althoughthe

brandingandlicensingofSAP’sMXDPhaveunifiedunderSAPCloudPlatform,therearemany

underlyingproductsandcomponentsthatmakeitchallengingforcustomerstodiscernwhich

productstheyshouldinvestinforthelongterm.

■

Marketingexecutionandcustomerserviceexperience:SAPCloudPlatform’spastrebranding

fromSAPHANACloudPlatformcontinuestocausesomeconfusionaboutdocumentationand

support,accordingtoafewreferencecustomersandsomeGartnerclients.Enterprisesview

SAP’smobilecapabilitiesasjustSAPFioriappsorlegacytools(suchastheSycloapps),which

mayindicatealackofcustomereducationaboutSAP’sMXDPvalueproposition.Additionally,

SAP’sreferencecustomersatisfactionscoresforserviceandsupportwerebelowtheaverage

forvendorsinthisMagicQuadrant.

■

Monitoringandanalytics:SAPCloudPlatformSDKsprovidealoggingcomponentand

microservicetocaptureclient-sideissuesandstates,butreferencecustomersscoredSAP

CloudPlatformweaklyforthisfeature.Theirreasonsincludedaperceptionthattheplatform

needsmoretransparencyandanalyticsfeaturesrelatingtotheusageofappsandappcontent.

■

Low-codedevelopment:Thelow-codecapabilitiesoftheServiceNowStudioenvironment

enableprofessionalandcitizendeveloperstocreatecompleteapplications.Theenvironment

doessobyofferinglow-codesupportrangingfromdatamodelingtobusinesslogic,process

automation,integration,andUIsformobile/webappsandchatbotsthroughitsvirtualagent.

■

Operationsandgeographicreach:AsaglobalSaaSprovider,ServiceNowoffersitsNow

Platformonthesameglobalcloudapplicationplatformandwithasingledataset,whichoffers

highreliabilityandscalability.Thecompanyalsohasapresenceandpartnershipsinallmajor

geographicregions.

■

Marketresponsiveness:ServiceNowhasmanagedtoenterthishighlysophisticatedmarket

quickly,thanksprimarilytoitsacquisitionofSkyGiraffeinlate2017.Itisgainingmomentum

fromcustomersandpartnersusingitsServiceNowStoreasanappmarketplaceanditsShare

offeringasadevelopercommunity.

■

Productcapabilities:AlthoughServiceNow’sNowPlatformismature,itsMXDPcapabilities,

particularlyformobileandconversationalapps,arerelativelyimmatureincomparisonwith

■



VendorsAddedandDropped

WereviewandadjustourinclusioncriteriaforMagicQuadrantsasmarketschange.Asaresultof

theseadjustments,themixofvendorsinanyMagicQuadrantmaychangeovertime.Avendor’s

appearanceinaMagicQuadrantoneyearandnotthenextdoesnotnecessarilyindicatethatwe

havechangedouropinionofthatvendor.Itmaybeareflectionofachangeinthemarketand,

therefore,changedevaluationcriteria,orofachangeoffocusbythatvendor.

Asaresultoftherefocusingofthisyear’sMagicQuadrantonMXDPs,ratherthanMADPs,one

vendorhasbeenaddedandsevenvendorshavebeendropped:

Added

Dropped

thoseofothervendorsevaluatedinthisMagicQuadrant.Muchofitsmobileappdevelopment

technologycomesfromSkyGiraffe,andwasonlyfullyintegratedandlaunchedaspartofthe

NowPlatformatthestartof2019.Immersiveappsarenotyetsupported.Somereference

customerssaidtheywouldrecommendtheplatformwithqualificationsrelatingtothenewness

ofthemobileandconversationalcapabilities.

Salesexecutionandsalesexperience:Referencecustomersreportedbelow-average

satisfactionwithmanyfacetsofServiceNow’ssalesexecution.Inparticular,thissmallsubset

ofcustomersgavescoreslowerthantheall-vendoraverageforsoftwarelicensing,

professionalisminsalesengagement,meetingofexpectationssetduringthesalesprocess,

andflexibilityinnegotiatingcontracts.

