Sencha, a leading provider of HTML5 desktop and mobile application development technology, today announced the release of Sencha Space 1.2, its breakthrough platform for securely deploying and managing business applications. With new cross-platform features that empower enterprises to manage their applications and data across all of a user’s devices and screens—including desktops, tablets and smartphones—Space 1.2 completes the Sencha product suite to deliver end-to-end application management.

Organizations are struggling to balance the demands of modernizing the desktop with BYOD (bring your own device) and security needs in an increasingly multi-device and mobilized world. Development teams are faced with the task of creating and deploying apps that provide optimal user experience across a wide array of devices and operating systems, while IT departments are challenged with securing corporate data on an ever-increasing range of devices, some of which they do not own or fully control. While device-centric solutions offer device control, they risk the backlash of privacy infringement and foster ongoing do-it-yourself shadow IT activities.

“Enterprise development and IT teams are challenged with satisfying many application requirements—from delivering optimal UX to incorporating management and security functions, while ensuring apps run effectively across multiple screens, devices and platforms,” said Al Hilwa, research program director at IDC. “A cross-platform solution that integrates application management and security into the increasingly prevalent HTML5 capabilities will help enterprises implement an application-centric approach to securing corporate data while still allowing BYOD flexibility.”

With a unique implementation of web-based technologies, Sencha Space 1.2 empowers enterprises with new features that redefine the modern desktop and mobile strategy by focusing on universal control of applications, users and data. This insulates the user from the rapid evolution of underlying devices and platforms, including security implications.

In addition, by streamlining the development and deployment process over the application’s lifetime, Sencha Space helps organizations to reduce the cost and complexity of developing cross-platform, multi-device applications. This can be achieved by eliminating inefficient development processes and streamlining development, test and debugging for developers. According to economic models of the application development process, Sencha Space can save organizations as much as 60 percent in development expense over an application’s lifetime, compared with existing native and hybrid development models. By simplifying application testing and eliminating the need for multiple code bases, native packaging and app store deployment, organizations can potentially save months of developer time and use those resources more productively.

“With Space 1.2, Sencha is giving IT departments and application developers the exact tools they need to manage the complete lifecycle of their applications, from development to deployment to ongoing management,” said Art Landro, CEO of Sencha. “Organizations are grappling with an unprecedented number of devices and platforms, and are in a balancing act between competing IT and end user needs. Space 1.2 promotes tighter IT and line-of-business collaboration, giving users the right experience on the right screen at the right time. This is critically important, as personal devices become a standard computing platform in the extended enterprise.”

Key new features in Sencha Space 1.2 include:

Desktop Client Application extends the power of modern browsers and application management to laptops and PCs. With Space 1.2, enterprises can use one application management approach for all screens and deliver the optimal user experience through ubiquitous and secure access to applications and data on any screen, anytime, anywhere. Sencha Space 1.2 enables developers to test, deploy and manage apps for desktop and mobile devices all within a single environment, and CIOs and IT administrators to control and revoke user access to desktop apps in the same way they do for mobile apps.

Remote Debugging runs applications on real hardware for more effective testing. Sencha Space 1.2 enables developers to test their apps as if they are running on an actual device, so they can pinpoint and troubleshoot problems outside of a simulator, but before actual deployment to end users.

Custom Android WebView solves Android platform fragmentation issues by delivering a consistent runtime showcasing the latest HTML5 capabilities. Sencha Space 1.2 provides a custom, Chromium-based web view that is compatible across all Android devices version 4.x and higher, so developers are no longer restricted to a device’s specific built-in web view. Android users can expect the same app performance regardless of the device they are using, and development and IT teams can be confident that they are delivering great user experiences to their Android users regardless of their individual device/OS version.

New APIs and On-Premise Management deliver new developer APIs to expand the types of applications that developers can create and consequently, the number of devices that are supported. Expanding management capability with on-premise features allows enterprises to deploy Space 1.2 management functions onto their own private clouds or into their own data centers.

Sencha Space 1.2 is now generally available.