8 Critical Benefits of Outsourcing iOS Mobile App Development
The world has never been more connected. With the arrival of smart phones came the advent of mobile apps and social media platforms. Nowadays, it is difficult to function if you do not have immediate and constant access to a mobile device. Whether that be an Android or iOS mobile device doesn’t matter a huge deal until you get into developing mobile apps. The mobile app development industry is highly competitive and it can be lucrative to design an app for your business, if done right.
These mobile apps can either be compatible with the Android or iOS operating system, depending on which one will bring you the most value. iOS mobile app development often is preferred because it caters to more paying customers given that it is an expensive device to own in the first place. This makes iOS app development key to generating profits for businesses looking to enter new markets and cater to growing user bases. The fact that iPads and iPhones have taken over the mobile device markets in developed countries also adds to its appeal and profitability.
Building the most profitable iOS mobile app for your business, however, will not happen by magic. What this usually means is that you need to have the right team, technologies, and strategies in place to beat out the competition in that domain. Often companies consider hiring their own in-house team of developers to work on the project. However, most businesses do not have the budget to be able to afford such massive investments in infrastructure, technology, and personnel for a one-off mobile app. This is why most businesses go looking for a reputable outsourced iOS app development company to build their app for them.
Outsourcing iOS application development services comes with numerous benefits for most businesses. These benefits can range from gaining access to global talent and getting end-to-end assistance to reduced risks and faster development times. Let us explore iOS mobile app development and what it is in greater detail to see whether it is a feasible option for most businesses.
What Is iOS Mobile App Development?
iOS is the mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. solely for its hardware. It is an operating system that currently powers many of Apple’s mobile devices, ranging from its iPhones and iPod Touches to its iPads. After Android, it is the second most popular mobile operating system available in the market today.
iOS mobile app development is important because it is the process by which iOS apps are built for iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. It is a fairly complex process as it requires meeting basic design, content, and security guidelines in order to be available for download through the Apple App Store.
Why Is iOS Mobile App Development Important?
In recent years, various businesses have started looking into developing iOS apps to gain a greater market share and further the reach of their brand. Developing an app to represent a brand is also critical for businesses as it allows more users to get a closer look at what they have to offer beyond just glancing through their website. Mobile apps have also recently started playing a greater role in establishing a competitive advantage for businesses. This is because developing a mobile app can help you highlight your strengths and focus on your areas of core competence.
Say for example that a consumer wanted to download an app to help them exercise and lose weight. Apps that are well thought out, easier to navigate, aesthetically pleasing, and allow the user to take advantage of the services at their own convenience will be used over the competition. Similarly, mobile apps that focus on delivering a phenomenal user experience will be the ones that they use and pledge their loyalty towards.
Why Outsource iOS App Development Services?
Because the mobile app industry is a very competitive space, more and more businesses are looking to outsource their iOS mobile app development to the experts. By outsourcing their requirements, not only do they reduce their overall risks, but they also benefit from reduced development times and faster time to market. They also get a far superior product, both in terms of quality and performance, when they get seasoned specialists to develop the app. This because an in-house mobile app development team would not have the skills or years of expertise required to achieve the same results for your average business.
Primary Benefits of Outsourcing iOS App Development Services
- Reduced Development Times
Most companies do not have a team of in-house mobile app development experts that build iOS apps on a regular basis. Usually, only software development companies have teams of technical expertise available at all times to deliver mobile apps on schedule. Even if they did, the business would have to invest in continuously training these experts in the newest technologies or tools by themselves.
The fact that their in-house mobile app development team does not have to develop iOS apps on a consistent basis means that they are not gaining more industry knowledge or technical skills day in and day out. This results in the business working with long development times for every mobile app since efficiency cannot be gained unless a certain function is performed constantly for a long period of time.
The best way to build an app is to outsource iOS app development to mobile app development companies that have the necessary tools, developers, and technologies at their disposal. By entrusting the development of your app to experts who have technical skills and expertise in that domain, you are reducing your app’s development time. Full-time iOS app developers are proficient in all the intricacies of app development and do not do anything other than develop apps. This makes them highly competent in the field, which results in them needing less time to complete a project. This, in turn, means that your app will benefit from reduced development times so you will be able to launch it in the app store much sooner than anticipated.
