Offshore Mobile App Development: A complete guide
Offshore mobile app development provides you with a team of experienced developers who can deliver robust mobile apps that will work on all types of devices, operating systems, and screen sizes.
The overall trend of global smartphone users has grown rapidly in the last few years. This growth has prompted many businesses to launch their own mobile apps to stay relevant. However, with limited internal resources, it has been challenging for businesses to create apps that work seamlessly across devices of all types.
So, many businesses are seeking help from offshore development companies around the world to meet their requirements. In this blog post, we give you a comprehensive guide to offshore mobile application development.
Let’s get started.
What is offshore mobile app development?
Mobile app development is the process of creating applications for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. You can find these apps through app stores like Google’s Play Store or Apple’s App Store – or take the form of web apps that have the look and feel of mobile applications.
App development sometimes makes use of device-specific features to enhance the user experience. For example, health apps make use of a device’s sensors to measure things like heart rate and steps.
Offshore mobile app development is when a company outsources the development of a mobile application to developers in another country. It’s a popular and cost-effective way to develop mobile apps.
In this case, the development of an application from the idea phase to its release in app stores (Play Store and App Store) will be handled by the offshore team. Once the development is completed, the offshore mobile app developers will hand over the application. They can also be retained for regular updates or new features.
Benefits of hiring offshore mobile app developers
Mobile apps require a significant amount of time and funds. If companies seek to outsource the development process to offshore teams, companies expect to see a return on their investment.
Here are some key benefits of hiring offshore mobile app developers to get the job done:
- A broader talent pool: Going global in your search for mobile app developers can broaden and deepen your talent pool, giving you access to a wider range of skills and expertise.
- Potential cost-savings: Depending on the location of your offshore mobile app development team, the cost can be significantly lower due to differences in the cost of living.
- Ongoing support: An offshore mobile app development company can provide ongoing support and development as your mobile app grows and scales to meet demand.
- Easily scalable team: Working with offshore developers can also offer the benefits of a more flexible and scalable workforce, allowing you to adjust the size of your development team as needed easily.
- Diverse resources: Your offshore team can provide diverse perspectives and experiences, which can help improve the quality and effectiveness of your mobile app.
Reap the benefits of outsourcing mobile development
Tell us more about your project. Get a custom development plan with offshore mobile developers.
Why should you outsource mobile app development?
As mentioned above, outsourcing mobile app development has numerous benefits. The potential cost savings make it an appealing option, but that’s not the only motive.
Here are some other important reasons why you should consider outsourcing mobile app development:
- Expertise: Your in-house development team might be good – even great – but how much experience do they have with mobile apps? Bringing in a specialist offshore mobile app development company gives you the latest technology and proven expertise.
- Best practice: Hiring a reputable mobile app development company offers you ready-made, ready-to-code teams with experience in similar projects. That means they can bring you all their prior learning and best practices to your project.
- Speed: Because you’re hiring ready-to-code experienced developers, they can get up to speed quicker and get coding faster than non-specialists or in-house hires.
- Hiring costs: With ready-made mobile app expertise, there’s no recruiting, onboarding, and training for you to handle.
- Resources: The chances are, if you’ve got in-house developers, they’re already tied up with other projects. Even if they have spare capacity, they’re unlikely to focus solely on your mobile app development. An offshore app development company gives you the resources you need to keep on budget and on time.
- Security: Offshore mobile app development companies have a reputation to protect. Anything from an internal security breach to a security flaw in your app can be costly. That’s why you can expect robust design and testing to build apps to industry standards.
- Innovation: When you open the door to an offshore mobile application development company, you welcome a world of innovation. As specialists in their field, they’ll know the latest technologies and from their experience what works and what doesn’t work.
Tips to get the best offshore mobile app development company
To get the best results, you need to find a reputable and trustworthy offshore mobile app development company that can understand your business aims, and collaborate effectively.
Here are 5 tips for getting the best out of your relationship:
1. Have a minimum viable product (MVP)
The best approach to mobile app development is to start small and grow. Don’t waste time building unnecessary functionality. Decide what’s most important and start with that.
2. Find the right skills and experience
App development requires very specific skills – general experience isn’t enough. Hence, if you use an offshore mobile app development company, make sure you get a good match in terms of
- Software stack – android app development or iOS development
- Experience with previous projects – experience in creating similar apps will be a plus
- Knowledge of your industry – basic understanding of your overall business.
3. Share your business goals
Developing a mobile app doesn’t just happen in isolation from your main business activities. Sharing this with your offshore mobile app developers gives them an understanding of why the app is needed and why it’s important to your business.
4. Ensure clear communication
App development is more complex due to the integration of various features within the app. Hence, communication can be a major issue while working with an offshore team.
It’s good to agree on shared terminology alongside preferred channels of communication. Create a culture where there are regular opportunities to share feedback and keep each other in the loop at all times.
5. Set clear expectations
To avoid getting halfway through a build only to run into issues, be clear about timeframes and deliverables from the outset. Use an agile approach and agree on the most important work to be done for each timeframe, and when priorities change, make adjustments in the next one.
A checklist for outsourcing mobile app development
When you’re outsourcing mobile app development, it’s important to ensure you’ve got the basics covered. Here’s a handy checklist to help you:
- Have you seen examples of their work on different operating systems and devices?
- What do previous clients say about them?
- Do they have relevant experience in your industry?
- Are their skills a good match for your needs?
