Outsourcing is a common strategy for companies that need quick access to resources or want the ability to focus on their core strengths while leaving the rest in the hands of a specialist.
But how do you choose professionals worth your time and money? What qualities should they have? How can you be sure they’re delivering quality projects?
We’ve outlined some of the proven tactics and put together this guide to help you navigate the different aspects of outsourcing app development for your company.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
What is App Development Outsourcing?
Outsourcing app development involves hiring a third party to develop your mobile app. Businesses use different outsourcing strategies, but the two main types are nearshore and offshore outsourcing.
Offshore outsourcing is referred to as choosing an outsourced partner located overseas. Most businesses in industrialized nations like the US and Canada outsource using this model.
Underdeveloped countries employ agencies where rates are lower. The top three countries are Mexico, Ukraine, and India, among other developing countries. As a result, these businesses can save time and money.
You should outsource app development for many reasons, including time and money savings.
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Why Should You Outsource App Development?
Here, we’ve enumerated the reasons for choosing an app development outsourcing company over hiring in-house resources to create your mobile application.
You should decide to outsource the creation of your app because:
- There will be a reduction in development time for apps.
- The construction will be substantially less expensive.
- It is practical for startups and small businesses.
- High-quality items are frequently the outcome.
- You can better concentrate on your company’s essential operations.
- You can use it to hire talent from abroad rather than relying just on nearshore talent.
In addition, choosing an outsourcing partner for your mobile app development has many other benefits.
Advantages Of App Development Outsourcing
Let’s check out the advantages of outsourcing app development in detail.
Affordable & Fast
The first advantage of outsourcing your mobile app development to a company is saving time. Putting together an internal team takes time. Sometimes it requires months.
Before hiring someone, you must consider their technical prowess, work ethics, and behavior, among many other things.
However, if you choose to outsource the development of your application, you must choose a trustworthy partner. The agency will handle everything and simplify the process considerably.
Agencies Are a One-Stop Solution
Your company may occasionally require both native iOS and Android apps simultaneously. Finding and hiring both types of mobile app developers will take a lot of work.
An agency can be a one-stop shop in this situation. It already has teams of native developers prepared to work on your app as soon as feasible.
Moreover, here you’ll be able to find the full-service:
- Business analysis and creation of specification
- UX/UI design
- Both backend and frontend development
- Digital marketing services
And the list does not end at the accessibility of services.
Quality Of The Final Product
The product that a skilled agency creates will be of the highest caliber. The fact that they have completed several projects of a similar nature is the cause.
Such agencies may create and produce goods that appeal to audiences thanks to their knowledge and expertise. The cause is the same since technical solutions are directly related to expanding business expertise.
Focus On The Core Business
Who will handle the other tasks if you devote all your time and effort to creating the app?
A startup’s success is determined by its values and business strategy more than its product. You should work on business-related tasks, including marketing, customer research, financing, etc.
These are the elements that will either create or break your company. Even if the product is crucial, it should target the right market and be managed financially.
Capabilities Across The Board
The benefits of outsourcing core mobile app development include content expertise, industry understanding, and technical traits that affect regional and global contexts. They already have the essential skills and are familiar with all contemporary software development processes, so you can rely on them.
The next step is to find a business that knows about the latest stacks and trends in app development and can provide skilled developers for your project.
To establish the foundation for the outsourced vendor, take into account a variety of stacks, including native apps, cross-functional apps, Android and iOS, as well as the functionality and features of the app.
Provide End-to-End Service
App development involves the interaction of numerous characteristics at all operational levels.
So, app development businesses provide a comprehensive spectrum of services from logic to technical support. It gives companies a secure setting to test the waters with mobile apps until they find a chance that works well for them.
Improved Time Management
With experts, it will take less time to work on your software which will help to sell products more quickly than your competitors. You get free from the task of finding and training new personnel. Professionals can use their development time to create a work environment that is practical and has room for growth in the future.
Businesses specializing in application development can offer opportunities for other related careers and greater opportunities for apps to succeed.
Scaling On Demand
As and when your app expands, you can scale your staff and operations. You can hire app developers, testers, and project managers when it makes sense. or churn as necessary.
Unlock innovation with expert app development outsourcing.
Outsource App Development: Key Models
Let’s check out the difference between the leading mobile application outsourcing business models.
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Fixed Price Model
This arrangement is the greatest option for large businesses with a clear idea of their desired outcome, even before outsourcing app development. Startups that require a flexible approach to app development should avoid using this business model.
The fixed price strategy necessitates much planning and research in advance. Before construction begins, the outcome and cost are agreed upon. It indicates that once the development process has begun, adjustments cannot be made to it. Such adjustments cost more money and time to develop if necessary.
If you choose to use such a model, you will have to invest in developing thorough project specifications with your vendor. You and a vendor should completely understand the intended outcome and outcome of development before the process begins.
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Time & Material Model
This technique of outsourcing app development provides lots of flexibility for pivoting in development and making quick modifications. Because the entire development process is broken down into several steps with a predetermined result, many businesses prefer to employ this approach.
You schedule tasks for the following development stage after a result is produced, and you can make further adjustments even while development is still ongoing.
According to this strategy, the price to outsource developing an app is determined by the number of hours the developers devote to your project. However, in this business model, you receive the preliminary project estimate and timetable before collaborating with a vendor.
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Dedicated Development Team
When you hire an IT outsourcing company, you gain various benefits, including adaptability to changes, greater commitment to your project, and improved team management. The devoted crew functions much like your company’s distant IT department, but with better communication and development control.
Steps To Outsource App Development
Now that you are fully aware of the advantages and models of outsourcing mobile app development let’s look at the key procedures involved in producing an effective app.