■

Marketingexecutionandstrategy:ServiceNowhasonlyjuststartedtocompeteintheMXDP

marketspecifically,soawarenessofitsmultiexperiencedevelopmentcapabilitiesislow.Its

marketingandpositioningoftheNowPlatformasanMXDPtrailthatofmanyvendorsinthis

MagicQuadrant.

■

ServiceNow■

ApiOmat■

BettyBlocks■

DSI■

i-exceed■

MobileFrame■

RedHat■

Resco■



InclusionandExclusionCriteriaTobeincludedinthisyear’sMagicQuadrant,eachvendorhadtomeetthefollowingcriteria:

Either:

Or:

Thevendormustdemonstrateago-to-marketstrategyforitsdevelopmentplatformacross

mobileapps,thewebandconversationalexperiences.

■

Atminimum,theplatformmustsupportcross-platformdevelopmentandbuildingofcustom

iOSandAndroidappbinaries(thatis,itshouldnotrequireseparatevendorinvolvementor

servicestogenerateorbuildanynewcustombinaries),andresponsivewebapps.Itmustalso

supportdevelopmentofatleasttwoofthefollowingcategories:

■

PWA:PWAserviceworkersupportwithinadevelopmenttool.■

Chatbot:Built-inchatbotframeworkortightintegrationofdevelopmenttoolwithexternalbot

frameworks(suchasAlexa/AmazonLex,IBMWatson,DialogflowandMicrosoftBot

Framework).

■

Voiceapp:Built-inNLPandspeech-to-text,ortightintegrationofdevelopmenttoolwithvoice

platforms(suchasAlexaSkillsandActionsonGoogle).

■

Wearable:WearableUIsupportwithindevelopmenttool(suchasforAppleWatch,WearOS

andMicrosoftHoloLens).

■

Augmentedreality(AR)andvirtualreality(VR):ImmersiveUIsupportwithindevelopmenttool

(using,forexample,ARKit,ARCoreorWikitude).

■

Thevendormustofferback-endserviceswithintheplatformforallofthefollowing:■

Offlinedatasynchronization■

Userauthenticationservices■

Pushnotifications■

Locationservices■

Thevendormustalsomeetatleastoneofthefollowingcriteria:■

Thevendormusthavegeneratedatleast$30millioninrevenuein2018fromMXDPsoftware

and/orsubscriptionlicensing(excludingprofessionalservices).

■



WeexcludedfromthisMagicQuadrantvendorsthat:

HonorableMentions

Althoughweevaluateonly13vendorsinthisyear’sMagicQuadrantduetoitsrevisedinclusion

andexclusioncriteria,manyothervendorsareworthyofconsideration.Theyinclude:

Thevendormusthaveatleast40existingpayingenterprisecustomersintotal,eachofwhich

musthavedeployeditsMXDPinaproductionenvironmentforatleast100endusers.

■

Andthevendormusthaveaddedatleast20newpayingenterprisecustomersforitsMXDP

in2018(witheachhavinglicensedatleast100endusers)inatleasttwoofthefollowing

regions:

■

NorthAmerica■

SouthAmerica■

Europe■

MiddleEastandAfrica■

Asia/Pacific■

Offeredonlyplatformasaservice(PaaS)orback-endserviceswithoutafront-enddevelopment

tool/IDEwithwhichtobuildappsorexperiences.

■

Requiredaspecificthird-partycomponentorproductthatisnotalready“white-labeled”intothe

platform(thatis,theMXDPhastobebranded,soldandsupporteddirectlybyvendor).

■

Onlysoldtheirplatformalongwithdevelopment/professionalservices,thetoolbeingused

exclusivelybythevendor’sconsultants.

■

Requiredthepurchaseand/orinstallationofotherunrelatedproductsorplatformsofferedby

thesamevendor(forexample,aCRMapplicationorcontentmanagementsystem).

■

Didnotsellacommercialenterpriseoffering(thatis,theychargednosoftwareorsubscription

fees)orplannedtoretiretheplatformbytheendof2019.