- Fluid Customization
The reason why businesses need mobile apps is because they need to find a personalized way to reach their customers and keep business coming in. If a generic iOS mobile app could serve the needs of many large businesses, a customized one would not need to be developed. You could use the generic app like businesses use Microsoft Word, one size fits all. But because every business is unique, customization is important. Moreover, each business offers different products and services than their competitors. If the services they offer are very similar and only differ in brand name, an iOS app would need to be developed to set their brand apart from the rest. In such cases, investing in your iOS mobile app’s features and user experience will truly pay off.
By outsourcing your iOS mobile app development services, you are investing in the fluid customization of your mobile app. You can ensure that you have all the flexibility you need to customize it to any specifications you may desire. The outsourced app development team can incorporate data management functions, diverse functionalities, and multimedia tools into the iOS app whenever you want.
This means that as markets and trends change and evolve, your app will still be tweaked and customized to keep up with the times no matter what. Prompt and fluid customization is critical for changing business environments. Moreover, if your app can be further updated and personalized at any time, it will be difficult for your competitors to keep up with your next moves. Fluid customization means that the outsourced app development team will always be available to make modifications to your app so that your user experience is always a step ahead.
- Focus on User Experience
There are currently hundreds of thousands of mobile apps in the market for users to download and use. Not all of them have been developed keeping the end user experience in mind though. Some of them may have been developed on a tight budget or tight schedule and so lack deep analysis of the desired user experience early on in its development. This can cost the company as it fails to capture the end user’s attention at all. If the end users are not attracted to using the mobile app, you have a problem as no business or revenue will be coming in either.
Outsourced developers who have great expertise in creating a captivating user experience know exactly which features to implement and how to approach its usability and design components. The information architecture will also be developed in a way that enhances the end user’s experience. Outsourced developers will also put great thought into its visual design so that only the best fonts, colour schemes, icons and images will be incorporated into the app.
They will also focus on creating a compelling user experience that takes into consideration different elements of interaction design. From motion and aesthetics to graphics and easy navigation, no element of the design and usability will be overlooked to capture your customer’s imagination and loyalty. Because they have deep domain expertise, outsourced UX designers and developers know what design traps to avoid and what components to include to drive user engagement.
- Faster Time to Market
Often, businesses come up with a mobile app idea to support their operations and find in-house resources that are willing to take on the project. What they do not realize is that the developers taking on this project do not have the adequate amount of expertise in iOS mobile app development to ensure that it is developed efficiently. By the time the developers are done designing the wireframes, testing the app’s functionalities, and checking for performance issues, the app is no longer considered cutting-edge in the market.
Newer technologies have come into the market, which have rendered the mobile app useless and outdated. Take for example the emergence of cloud technology. Once cloud applications entered the market and cloud storage became all the rage, iOS mobile apps without those capabilities were quickly left behind. If an app takes too long to be developed, it’s time to market becomes extensive and it may lose its competitive advantage to other entrants in the market.
When you outsource your iOS mobile app development project, you can be assured that you will benefit from a faster time to market than hiring in-house talent. This is because the outsourcing service provider ensures that their developers work around the clock to meet your project deadline. They also know that taking more time to develop the app will eat into your competitiveness as more and more apps enter the market every day.
Outsourced developers don’t take quite as much time as in-house developers because they do not need to learn on the job or be trained in new technology. The iOS app development company you outsource the project to has a massive pool of talent at their disposal who are versed in every technology known to man. This definitely reduces how long it takes to get the project completed, resulting in a faster time to market for your end product.
- End-to-End Assistance
When a business decides to develop an iOS app for their customers, they often find that in-house expertise does not meet the mark in providing ongoing support and maintenance. This is because the in-house team is stretched across multiple projects at all times and needs the bandwidth to take on maintenance activities. Usually this means that maintenance is not a priority and so is left for another day.
The same is true for developing updates and security patches to keep the app secure and up-to-date. Because your in-house team does not take care of comprehensive iOS application development services, you will find yourself stranded once the app has been launched into the marketplace.
The best outsourced iOS app development companies are different as they provide end-to-end assistance at all times. Not only do they help you with ideation, conceptualization, and wireframing, but they also take care of back-end testing, quality assurance, and full customer support. Moreover, they ensure that you get regular maintenance and upgrades because without those your app will cease to function optimally.
Unlike your in-house team, outsourced developers will also provide additional training to your staff once the development process is completed. In this way, they will introduce you to the iOS app’s functionalities and features so that your own workforce becomes skilled at using all its components well.