- What’s their approach to managing projects and servicing clients?
- Do you have a shared language for clear communication?
- Are you able to agree on a fixed upfront fee?
- Will you have a clear roadmap and timeline in place before work begins?
With 14+ years of experience, Proshore’s ready-to-code dev teams have been part of multiple mobile app development projects for clients with game-changing ideas or digitalization needs. Get started on your checklist for outsourcing mobile app development – tell us more about your project and let us do the rest.
Mobile app development versus in-house
When it comes to developing your mobile app, there are two main choices for hiring developers: offshore or in-house. It’s easy to think that keeping mobile app development in-house will be more cost-effective, and easier to manage. Unfortunately, often the reverse is true.
1. Cost
Whether you use an offshore mobile app development company or hire mobile app developers in-house, both have advantages and disadvantages.
It’s true that for large companies willing to heavily invest time and money in recruiting in-demand developers, hiring in-house might be an option. But for smaller companies or those looking to keep costs down, recruiting and retaining the best local talent can be time-consuming and expensive.
On the other hand, using offshore talent to build your mobile app can be much more cost-effective due to differences in the cost of living. It’s also important to note that employee costs are ongoing, whereas the cost of offshoring is fixed.
2. Control
In terms of control, keeping everything in-house means you have closer oversight of the development. Things like scope, technology, and how the team is assembled can also be closely controlled and micromanaged if needed.
Also, your in-house team will be closely invested in your company’s success and will stick with you for the long term – if you need them. On the other hand, by contracting out your development to a self-managing offshore team, you hand over day-to-day responsibilities, which frees up more time for focussing on other business activities.
3. Skills
Getting the right skills mix for mobile app development can be a complicated and time-consuming task. Don’t underestimate the time it takes to build an effective internal team.
- If they lack expertise, you’ll lose time on upskilling and training.
- If they’re already experts in their field, you’ll likely to pay over the odds to secure their services in today’s market.
With an offshore mobile development company, you can tap into a large and more diverse talent pool. That means it’s much quicker and easier to find the expertise you’re looking for.
And because this tech talent comes ready-trained, there’s no protracted learning curve or lead-in times.
How much does it cost to outsource mobile app development?
The cost of outsourcing mobile app development depends on a number of factors, including geographic location, expertise and experience, and the complexity of your build. The following should be taken as a very rough guide to outsourcing costs.
Offshore mobile app development costs based on project complexity:
| App complexity | Details | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | Basic functionality and integration with existing content | USD 10,000 – 40,000 |
| Medium | A mobile app with a backend that collects information in its own database | USD 100,000 – 200,000 |
| High | A fully integrated app with different backend platforms, and a complex UI | USD 200,000 – 300,000+ |
Offshore mobile app development costs based on experience:
| App developer’s experience | App developer’s experience | App developer’s experience |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Basic debugging, app maintenance, code documentation, and simple feature/functionality requests. | USD 30/hr |
| Intermediate | New feature/functionality requests and app design projects. | USD 60/hr |
| Senior | Leading app development projects and advanced app features. | USD 120/hr |
Offshore mobile app development costs based on region:
| Region(s) | Range per hour |
|---|---|
| USA, Western Europe, Australia | USD 80 – 250 |
| Eastern Europe, South America | USD 30 – 110 |
| South-east Asia | USD 20 – 80 |
To gain insights on the costs of outsourcing mobile app development specific to your project, get on a 15-min call with our Accounts Director, Jeroen. Regardless of your project complexity, our ready-to-code dev teams from Nepal will have the right expertise and experience to handle the requirements in half the time and cost.
Which country has the best mobile app developers?
With a world of tech talent available, narrowing your search for mobile app developers can be a challenge. To help you get started, we’ve put together this short list of top offshore mobile app development countries:
- China produces nearly 5 million tech graduates every year. However, only around 1% of the population speaks English, which could lead to communication issues.
- Poland has a strong software development landscape and around a third of the population speaks English, making communication easier.
- India has a strong educational focus on science and mathematics and a large outsourcing industry. For peace of mind, ensure relevant ISO standards are met.
- Nepal has thousands of graduates entering the tech and outsourcing industries each year. Labor costs can be lower than in other countries, making it a cost-effective choice.
Looking for a more detailed look at top offshore software development destinations? Read this blog post covering the top countries for software development.
Should a company outsource mobile app development?
Whether a company should or should not outsource mobile app development comes down to personal choice and business needs.
Global demand for mobile app developers is so high that it’s not always possible to find the right talent at an affordable price within your home country or even on the same continent.
Coming up against this barrier is the moment most companies realize they need to outsource app development.
What is an offshore hybrid mobile development team?
A hybrid mobile development team allows you to create apps that can be deployed on multiple platforms using a single codebase. This makes it a popular choice for businesses targeting multiple mobile operating systems.
Also, hybrid mobile development makes the app easier to maintain across multiple operating systems and platforms. Just like the native mobile app development, you can also outsource hybrid mobile app development to an offshore team (known as an offshore hybrid mobile development team).
Software developers use technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build universal mobile apps.
Offshore mobile app development from Proshore
With thousands of highly-trained, ready-to-code developers ready and waiting, Proshore is an ideal partner for offshore mobile application development providing services at nearly half the costs compared to developers in your area!
Dual-located in the Netherlands and Nepal, we put together self-managing agile mobile app development teams hand-picked for your needs.