■

Amazon■

ApiOmat■

Convertigo■

Google■

i-exceed■



EvaluationCriteria

AbilitytoExecute

Productorservice:Weevaluateeachvendor’sbreadthanddepthofproductsandfeaturesacross

thesoftwaredevelopmentlifecycle,andfavorsupportforabroadrangeofapptypes.Welookfor,

amongotherthings,designanduserexperiencecapabilities,simplicityofdevelopment,easeof

integration,richnessofback-endservices,DevOpssupport(suchascontinuous

integration/continuousdeployment[CI/CD],testing,versionandreleasemanagement)and

analytics.Morespecifically,weexamine:

MobileFrame■

NeptuneSoftware■

Resco■

Unvired■

XOne■

Low-codedevelopment:Howdoestheplatformsupportdevelopmentusingdrag-and-drop,

declarative,model-driven,metadata-drivenorothernoncodingapproachestocreateavarietyof

apptypes?

■

Code-centricdevelopertooling:Howdoestheplatformprovidedeveloperswithacode-centric

approachtodesigningandbuildingappseitherusinganIDEsuppliedbytheMXDPorviaa

plug-intoanopen-sourceIDE(suchasEclipseorVisualStudioCode)?

■

Microappspatterns:Howdoestheplatformsupportreusableappcomponentsorappbuilding

blocksfromadesignandarchitectureperspectivetoenableportabilityacrossapptypes?

■

Meshappandservicearchitecture(MASA):Howdoestheplatformarchitecturesupport

microservices,APImediation,serverlessandevent-drivenrequirements?

■

Monitoringandanalytics:Howdoestheplatformcapture,correlateandreportonthe

performanceandusageofappsbuiltandrunonit?

■

Coreback-endservices:Howdoestheplatformprovidereusableappservices(suchaslocation

services,pushnotifications,offlinesynchronization,usermanagement,anddataandfile

storage),aswellasintegrationandAPIdesignandorchestration?

■

AIservices:Howdoestheplatformprovidebuilt-inortightlyintegratedcloudAIservices(such

asNLP,imagerecognitionandsentimentanalysis)forusewithinapps?

■

DevOpssupport:Howdoestheplatformofferembeddedorintegratedtoolingtosupportagile

development,CI/CD,testautomation,versioncontrolandreleasemanagement,tofacilitate

DevOpsautomation?

■



Overallviability:Weexamineeachvendor’sresearch-and-developmentspendingandresources,

thegrowthofitsMXDPbusiness,anditsfinancialprofitabilityorfunding/capitalization.

Salesexecution/pricing:Welookforabroadsalesreachacrossgeographiesandindustries,

effectivesalesoperations—inlightof,forexample,longorshortsalescycles—andsimple

pricingmodels.

Marketresponsivenessandtrackrecord:Weexaminehowquicklyeachvendor’sproductsare

releasedandadopted,andhownewmultiexperiencecapabilitiesaresupported,bothusingthe

vendor’sresourcesandthroughpartnerships.

Marketingexecution:Welookforgeneralawarenessofthevendorinthemarket,andanynegative

orpositiveperceptionsofthevendoracrossITandbusinessunits.Wealsoconsiderhoweasily

buyersunderstandavendor’sdifferentiators.

Customerexperience:Weexaminecustomerdeploymentsacrossavarietyofapptypesanduse

cases,thevendor’sabilitytomeetandexceedcustomers’expectations,andtheeaseof

onboardingandtrainingonitsplatform.Resultsfromoursurveyofreferencecustomersare

importantmeasuresofcustomersatisfaction.

Operations:WelookforgrowthintheMXDPbusinessoperationsandstaffinglevel,stabilityin

leadershipvisionandstrengthofcustomerservice.

Table1:AbilitytoExecuteEvaluationCriteria

Processandworkfloworchestration:Howdoestheplatformsupportthedesigningand

orchestratingofappworkflowsandprocessesfromexistingsystems,orsupportnewones

withinandacrossapps?

■

AR/VRsupport:HowdoestheplatformsupportimmersiveinterfacesusingSDKs(suchas

ARKit,ARCore,WebARandWikitude)orspecificdeviceplatforms(suchasHoloLensandMagic

LeapOne)?