Step 1: Choose The Project Type
The type of project you want to produce must be understood before deciding how you want to outsource app development. You can develop a small, medium, or large-sized application for one or more operating systems in mobile application development.
Be it a healthcare app, a dating app, or an eCommerce app; you should be certain of the kind of application you intend to create before searching for app development companies. After that, decide how much money you are spending and make a list of your immediate needs.
Step 2: Choose Between Platforms
You can outsource mobile app development to construct a single app version or develop an app for iOS and Android, depending on your budget. You need to know your target audience’s distribution across platforms and make a good choice.
Step 3: Formulate Project Needs
The platform you plan to use should already be known to you. Work on the feature list for your next applications. Work on creating unique features that will set your product apart from others while omitting some standard elements like sign-in, user accounts, etc.
Step 4: Find An Outsourcing Development Company
Knowing the features, you start choosing the best companies to work with.
Start researching companies on online directories such as Manifest, Clutch, GoodFirms, etc. Keep an eye on the top ten companies that design apps, and don’t forget to look into other suppliers. Use a complex strategy and analyze several different factors.
After analysis, you must create a list of potential hires, including years of experience, a portfolio of relevant work, customer references, hourly rate, etc.
Pick a few vendors from this list to do additional screening interviews to assess their English and communication abilities, perspective on the development process, and capacity to deal with cultural differences.
Step 5: Organize Project Management
A key factor in developing successful apps is communication. Before developers begin their work, ensure that communication and project management are organized.
You can use several software programs to trade information and ideas with your team, keep track of all your duties, and more. Organizing all procedures within a development team and contact with clients is the project manager’s responsibility in professional organizations.
Step 6: Outsource Mobile Application Development
Working with highly skilled developers has several advantages, which you can use after learning how to outsource app development successfully.
You can focus on other business-related responsibilities and only spend a brief time monitoring the procedures within your application development team.
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Cost To Outsource App Development
Let’s look at the chart to estimate the cost of outsourcing app development. We’re discussing a hybrid app that requires 1000 development hours.
|
Type of Team |
Average Cost |
|
In-house team in the US |
$110,000 |
|
Local agency in the US |
$150,000 |
|
Freelancers in South Asia |
$40,000 |
|
Outsource agency in Ukraine |
$60,000 |
The cost of outsourcing application development depends on several factors. This comprises:
- Project management,
- Business analysis,
- UX/UI design,
- Mobile development,
- Backend development,
- QA testing,
- DevOps,
- Maintenance
The most typical application development outsourcing pricing type is “by the hour.” Your app’s developers and designers bill you an hourly cost based on the hours they spend creating it. During the potential cost estimation process, it might be worth becoming familiar with the average software developer salary in Colombia, India, Ukraine, or any other IT hub you’re considering.
Outsourcing App Development Risks
There are some risks associated with outsourcing mobile app development, and you should keep them in mind as you choose the course for your business. Although most are manageable, it is best to pay closer attention because they could make or break some managers and destroy the entire experience.
- Lack Of Control: You will undoubtedly establish the structure and give instructions on your goals, but most of the process will be out of your hands. You must deal with this when you hire an agency rather than an employee.
How do you outsource app development when you’re a little control freak and giving up even the tiniest ounce of control makes you queasy?
Communication is essential, but before working together, you must come to an understanding. Make plans for how and how often to communicate with a project manager from an outsourcing firm for mobile app development, and then stay in touch as often as you need to, weekly or even daily.
- Security Of Sensitive Information: Involving a third party always carries some risk, but it becomes even more dangerous when it handles confidential information you might not want to release. Working with outsiders is a given when outsourcing app development.
Your outsourcing partner could need access to private information because a successful app needs to incorporate every step of a business operation. Working with reliable outsourcing companies with stellar reputations and creating a solid non-disclosure agreement is necessary to reduce the danger of leaking.
- Communication Problem: Although there are many possible causes of communication issues, there is no doubt that offshoring or outsourcing can occasionally be the primary culprit. When the final product is slightly different from what the client had hoped for, communication between the client and the contractor may lead to mismatched expectations.
That typically occurs when the requirements are unclear or poorly understood. Both parties must engage in open communication to prevent such from happening. The client must define rules up front and have a clear understanding of what has to be accomplished.
Language boundaries also cause communication issues, especially when outsourcing. By adopting English as the common language, this issue may be readily solved.
For instance, Eastern European outsourced app developers typically attend English courses for several years to be proficient in the language, allowing them to communicate easily.
Also Read: Your Ultimate Guide for Outsourcing Web Development
Wrapping Up
Hopefully, you understand how you can outsource mobile app development for your business. Outsourcing is unquestionably the best choice for application development, especially if you are an SME with limited resources.
Even though there are some hazards you might want to think about, working with seasoned professionals in this field may help reduce them.
Outsourcing is not a magic treatment or a cure-all in any manner. Fortunately, you can connect with mobile app development companies to get an extensive experience in app development.
You can even hire mobile app developers who are prepared to assist your business in developing a top-notch product.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question. What do you mean by in-house development and outsourcing?
Answer. When you set up an internal development team, you must handle the hiring procedure, taxes, and legal matters independently.
Working with an outsourcing development company takes care of all the hiring procedures and reduces any development-related risks. Your remote staff is still completely under your control, and you have the power to direct how things get done.
Question. What is the state of the application outsourcing market?
Answer. The global IT outsourcing market was estimated at USD 526.6 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to reach USD 682.3 billion by 2027, showing a CAGR of 4.13% from 2022 to 2027.
Question. How to outsource app development?
Answer. You must locate a software development business to outsource app development. Start by using the best outsourcing websites, including Clutch, GoogFirms, etc. To make the best decision, narrow down the top app outsourcing providers, perform screening interviews, and gather and evaluate data.
Let's connect virtually or ask for an estimate of your project.
