As a sales manager, I often meet clients driven by their idea and desire to solve a problem for people or businesses in my practice. They have domain expertise, an entrepreneur mindset, and a willingness to risk. The only thing standing in their way is a lack of tech expertise. But thanks to mobile outsourcing development, that is not a problem anymore.
In this article, I’ll guide you on how to outsource mobile app development, highlight how outsourcing can help your buiness grow faster and how much it might cost. So let’s start!
Why you should outsource mobile app development?
The benefits of outsourcing mobile app development were recognized long ago. However, after the pandemic struck, outsourcing gained an even bigger momentum among businesses. And that for the following reasons:
- Need to spare budget and find affordable resources;
- Shortage of engineering talents in the regions of business;
- Globalization and opportunity to enhance the quality of mobile app development;
- Availability of a broad pool of tech specialists in the aspiring niches (automation, cybersecurity, cloud computing, AI/AR, etc.)
Another change brought about by the pandemic is the timeline of outsourcing cooperation. Some years ago, businesses would seek an outsourcing partner for the project’s timeline only.
Now things have changed, and mobile outsourcing development teams have become a part of the businesses for many years. Moreover, mobile app development does not end after the product’s launch. Instead, companies have to iterate and improve their products if they want to keep up with the competitors.
So here, they have two choices:
- make changes by themselves;
- outsource mobile app development.
As practice shows, the second option is more effective and simple. Here are the benefits that make mobile app development outsourcing a viable option for businesses:
Outsourcing mobile app development is cost-effective
It is hardly news that mobile app developers from the Eastern IT hub (Ukraine, Poland) cost less than programmers from Silicon Valley, Europe.
For example, if you're outsourcing mobile app development to a seasoned developer in the US, you'll be charged $135 per hour on average. Outsourcing mobile app developers with similar skills in Western Europe will only cost you around $45- $90/hour. Meanwhile, if you decide to outsource developers from Eastern Europe, where the main part of the Uptech team is located, you'll pay around $40 per hour.
The number of mobile app development outsourcing companies, agencies, and individual contractors from Eastern regions is fascinating. The labor market is booming with great programmers here (teams and individual contractors) who offer a reasonable quality/cost ratio.
Besides that, you can choose from several cooperation models. A cooperation model defines how the payment is calculated for the development team. Depending on the nature of your project, you can choose between fixed fee, time&material or a dedicated team.
Outsourcing mobile app development provides flexibility
Businesses now expect more flexibility in many issues of cooperation. They want to adapt, expand or reduce the development team shortly and according to the business needs.
Additionally, by outsourcing mobile app development, you can work with any team or with individual contractors from all over the world in a schedule comfortable for you. So if you need flexibility in your work, outsourcing might be the option to go for.
Outsourcing mobile app development gives access to the wide pool of professionals
Mobile app development is getting more and more demanding with each passing year. The emerging technologies do not come past any mobile app. You need excellent programmers on your team. It also takes quantum computing, fintech, AI, and machine learning professionals to give your app a competitive edge on the market. However, it may be challenging to find such specialists in the local labor market.
This is where mobile app outsourcing comes in handy. By outsourcing mobile app development, you have the whole world of specialists open for hire. Moreover, you can choose a team with a comfortable time zone and a reasonable cost policy.
How to Outsource Mobile App Development: 3 Steps
So you decided to go for outsourcing a mobile app development team. Great, but the next question is – where to start? Well, my tip is to take a while and figure out your expectations about the team you want to have in the end. To this end, I suggest taking these simple steps:
Step 1 - Outline what you actually need
Imagine that you’re seeking a bookshelf for your work room. At first, it may seem that any shelf would fit, because… c’mon, it is just a shelf. But when you start looking, it turns out there are many parameters to be considered, like the size, the color, the style or the material. Of course, some points may be compromised. But there are some fundamental parameters that cannot be questioned.
The same with candidates to your mobile app development team. Well, a bit more complicated, of course. But the point is similar – you need to know who you are looking for.