■

ProductorService High

OverallViability Medium

SalesExecution/Pricing High

MarketResponsiveness/Record Medium

MarketingExecution High

EvaluationCriteria Weighting




CompletenessofVision

Marketunderstanding:Welookforanunderstandingofhowtoaddresstheneedsofdevelopment

teamsinITandbusinessunits,aswellasthird-partydevelopers,fordeliveringawiderangeof

appssupportingamultiexperiencestrategy.

Marketingstrategy:Welookforstrongbrandrecognition,thought-leadingproductmessagingand

outreachprogramsthatsucceedinanemergingmarketcategory.

Salesstrategy:Welookforastronggo-to-marketstrategyfocusedonsellinganMXDPtoCIOs,

enterpriseITandbusinessunitleadersresponsibleforapplicationdeliveryandtheuser

experience.

Offering(product)strategy:Welookforastrongunderstandingofenterpriseneedsacrossthe

developmentlifecycleofweb,mobile,conversationalandimmersiveapps.

Businessmodel:Weexamineproductrevenuegrowthandtheeaseofdoingbusinesswith

customers.Wealsolookforastrongpartnerecosystemthatamplifiesthevendor’sgo-to-market

strategy.

Vertical/industrystrategy:Welookfordifferentiatingcapabilitiesbuiltforspecificindustriesand

multiexperienceverticalsolutions(forexample,industry-specificconnectors,apptemplatesand

regulatorycompliancesupport).Vendorsmayhaveafocusedgo-to-marketapproachforspecific

industries,includingindustry-specificpartnerships.

Innovation:Welookfortechnologicaladvancesthatsupportbroadermultiexperience

development,andothercapabilitiesthatsupportMASA,multiclouddeploymentandInternetof

Thingsgateways.

Geographicstrategy:Welookfordiversecustomerdeploymentsacrossregions,deliveryand

resellerpartnernetworks,andmarketawarenessacrosstheglobe,aswellasin-countryvendor

presence.

Table2:CompletenessofVisionEvaluationCriteria

CustomerExperience Medium

Operations Low


MarketUnderstanding High





QuadrantDescriptions

Leaders

Leadershavestrongcapabilitiesinmobileappandwebdevelopment,anddemonstratea

compellingproductvisionandcommitmenttomultiexperiencedevelopmentintheirplatforms.

Theyhavelargecustomerbasesandrobustpartnerecosystems,andhaveshownhealthygrowth

inthismarket.However,thismarketisrapidlyevolving,soLeadersmightnotstayLeadersfor

long.

Challengers

Challengershavecompellingtechnologyandsignificantcustomerdeploymentsandpartner

channels.However,theylackaclearvisionanddirectionwithregardtotheproductandbusiness

aspectsofmeetingtheneedsoftheMXDPmarket.Challengersneedtofocusonimproving

platformpackaging,pricingandothercomponentsoftheirgo-to-marketstrategyinorderto

competebetter.

Visionaries

VisionariesdemonstrateexcellentunderstandingoftheMXDPmarketandhavethetechnicaland

go-to-marketwherewithaltoexcel.However,theyaretypicallylesswellknownthanChallengers

andLeaders,andhavesmallercustomerbasesfortheirMXDPs.Visionariesneedtooutmarket

theircompetitorsandgainmorescalethroughpartnershipsinordertosucceedinthismarketin

thelongrun.

NichePlayers

NichePlayersarenotwidelyknownfortheirMXDPcapabilities.Fromago-to-marketperspective,

theyfocusnarrowly,andtheyhaveyettoshowasmuchcommitmentasotherMXDPvendorsto

MarketingStrategy Medium

SalesStrategy Medium

Offering(Product)Strategy High

BusinessModel Medium

Vertical/IndustryStrategy Low

Innovation High

GeographicStrategy Low




theirproductvisionandsalesandmarketingstrategy.NichePlayershavethetechnology

foundationtocompeteinthismarket,buttheymustinvestdecisivelyasMXDPprovidersifthey

aretooutmaneuvertheircompetitors.

