App development on your mind? Outsourcing app development among your worries? Sure it is.
Smartphone penetration keeps soaring. Reliance on mobile apps is at an all-time high. Virtual and augmented reality based mobile apps are more common than ever. The time to give your business a digital boost but developing a mobile app is right now. So if you’ve been searching for answers to questions about outsourcing app development, you’re not alone.
Why build mobile apps?
As of January 2022, there are over 6.64 billion smartphone users in the world with an 83.96% penetration rate. As is well known, people spend 90% of their mobile time in apps. Now picture this. After at least 8 hours of work and 8 hours of sleep, most people are left with less than 8 hours to spend for themselves – 4.8 hours every day of which they are spending in apps! That’s half of their life’s independent time. Are you able to fathom the power of mobile apps?
So if there’s any way forward for businesses, its mobile apps. Now that you can appreciate this fact, let’s move on to the more pressing questions.
How to develop a mobile app?
When we say a startup or business is building a mobile app, it usually means they are either hiring an in-house team to build their app, or they are outsourcing app development to an app development agency. Some tech startups may have founders who are app developers themselves and can get the job done on their own, but even they need some outside help with development once the business grows and time shrinks. So the first decision you need to make is –
In-house team or outsourcing app development?
An in-house team is a good option for businesses that are heavily into tech development and are going to need a steady stream of apps and other digital assets to be developed. Otherwise, if you need an app development team just for the initial development cycle, the team would be sitting idle on your payroll for the rest of the time, because apps aren’t developed every day. Once the app development is complete and your app is launched and up and running, the in-house team can become a liability.
Outsourcing app development sounds like a much better option for most businesses small and large because you can contract the team for the duration of project and let go of them once your needs are met. Not only is this extremely cost efficient but it also allows you to choose from some of the best app development companies around the world and pick the one that perfectly suits your needs. You can take your pick from the most experienced to the most modern teams.
Some of the biggest companies in the world have come to a conclusion repeatedly that outsourcing app development is the best strategy in the long run. Successful examples include the likes of Alibaba, Google, Basecamp and even Microsoft. That’s right, this technology stalwarts outsourced multiple parts of their business offerings in order to make sure that their business stayed on track and cost efficient.
Some successful examples of app development outsourcing
Alibaba
When Alibaba began to grow as a massive global company, Jack Ma realised that the kind of talent he would need to keep the apps running would require a great deal of scouting and a lot of money. Outsourcing to developers who are more qualified for the job even if not available locally turned out to be the better business decision for Alibaba.
The world‘s leading tech giant Google is in fact one of the biggest fans of outsourcing app development. For a company that has dozens of products and services to offer, it isn’t quite possible to develop every single product in house. According to a Bloomberg report, in the year 2018, Google had more contractors than the number of in-house employees they have. Google uses app development outsourcing to develop several of its products from virtual assistant work to IT development.
Microsoft
Even with his 131,000 in house employees, Microsoft’s often uses outsourcing to develop a number of projects that run parallel to its traditional scope. Outsourcing niche development projects to outside teams allows Microsoft’s to keep their in-house employees focused on their core projects and enhance their creativity.
As you can see, app development outsourcing is strategically a win-win situation for all businesses small, medium, and large.
The biggest question that most businesses ask however is how to choose the perfect app development partner out of the thousands if not millions in the world right now.
That is an important question and I can help you answer it.
How to choose the right company for outsourcing app development
There are more than 12 million app developers in the world right now. Choosing one out of those is a daunting task for the most seasoned business founders. Choosing the perfect app development partner for your business involves a great deal of homework, research and analysing. This isn’t a question of one company being better than all the rest. It is more about the company that perfectly fits your business requirements.
First, understand your business needs
Mobile apps or a wild pack. There is no limit to the kind of variety that exists and can exist in mobile app development. Some apps need to be entertaining, enticing and all inspiring. Others need to be informative, to the point, and must get the job done.
Some apps must appeal to the younger generation of users like Millennials and GenZ. Others must be simple for young children or older people.
Entertainment and social apps must exude a certain vibe why financial or business apps must have a certain personality.
The company you choose to outsource app development to must align with your goals. To do that, you must first understand your goals clearly and completely. In addition to finding the right design, the right code, and the right technology for your app, it’s important to get the tone and personality of your app correctly. When you know exactly the kind of tone for your app or the kind of vibe it must exude, you can pick a team that matches your sensibility. To get you started, here are some of the questions you must know the answers to before you begin scouting for talent for outsourcing app development.