Are you kickstarting a new app idea and searching for mobile app developers to develop an MVP quickly?
Or do you have an existing app and are looking for iOS developers to polish it or extend the feature set?
Some businesses may already have a core mobile development team working on their apps but need extra hands familiar with new technologies.
The point is you make a list of the requirements, like what type of developers you need, how many developers you need, what you already have, etc. It’ll give us a better idea of your project, so we'll pick the developers that suit your needs best.
Step 2 -Start looking for the app development team
The next step is to start looking for an app development team. Once you have crystalised the characteristics of your project, it is time to plunge into the search itself. But the question is, “Where to look?”
Luckily, there are many recruiting platforms with lists of outsourcing companies, agencies, or contractors. For example:
- Clutch. When you need bread, you go to a bakery. When you need an outsourcing team, you go to Clutch. This is a top-rated B2B directory, where outsourcing companies are listed by location, rating, and expertise. To help you in your lookout, Clutch has search filters, categories, classifications, and even reviews of outsourcing providers.
You can find Uptech on Clutch here.
- Freelance platforms. Sometimes you do not need a whole team, and only one or two specialists lacking keep you away from starting the development. In this case, freelance platforms like Upwork are the right resource. There you can find individual contractors who will work at fixed prices or hourly rates.
Yet, freelance collaboration has many pitfalls. For one, you can never be entirely sure a person is reliable, or you cannot validate if the person has the proper experience. However, for routine tasks or short-term projects, freelancers are pretty reasonable.
- Blogs. It is no secret that outsourcing companies run their blogs, where they share their experience, expertise and give development-related advice. By exploring a company's blog, you can see where their strengths are, what background they have, and what they can help you with.
At Uptech, we run our blog, where our experts share their insights about startup building, product development, UX/UI design, etc. Check out more articles on our blog, and see if there is anything else useful for you.
Step 3 - Check the expertise background
So let’s imagine you’re actively looking for a team, exploring one candidate by another. At this point, it is critical to focus on the outsourcing company’s background. Here are a few things you should check to get a better understanding of what
- Case studies
Case studies are representations of the team’s experience and expertise. In these materials, outsourcing companies showcase their knowledge and experience, show the tech stack they used at the previous projects and explain why they used this or that engineering approach.
Here's a sneak peek at some of our cases: Aspiration, GOAT, and Dollar Shave Club.
For more cases, check out our website.
- Industry
Regulations, tech requirements, market competition – all of these fall into play in defining the success of your app. So experience in the niche plays an important role. And finding an experienced outsourcing team for your mobile app development is an essential contribution to your success. So please do not fail to make it.
- Previous clients
The best way to evaluate your potential outsourcing partner is by hearing what others have to say about them. Checking reviews from previous clients is also a step in exploring your potential outsourcing partner. You can check the company’s reviews on their websites or see external resources like Clutch or Businessofapp.
For example, Uptech has reviews from its clients gathered on its homepage. You can also check a video review from our client, Peter Sisson, CEO of Yaza, a real estate app for recording and sharing video home tours.
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How Much Does it Cost to Outsource Mobile App Development?
Well, the most sincere answer here would be – it depends. Indeed, a list of factors defines the final cost of outsourcing mobile app development. Among them:
- Geographic location;
- App Type and Complexity ;
- Purpose of development;
- Urgency;
- Supported platform;
- Development Approach;
- The complexity of UI/UX design;
- Back-end infrastructure.
For example, if you are building a simple app with standard templates and no backend, it will usually take you around 400 hours to complete it.
But it is a whole different thing, if you want to integrate custom features, backend communication or real-time features. This type of work can take up to 1,500 hours and more senior talents.
To get a better understanding on how the cost is formed, please check this article in our blog.
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Conclusion
Mobile app development is a process that goes far beyond launching the product. Instead, this is an everlasting process that happens as long as your business exists. So finding a reliable partner for such a long journey is crucial. In this case, outsourcing mobile app development can be a viable choice, which appears cost-effective, simple and affordable.