ContextAMXDPshouldserveasatechnologicalcornerstoneofyourapplicationdevelopmentstrategyfor

manyyearstocome.Itwillbeamajorinfluenceintermsofshapingyourdevelopmentpractices

andteamskillsarounditscapabilities.Somecompaniesmayalreadybeusingmorethanoneof

thevendorsinthisMagicQuadrantforappdevelopment.Determinewhetheroneofthefeatured

vendors’platformsstandsoutasthebestchoiceforyourprimaryMXDP.Thefollowing

recommendationswillhelp:

MarketOverviewMXDPsarenot“buildonce,runeverywhere”or“omnichannel”solutions.Thecorevalueofan

MXDPliesinitsabilitytocoalescesoftwaredevelopmentlifecycleactivitiesacrossarangeof

appstoaddressthedigitaluserjourney.Theneedforthisabilitywillonlyincreaseasthenumber

ofapps,devicesandmodesofinteractionincreases.

GartnerexpectsmorecompetitorstoentertheMXDPmarketoverthenexttwoyears,particularly

largeapplicationPaaSvendorsthatalreadytargetdevelopmentteams.Acquisitionsofsmaller

best-of-breedmobile,conversationalorimmersivedevelopmentvendorscouldalsopropelthe

acquirersintotheMXDPmarket.Weexpectthemarket’sexpansiontoaccelerateasthe

underlyingtechnologiesforPWAs,conversationalandimmersiveappsmatureoverthenexttwo

tofiveyears.

Ifyoudon’talreadyuseaMXDP,evaluateanddeployoneifyourorganizationisstartingto

developanddeploymultipleapptypes(suchasmobileapps,webapps/PWAsandchatbots)to

meettheneedsofemployeesandcustomers.

■

IfyouhavebeenusingaMADPwhosevendorthathasbeendroppedfromthisyear’sMagic

Quadrant,don’tpanic.Evaluateitsplannedreleasesfor2019andproductroadmapfor2020to

determinethesuitabilityofitscapabilitiestosupportyourexpandingmultiexperience

developmentneeds.

■

IfyouuseaMXDPthatnolongermeetsyourneeds,startevaluatingotherplatforms,butdon’t

expecttoeasilymigrateyourexistingappstoanewplatform.Therearebothclient-sideand

server-sidecomplicationswhenitcomestochangingplatforms.Also,considerwhetheritmay

bebettertosupplementanymissingcapabilitiesbyaddingnewframeworks,toolsorservices

thatcanintegratewithyourMXDP.

■

IfyouuseaMXDPandaresatisfiedwithit,youshouldstillassessitscapabilitiesandroadmap

featuresatleasteverysixto12monthstoensurethatitcontinuestosuityourorganization’s

expectationsandplans.ThetechnologylandscapeforPWAs,conversationalandimmersive

appsisevolvingrapidly,soplatformscouldfallbehindinanyoneoftheseareas.

■



VendorsuccessintheMXDPmarketispredicatedonservingthecomplexneedsofdevelopment

teamsinITdepartmentsandincreasinglyinbusinessunitsaswell.Theseprofessionaldevelopers

formproductdeliveryteamsthatmustcreateandsupportmultipleapptypesfortheirtargetuser

segments.AnMXDPmaybeusedtosupportcitizendevelopers,buttheyarenotthemainusersof

MXDPs.

Gartnerexpectsthatcustommobileappdevelopmentwillremainthemaindriverofadoptionof

MXDPsoverthenexttwoyears.TheabilitytocreatePWAswillalsobecomeanimportant

criterionasMXDPsincreasinglysupportabroadermobileuserexperience.

Conversationalappdevelopmentwillgrowinprominenceandvolumeasthetoolinganduser

experienceimprove.Theseappswillbedeployedaschatbotswithincustommobileandweb

apps,aswellaspartofpopularchatplatforms,suchasFacebookMessenger,SlackandWeChat.

Forthemostpart,voiceappswillbetiedtotheAmazonAlexaandGoogleHomeplatforms.

Intermsofimmersiveappdevelopment,weexpectARusecasesoniOSandAndroidtobethe

primaryfocusforMXDPs.SupportforVRandspecializedhardwareforimmersiveusecaseswill

bespecifictoplatformsthatcatertospecificindustrysolutions.Wearableappswillhave

smartwatchesastheirprimarytargetsforthenexttwoyears.

EvidenceForthisMagicQuadrant,Gartner’sprimaryresearchincludedanalysisofproductdemonstrations.

