When developing a product or service, mobile apps are now the primary focus. However, the market share between Android and iOS is reasonably balanced, particularly when branching outside of the US, meaning that businesses need to focus on both. Even inside the US, it’s a 56% – 43% split between iOS and Android respectively.
Multiplatform app development is now becoming the go-to solution for this issue, which can duplicate development time and maintenance. Instead of building separate apps for each platform, which wasn’t questioned a few years ago, a single codebase can now be used.
This approach saves time and money as it minimizes redundancy, all whilst reaching a wider range of users.
What Exactly Do Multiplatform Application Development Companies Do?
The companies offering services to help with multiplatform app development are exactly as they sound. They specialize in cross-platform app development, meaning that firms – whether they’re primarily tech firms or not – can expand their resources and talent pool temporarily to fulfil a development project.
This generally involves using frameworks like React Native, Flutter and Xamarin, and these tools allow developers to write code just once and deploy it across multiple operating systems.
UI/UX design extremely important here, and it’s the job of these outsourcing companies to prioritise intuitive interfaces that respond well to both the devices, and the user base’s expectations.
Backend development and API integration are also important, which involves building the server-side infrastructure to power the app. However, it’s not just about developing the front and back end of an app, but also about testing its performance and keeping up with on-going maintenance. Of course, once launched, resources required for maintenance may be less, which is the very benefit of this staff augmentation setup, as it allows the paying firm to scale down their spending on the service.
The project starts with an initial consultation, where priorities, goals and user demographics are fleshed out and understood. Project managers and development teams collaborate closely, and they begin to plan the project all the way from concept to launch and beyond.
Key Skills Used by Dev Companies
Multiplatform app development may be economical, but it doesn’t come cheap. It requires a diverse skill set, and developers must be proficient in many programming languages in order to cater to such a broad range of client projects.
JavaScript Dart and C# are certainly some of the more common requirements, while React Native and Flutter, along with Ionic are popular choices. It’s much easier to find a talent pool that performs well across these when dealing with such outsourcing firms, compared to the timely and expensive endeavor of recruitment.
A deep understanding of native mobile development is extremely important. Their needs to be proficiency in platform-specific customizations, with responsive design principles remaining core to almost every outsourcing firm’s ethos. This means that the apps adapt to different screen sizes (with more folding phones entering the market, this is even more of a challenge).
Leading Application Development Companies
UxDivers – Application development stands out with its user-centered design philosophy that seems to resonate with a lot of its clients. Ultimately, they prioritize UX and UI, as the name suggests, and believe this is where the battle is mostly fought between competing apps.
Fueled is another well-known developer that has a stacked trophy shelf, winning many industry awards. They cater to both startups and big brands, and specialize in mobile apps and custom software mostly using React Native and Flutter.
Netguru is a large international company that offers a similar service, though perhaps a slightly broader range. This includes web and mobile apps, mostly using React Native and Node.js. Netguru sell themselves as the choice for businesses to scale with technology and are known for their large teams of experts.
Appinventiv is also worth a mention, with its extensive experience and flexibility when it comes to development requirements. They also work on native platforms and particularly focus on innovation and cutting-edge technology.
Which Development Partner is Right For You?
Selecting the right partner is going to be the first difficult decision, and sometimes the most impactful one. This should always begin with careful research, reaching out to them to understand what they can offer, but also examining their portfolio and case studies to see if there are any similar projects to one’s own (it’s not just about which has the higher rating on TrustPilot, but the relevancy of those reviews). Assess their communication skills in the early consultation meetings, and project management will become the key to the project’s success. Make sure they have expertise within your desired stack and framework, and sometimes it’s better to go for the specialists rather than the generalists (but the latter is preferred if the project has scope to evolve into something larger and unknown down the line).
Cultural fit is also a consideration, as the feel of the company’s values should align with yours rather quickly.
Conclusion
Multiplatform development is a complete game changer, but it’s not without its own challenges – particularly when selecting a company to work with. Such outsourcing means you can scale up/down as and when needed, tapping into a specialized talent pool in the process.
