Dive Brief:

• Despite increasing demand for enterprise mobile apps, more than a quarter of enterprises globally have not built, customized or virtualized any mobile apps over the last year, according to a new survey from Gartner. 
• Businesses that have undertaken mobile app development have deployed an average of just eight mobile apps to date, about the same as last year, according to the survey.
• Those businesses with mobile apps in the pipeline are currently developing an average of 2.6 mobile apps and 6.2 are planned for the next 12 months, but not yet in development.

Dive Insight:

Last year, four in 10 respondents said they had not built, customized or virtualized any mobile apps in the previous 12 months, so the pace has improved a bit this year. But given the demand, why aren’t enterprise apps gaining more traction?

Companies surveyed point to a lack of resources, from money to skills to employee time. But when it comes to budget, Gartner found most app development ends up costing less than expected. 

Tech companies recognize that enterprises are struggling with app development, and some are responding to those needs. For example, SAP and Apple recently partnered to develop a software development kit (SDK) for iOS. The SDK will give developers, designers and businesses scalable tools to quickly build custom, enterprise-grade iOS applications using Apple’s new programming language, Swift.

Meanwhile, companies like Google and Amazon Web Services are offering incentives to developers that create apps for their respective virtual assistant products. In many cases, companies now rely on the developer community to create apps that can make their products more valuable and user-friendly.