Wealsoconductedsurveysofvendorsandreferencecustomersidentifiedbyvendorsbetween

FebruaryandMarch2019.Inaddition,informationfromGartner’sclientinquiryservicewasused

duringtheevaluationprocess.

EvaluationCriteriaDefinitions

AbilitytoExecute

Product/Service:Coregoodsandservicesofferedbythevendorforthedefinedmarket.This

includescurrentproduct/servicecapabilities,quality,featuresets,skillsandsoon,whether

offerednativelyorthroughOEMagreements/partnershipsasdefinedinthemarketdefinitionand

detailedinthesubcriteria.

OverallViability:Viabilityincludesanassessmentoftheoverallorganization'sfinancialhealth,the

financialandpracticalsuccessofthebusinessunit,andthelikelihoodthattheindividualbusiness

unitwillcontinueinvestingintheproduct,willcontinueofferingtheproductandwilladvancethe

stateoftheartwithintheorganization'sportfolioofproducts.

SalesExecution/Pricing:Thevendor'scapabilitiesinallpresalesactivitiesandthestructurethat

supportsthem.Thisincludesdealmanagement,pricingandnegotiation,presalessupport,andthe

overalleffectivenessofthesaleschannel.

MarketResponsiveness/Record:Abilitytorespond,changedirection,beflexibleandachieve

competitivesuccessasopportunitiesdevelop,competitorsact,customerneedsevolveand



marketdynamicschange.Thiscriterionalsoconsidersthevendor'shistoryofresponsiveness.

MarketingExecution:Theclarity,quality,creativityandefficacyofprogramsdesignedtodeliver

theorganization'smessagetoinfluencethemarket,promotethebrandandbusiness,increase

awarenessoftheproducts,andestablishapositiveidentificationwiththeproduct/brandand

organizationinthemindsofbuyers.This"mindshare"canbedrivenbyacombinationofpublicity,

promotionalinitiatives,thoughtleadership,wordofmouthandsalesactivities.

CustomerExperience:Relationships,productsandservices/programsthatenableclientstobe

successfulwiththeproductsevaluated.Specifically,thisincludesthewayscustomersreceive

technicalsupportoraccountsupport.Thiscanalsoincludeancillarytools,customersupport

programs(andthequalitythereof),availabilityofusergroups,service-levelagreementsandsoon.

Operations:Theabilityoftheorganizationtomeetitsgoalsandcommitments.Factorsinclude

thequalityoftheorganizationalstructure,includingskills,experiences,programs,systemsand

othervehiclesthatenabletheorganizationtooperateeffectivelyandefficientlyonanongoing

basis.

CompletenessofVision

MarketUnderstanding:Abilityofthevendortounderstandbuyers'wantsandneedsandto

translatethoseintoproductsandservices.Vendorsthatshowthehighestdegreeofvisionlisten

toandunderstandbuyers'wantsandneeds,andcanshapeorenhancethosewiththeiradded

vision.

MarketingStrategy:Aclear,differentiatedsetofmessagesconsistentlycommunicated

throughouttheorganizationandexternalizedthroughthewebsite,advertising,customerprograms

andpositioningstatements.

SalesStrategy:Thestrategyforsellingproductsthatusestheappropriatenetworkofdirectand

indirectsales,marketing,service,andcommunicationaffiliatesthatextendthescopeanddepth

ofmarketreach,skills,expertise,technologies,servicesandthecustomerbase.

Offering(Product)Strategy:Thevendor'sapproachtoproductdevelopmentanddeliverythat

emphasizesdifferentiation,functionality,methodologyandfeaturesetsastheymaptocurrent

andfuturerequirements.

BusinessModel:Thesoundnessandlogicofthevendor'sunderlyingbusinessproposition.

Vertical/IndustryStrategy:Thevendor'sstrategytodirectresources,skillsandofferingstomeet

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Innovation:Direct,related,complementaryandsynergisticlayoutsofresources,expertiseor

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GeographicStrategy:Thevendor'sstrategytodirectresources,skillsandofferingstomeetthe

specificneedsofgeographiesoutsidethe"home"ornativegeography,eitherdirectlyorthrough



partners,channelsandsubsidiariesasappropriateforthatgeographyandmarket.

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