Depending on the outsourcing partner, you can also benefit from security, analytics, and cloud hosting. These services will be provided to you at no additional cost as it is part of the outsourcing package you signed up for.
Secondary Benefits of Outsourcing iOS App Development Services
- Reduced Risks
When you outsource mobile app development to outsourcing partners, you are reducing the risks involved in the process. The outsourcing vendor is tasked with dealing with contingencies like employee retention during development or unpredictable demand post deployment. All the project’s risks are transferred to the iOS app development company so that you can benefit from greater peace of mind during the development process. It makes no difference how long each outsourced employee works on the mobile app because staff turnover and retention is the outsourcing partner’s problem.
As a client of the company, all you need to be concerned with are the results, not the process or who is involved on a minute by minute basis. The outsourcing company will also be responsible for dealing effectively with unpredictable demand once the app has been launched. They will have to take security and capacity measures to ensure that the app is secure and can take on larger loads when user demand is at its peak.
After final deployment, if users begin complaining that the iOS app is too confusing to use because of too many features, that will be their responsibility to fix as well. Any UX or UI issues that surface once users begin downloading and using the app will also fall into their domain of expertise. They will have to be proactive in coming up with solutions to address these issues, not you. In this way, outsourcing your mobile app development requirements results in you reducing your risks.
- Best Talent
Sometimes the local labour market cannot meet the demand for talent due to limited, missing, or overpriced resources. In such cases, it makes sense to start looking beyond the national labour market for talent and expertise in mobile app development. Even if the local labour market were to supply the needed technical talent, it wouldn’t necessary be affordable for the budgets of all businesses. In the cases where no talent is available in the labour market, businesses will have to look outside national borders to meet their requirements. So what are you to do if talent is not readily available at a price point you can meet?
Most businesses outsource iOS mobile app development to highly qualified developers as this ensures the app is developed by the experts. Outsourcing companies usually have access to a diverse talent pool of developers from across the world who specialize in a host of technical skills. These developers are picked based on their competence and proven track record of delivering the highest quality apps in the market.
When it is difficult to hire locally, outsourcing allows you to scan global talent and cherry-pick specialists with the right knowledge and skillsets to bring your iOS app idea to life. In this way, outsourcing is a brilliant option as you get to choose only the best talent from across the world to work on your requirements.
- Access to World-Class Capabilities & Technologies
Businesses have a hard time with iOS mobile app development because often they do not have the right technologies or other infrastructure required to develop an app in-house. Getting their hands on the right technologies would require spending a lot of money and would have to be an investment on their part.
Having to hire in-house specialists would also not come cheap. Making sure that the latest technologies stay up-to-date and purchasing licences for software will also continue to add costs to the equation. These costs just would not make sense if you were only thinking of developing one solitary iOS app. Rather than invest in the technologies and the personnel yourself, maybe outsourcing to industry experts might be a good solution instead.
An outsourced iOS app development company would have access to the most state-of-the-art technologies, development tools, and software to build robust, cutting-edge mobile apps with. You could essentially gain access to world-class capabilities and technologies under one roof when you outsource your mobile app development requirements to the experts. This is because an outsourcing partners’ only business is to invest in the most sophisticated tools and technologies. This way, they can ensure that the products they end up building cannot be beat when it comes to sophistication, usability, and performance.
When companies choose to outsource their iOS application development services, they often benefit on many fronts. Not only do they not need to invest huge amounts of money into purchasing the right technologies, tools, and infrastructure, they also do not need to hire in-house developers. These developers would be difficult to find locally and may not have the complete skillset and years of expertise required to build a fully functional and professional iOS mobile app.
Using an outsourcing partner will also help businesses experience dramatically faster time to market, which can act as a competitive advantage. This stems from outsourced developers working around the clock, across time zones and geographies, to build the app within the timeline outlined in the contract. Further, businesses can also benefit from fluid customization and end-to-end assistance at all hours of the day when they decide to outsource their requirements to the professionals.
Who We Are and Why You Should Trust Our Expertise?
This article is brought to you by getSmartcoders, a distinguished software development outsourcing company with over 8 years of experience in designing and developing critical IT solutions. We have gained a wealth of knowledge in providing our expertise to businesses across the world over the years. We leverage our ample industry exposure and proven expertise to generate quick, inspired solutions for our clients. Our in-depth knowledge of iOS mobile app development allows us to build the most breath-taking mobile apps to help our clients secure greater market share and eliminate competition.