Low Cost Business Application Development: A Guide
DigiTrends
Mobile internet access has even overtaken desktop internet usage big time. In 2018, more than 70% of web traffic originated from mobile devices.
This number jumped from 57% in 2017; however, having an incredible, out-of-the-box, jaw-dropping mobile app idea is one thing; executing it flawlessly is another.
Thousands of companies and startups are developing mobile applicationsand kick-starting their migratory app journeys. But, only a few applications make it to the app stores, and even fewer make it to users’ mobile devices; a quarter stay on a user’s device for over a month.
Research shows that only 1% of mobile application startups succeed. The only way for developers to capture users is to integrate applications with innovative features, astonishing functionality, and immaculate designs.
Steps to Estimate the Cost of Your Project
The initial step of application development is its cost estimation. How to figure out how much it costs to make an application for your business? You must prepare a mobile application development cost breakdown with individual tasks and project milestones.
List down Tasks and Resources Required
Firstly, break down the entire project into small and manageable tasks and assign team members to them. Secondly, estimate each task’s duration and your potential team’s hourly rate.
Capacity planning is an important part of this step; therefore, ensure that your plan includes enough skilled resources to complete the tasks.
This means that you might need to hire two or three developers and several QA specialists, depending on the requirements of your specific project. We here at DigiTrendshave experienced and polished app developers and specialists who can turn your business app into reality.
3 Ways to Make Your Calculations
There are three common methods through which we can calculate a mobile application cost, i.e.:
Ballpark
Parameter-based
Three-point
Ballpark
A ballpark figure is just a speculation based on previous experiences. This is not specific but gives a rough idea of the development cost. You can even contact mobile app developers like DigiTrends to receive a ballpark estimate.
Parameter-Based
Even though parameter-based data includes past experiences and data, it also contains calculations. Unlike the ballpark method, this method is more time-consuming but delivers significant results. It is calculated by the previously computed duration of each task and multiplying it by the team member’s hourly rate.
Three-Point
The three-point method is generally a blend of the previous two strategies with the addition of risk analysis. IT developer builds three average mobile app development costs:
Optimistic
Lowest and reflects the best-case scenario where everything goes smoothly.
Pessimistic
It considers all the risks and uncertainties and gives you the worst-case scenario.
Realistic Projections
Somewhere in the middle, i.e., it integrates all the ups and downs that the app will face.
Track Budgets
Once the project starts, keep all project expenses within the budget allotted to the app development.
DigiTrendsuses appropriate software to track project spending under the supervision of dedicated and skilled project managers.
5 Ways to Develop Low-Cost Business Applications
Developing applications on a limited budget brings novel and unique ideas into the light. Working on a constrained budget results in solutions that wouldn’t have been possible in the first place.
So, how do app development service providers manage to cut costs and provide services at such reasonable prices?
Here are some of the methods that have proven to save both time and money while helping in affordable business application development:
Cloud-Based Applications
Cloud computing and business applications solve the problem of large data center costs. Avoid major data center hardware and software investments by conducting application testing on the cloud. The development team can access the cloud anywhere, which increases productivity.
Scrum
The Scrum framework is part of the agile application development methodology. It aids in the joint development of business applications and more. This method reduces the risk of app failure to a large extent and is cost-effective. It further smoothens the project development process as it helps the development team to work as one unit. This ensures that the resulting app meets all the relevant business requirements.
Virtual Databases
Virtualized databases help turn business application development cost-effective. Instead of dealing with and maintaining multiple databases, store all data in a single virtual database. By using virtual databases, you reduce the overall load on your project and save big on costs.
Prototyping
Businesses use prototyping on a large scale to cut costs during mobile application development. In this case, a rough layout is presented for the end-user to experiment. This helps test the desired application at the initial stage before product completion. New prototypes can be constantly designed per end-user feedback and retested at a low cost and without significant delays.
Virtual Operating System
Mobile app developers use this method to address issues of incompatibility. Adopting a virtual operating system will reflect the changes made in all the operating systems.
The software automates the process by verifying the changes, reducing human errors caused during manual verification and thus reducing cost.
The Future of Low-Cost Business Applications
Various people are competing for every minute the user spends behind the screen. These people include media content creators, games, social networks, instant messengers, and various services and applications. However, developing countries are the next frontier for the ever-increasing mobile phone market.
Though a booming industry, these markets may pose some challenges for mobile app developers. Most mobile phone users in these countries live in areas with less network connectivity or very slow internet speeds. Mobile app developers need to consider the size of screens and reduced processing capability of low-end phones in these developing countries. To gain popularity in these areas, applications should address issues such as cultural barriers, language, and literacy of the local population. The applications should be easy to use with a minimum number of steps to follow and minimize battery usage.
We here at DigiTrendsdeem it our responsibility to look for any factor hindering development.
Why Choose DigiTrends for Low-Cost Business App Development
DigiTrends has an experienced team of software engineers specialized in mobile app development on various platforms such as iOS and Android. We thoroughly understand the intricacies faced during the business application development process and customize our services to suit your business needs, delivering a final product within the desired time limit.
You can even go forward and outsource the mobile application development services; however, this can cause different problems, for example, communication problems without personal involvement and more.
You need an experienced team to understand and align the idea with the vision you want to develop. Recruiting the right people and going through several formalities will further delay development.
To Sum it up
In conclusion, while estimating the cost of an app, businesses should consider factors like team location, app complexity, and more. Given that both iOS and Android platforms have a high adoption rate, it is a smart strategy for businesses to develop an application for both platforms simultaneously.
Because infrastructure is the biggest contributor to an app development cost, it’s logical for companies to do their best to save on data storage scalability and third-party API integration if several options are available.
Here at DigiTrends, our product case studies and client reviews talk volumes about our stellar mobile application development team and how we envision the future.
November 27th, 2023
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