- Who is your target audience? You will need to perform adequate amount of customer research to correctly answer that question before you begin doing anything else.
- Is this an app for revenue or service? Areyou building this app to generate additional revenue, or to provide a reliable channel for customer relationship?
- What is the business goal you wish the app to achieve? (Acquire new customers, reach new customers, build a new business model, keep old customers, et cetera)
- What is your app development budget?
Knowing satisfactory answers to these questions helps you understand exactly what you need from your app, and that in turn helps you understand what you are looking for in the app development company you wish to engage. Having the answers for your questions prepares you to ask the developers to write questions. You are going to need an app development company that not only has experience in the niche you are working within but also shares your passion towards the product you are building.
Know where to find the right professionals
Once you decide to outsource mobile development, you are now free of geographical boundaries and can actually get yourself talented team of app developers from anywhere in the world. With access to a very large talent pool, the responsibility of choosing the right one becomes even larger. Like most things today, the answer to this question also begins with a search online. You wouldn’t just want to Google “app development company” And start from there. You would need help from people whose job is to assess the companies and make you a list.
Some of the best directories and companies that do their research to make a list of the world’s best app development companies can help you find the right choice for your business. You can choose from companies like
You may also use GitHub to find the highest rated independent developers.
Freelance developers or app development agencies
Another question you must be wondering about is whether you should hire a freelancer or a full-fledged app development agency. Both have their benefits and the decision largely comes down to your goals. There is a great deal of talent among freelance app developers with some of the most talented individuals unwilling to follow rigid rules of working in a company deciding to take their career in their own hands. There is a large population of this kind so picking one can be difficult, it can however be very rewarding if you find the right fit.
The thing to understand however is that there is a limit to how much an independent freelancer can accomplish. If you are a very small startup hoping to build a very basic mobile app, and you feel that it doesn’t require too much work, you could definitely choose to go to independent freelancer Road.
However, if you are a small to medium business looking at a sizeable app development project, you are going to need a team. A team that has multiple app developers, designers, testers, quality assurance managers, and of course a project manager to oversee the entirety of the project as a whole.
MoveoApps is a full stack app development agency employing a large team of all the aforementioned professionals working together as a cohesive team. We have developers, designers, and quality assurance managers who have worked together as a team for as many as five years and more. Our project managers have been helping app development projects for over 10 years and the company has completed more than 200 successful digital projects spanning app development, web development, and a number of digital assets for small to medium businesses of over 100 clients across the world.
When you work with an app development agency like MoveoApps, you get your hands on a team that for the duration of your project, works like your very own in-house team working closely under your guidance and thoroughly absorbing your vision and passion for the app. This is by far, works as the best app development strategy for your business. Its cost efficient, experience rich, and overarching with creativity.
Some tips for choosing the right outsourcing app development team
In addition to the above factors, here are some of the other things you could do to make sure you choose the perfect company.
Know a few technological basics
You don’t need to know everything there is to know about programming languages, development frameworks, and mobile app platforms. However, knowing the very basics of these things can help you be more decisive during your hiring as well as ask the right questions during your interviews. So read up.
Talk to multiple people from the team
When you get in touch with the app development agency you are considering for outsourcing app development, it’s always a good idea to talk to more people than just business manager. Request to talk to the lead developer, the potential project manager, and even the designers if you wish. The idea here is to better understand the culture and compatibility of the team. You will be able to understand how passionate and coordinated the team is.
Look for soft skills too
In addition to the technical prowess of your developers, their experience, and their portfolio, also look for other character attributes of the team as a whole. Have they been punctual in the past? You can ask for references of past clients and ask them that question. Does the team have good internal communication? Designer-developer handovers and testing team reviews only work smoothly is the team gets smooth and works professionally. And if that’s less than perfect, your deliverables can be delayed. So check for a team that works cohesively as a unit.
Conclusion
Outsourcing app development is the perfect way to build an app for your business that perfectly reflects your business ethic and appeals to your target audience. When you have an efficient team working on building your app, you are free to focus on growing your business and helping your customers.
Now that you know just how to choose the perfect app development team for outsourcing app development, you will in no time find an app development team that not only knows how to build a good app but also understand how much this app means to you. When your passion and your vision reflect on the teams execution, combined with the teams experience, you have on your hands a perfect business model.
Get in touch with the experts at MoveoApps any time you like to find out more about how our talented developers can set your schedule free of all development related worries and allow you to focus on your business.
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