The decision to outsource mobile app development, particularly to offshore developers, is a crucial step to consider whether at the very beginning of a project or nearing the drop deadline. It is hard to believe that mobile apps were only introduced into the market in 2008; their explosive growth has spawned an entirely new industry in e-commerce that today is worth several billions of Euros. Although there are a plethora of software development companies in the industry today, choosing the right software house for your project can be a fairly straightforward process, and it is vital to the success of your business to get it right from the jump. Read on to learn more about outsourcing mobile app development and how it can benefit your business!
Table of Contents
Making the Decision to Outsource App Development
What Kind of Developer Suits the Project Best?
What Kind of Support Does Your Team Need?
Making the Decision to Outsource App Development
Considering the fact that there are over 7 billion mobile devices on the planet now, creating a mobile app is a no-brainer for any company looking to expand its customer base. Although you may already have an incredibly talented team, adding more work to their plates could cause serious lags in productivity and workflow. Many companies start out with no particular plan to expand into the mobile app market, and even if they do, sometimes diverting manpower to develop one just is not feasible or practical. Outsourcing mobile app development simply means delegating a complex task to a team of professionals who are specialized in creating exactly what you need. Considering the massive impact mobile apps have had on companies’ ability to scale up, offshore app development is the logical next step to upping your competitive edge in the current global market. To outsource mobile app development, a company must commit to researching their own needs for an app tailored to their product, as well as the various developers in their field who will fulfill both the project and the team’s needs. Most important to consider — what is your vision for the app? What will it offer to users? A mobile app may offer quick and easy access to a product inventory for sale with notifications of special offers for registered users, connectivity amongst several smart appliances, or the cutting edge convenience of AI or machine learning. Your business’s app does not have to meet all of these specifications — every type of app is not suitable for every type of business, so it is best to have a clear idea of what options best align with your vision for how users will interact with your company’s app, and then proceed accordingly.
Once you have determined your vision for the app, as well as both the team’s and the project’s needs, you will need to set a budget consistent with your company’s financial set up. Budget constraints may affect your list of wants and needs, so keep them in mind as you work with your financial department or advisor to keep priorities for the project consistent and clear. The investment in a mobile app is a sizable one, and should not be taken lightly. The initial financial investment and need for ongoing maintenance once it is up and running are definitely drawbacks, and they should be weighed against the benefits of broader market coverage, direct user access, and business stickiness.
Once your needs and your budget are aligned, it is time to research developers, and Pangea.ai’s growing database of developers can not only help you find the best fit for your needs, but make it easy to contact them with offers and open negotiations. Once you have spoken with some potential partners, it is time to make the decision on the best fit, work out the details of a contract, and sign them on. Congratulations, you have successfully joined the growing ranks of companies who have outsourced app development!
What Kind of Developer Suits the Project Best?
But let’s back up to the beginning of the process. What kind of app do you want to build to bring your products or services to the masses of app users in the world?
Although mobile app usage has never been higher, the actual number of apps downloaded on a monthly basis is relatively low, likely due to both device and app market saturation. To combat this decline, instant apps — which take up less space on devices than conventional mobile apps — have become more and more popular due to their faster load times, native user experience, and quick pay features. Internet of Things, or IoT apps, integrate with smart appliances beyond a smartphone to create an interconnected web of devices providing services across industries. AI and machine learning apps are also becoming more and more a part of everyday life, wearable tech requires unique combinations of AI and IoT approaches around which some developers specifically center their focus.
The first step in figuring out what kind of developer to hire is to determine what kind of framework suits your project best. Are you targeting iOS enthusiasts, Android aficionados, or both? Do you need the one-code-fits-all-platforms approach of React Native, or the legacy system support of Flutter? Do you need the added web support features of Xamarin or the real-time analytics available through Appcelerator Titanium? Our guide on the top mobile frameworks is a great place to start, and a full breakdown of the two most-often used cross-platform frameworks can bring even more clarity to the table.
In addition to figuring out the ideal framework for the mobile app, you will need to figure out what the project itself needs. Some developers offer consulting services from the ground up; others offer only the services you specifically state. They may be proficient in prototyping & proof of concept services into MVP development stages. They may shine in UX/UI design and excel in back- and front-end. They may wax poetic in their systems integration and project management or have mastered support and rescue, and quality assurance and testing.
What Kind of Support Does Your Team Need?
Your own staff may already excel in some, if not all, of these areas. After all, working in the digital age more or less requires having capable developers on your personnel roster, regardless of what industry your company sits in. Working with your team to determine exactly what they are capable of taking on for themselves and what kind of support they will need to keep the business running as you outsource mobile app development to an offshore team will keep things clear and straightforward.
A full breakdown of Pangea.ai’s engagement models can help clarify exactly what kinds of support you can offer your team as they communicate what they would want from an offshore entity. Companies offering new product development will work with you from the ground up, from defining initial ideas to design, implementation, and testing to market availability. They usually specialize in brainstorming, prototyping, and MVP development in the beginning stages, and they will normally have UX/UI design experts on the team who will be brought in as each of the stages progress.
Maybe your team already has a handle on the project, but they need some extra hands on deck. Team augmentation may be the ideal solution, particularly if a few particularly specialized roles can take on tasks that are too time-consuming and interfere with overall productivity. Depending on the size of your budget, they may have just one or two dedicated developers to jump onto your team for the duration of the project, or they may have a full team.
Perhaps the mobile app development stage is over and done with and the product is live, but there just are not enough hands on deck for ongoing upkeep. Support and maintenance services can keep an eye on code, keep the product running smoothly, and keep your users happy. The contract you draw up with the company will specify how frequently they check in and issue updates as needed.
It is important to remember that once you do find the perfect fit to outsource mobile app development, check in regularly! This is particularly critical if you find an offshore developer in another time zone, country, or even continent. Maintaining close communication will keep everyone on task and potential issues that arise to a minimum, as well as making tracking progress and managing problems much easier. Overloading developers with unrelated tasks will only get in the way and cause productivity to lag; keep your team focused on their work and the rest will come naturally.