Progress today announced the latest release of Telerik Platform, the cross-platform mobile application development solution for creating mobile web, native and hybrid apps quickly and easily. With the latest release, Telerik Platform includes key enterprise elements to better enable low code development options for both the developer and technical business user; enterprise mBaaS for simplified data integrations and synchronization; and a native development framework to provide complete development flexibility.

Enterprises now have an effective and easy-to-use solution (on-premise or in the cloud) that leverages existing developer skills, coupled with device-agnostic support, security, reliability, scalability and flexibility. All of this comes from a trusted technology source backed by a company with a 30-year history of customer and partner success.

“Enterprises need to adopt an enterprise-grade mobile platform that is trusted by the development community, yet easy enough for the technical business user to use,” said Karen Tegan Padir, President, Application Development and Deployment, Progress. “Building on the decade-long relationship Telerik has with its 1.7 million-strong developer community, the developer-proven components of Telerik Platform are already in use by more than 65,000 customers with 20,000+ apps deployed worldwide.”

Business User Participation in the Development Process
Many enterprises are exploring opportunities to mobilize their businesses, but challenges abound. In addition to needing to mobilize large numbers of business apps, quickly, organizations are looking to deliver apps with attractive UI and which are flexible, versatile, easy-to-use and integrated with the back end with real-time data access and analytics. Until now, even the most talented development teams were unable to meet this daunting challenge. As part of this latest release, Telerik Platform now comes equipped with several new components to round out everything an enterprise needs for successful mobile app development and deployment, eliminating IT’s difficult choice between easy-to-use and enterprise ready.

New components in Telerik Platform include:

  • Screen Builder: low code development for developers and technical business users to work hand-in-hand on mobile development efforts. Users of all development skillsets can create and configure screens visually from a set of pre-defined templates, as well as easily and securely connect to enterprise data without the need to write custom code. With Screen Builder, users can generate functional hybrid and native mobile apps quickly. In addition, applications can be modified and extended at any time through an integration with Telerik AppBuilder.
  • AppManager LiveSync: enables enterprises to release updates to in-production applications without going through app store approval. Users now get immediate updates, features and fixes in real-time without disruption. AppManager LiveSync works with applications deployed to the iOS, Google Play and Windows stores.
  • Analytics: provides real-time user analytics and integrates user feedback directly into the development workflows within Telerik Platform. It offers custom user reports and dashboards to ensure IT and development managers are getting the right level of information when and how they need it.

Development Flexibility with an Open Source Native Development Framework
There are use cases and places for any development approach – web, hybrid or native. While native development is dominant in creating the best user experience, it is a difficult and time consuming proposition, a luxury many enterprise IT teams do not have.

With the release of NativeScript™, a JavaScript framework for developing truly native apps with JavaScript and CSS, developers can leverage the benefits of native development with the speed and agility of web development technologies. NativeScript framework is 100% open source with pure JavaScript and offers complete access to native device APIs.

In conjunction with the built-in support of Telerik Platform, enterprises can use NativeScript framework with components such as Screen Builder, AppManager and LiveSync to build and deploy a wealth of apps, leveraging their choice of development approaches within a single platform.

As an added benefit, the Telerik Verified Plugins Marketplace, the definitive source for verified Cordova plugins for hybrid mobile development, is expanding and will soon support plug-ins for NativeScript.

Enterprise mBaaS for Simplified Data Integration, Offline Synchronization Support
Enterprise mobility is much more than offering an array of services to power an application. It is equally important to ensure easy access to existing data stores, as well as the ability to applications to function while offline. With this release, Telerik has expanded the mBaaS capabilities within Telerik Platform by expanding on components such as its offline sync engine to address a set of complex data persistence and synchronization problems commonplace in mobile application development scenarios.

Further, as a result of its acquisition of Telerik, Progress has strategically integrated Progress DataDirect connectors within Telerik Platform. By year end, Telerik Platform will have more than 20 data connectors to enterprise systems, including MS SQL, MySQL, Oracle DB, Postgre SQL, JDBC, SAP HANA, OData for SAP, Salesforce and more.

Progress also expanded the rich ecosystem of components for Telerik Platform with the addition of pre-built hybrid and native app templates. The quick-start reusable templates will benefit the most common scenarios for enterprise and customer apps–from SAP Sales Order to Store Beacons App. The templates, available in the Mobile Marketplace, are free for Telerik Platform customers. The marketplace is also open to listings from other developers building applications on Telerik Platform.

For more details about the latest release of the Telerik Platform, please register for the webinar, “Enterprise Mobility. Unshackled”, June 9 at 11am ET/8am PT. Telerik Platform was also recently included in the Gartner Magic Quadrants for Mobile Application Development Platforms (MADP) and Enterprise Application Platform as a Service (aPaaS).