How do you predict the cost of maintenance for a mobile app?

With the M-commerce revolution well underway, it is crucial for companies to consider various factors that can impact the ongoing expenses of mobile app maintenance. In this article, Bocasay, our offshore IT agency based in Vietnam, provides an overview of all aspects of cost-effective mobile app development.

Let’s begin our exploration with some mind-boggling numbers. According to Grand View Research, on a global scale, the mobile application market size was valued at $228.98 billion in 2023, and it is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14.3% from 2024 to 2030.

The future growth in demand for mobile applications is based on the ubiquity of smartphone devices, global rising internet usage, as well as the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning within contemporary mobile apps.

Is your company looking for cost-efficient mobile app development? Read on to find out how to properly budget for the ongoing costs of mobile application maintenance. 

What is Mobile Application Maintenance?

Mobile application maintenance is the ongoing process of managing, updating and optimizing a mobile app after its initial development and deployment. It involves various activities aimed at ensuring the app continues to perform effectively, remains compatible with evolving operating systems and devices, and meets the changing needs and expectations of users.

Overall, mobile application maintenance is essential for ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of a mobile app. By proactively managing and updating the app, developers can address issues, enhance functionality and deliver a positive user experience, ultimately maximizing user satisfaction, retention and engagement.

Mobile application maintenance typically includes the following key tasks:

Bug Fixing: Identifying and addressing software bugs or technical issues that affect the functionality, performance, or user experience of the app. This may involve troubleshooting, debugging and releasing patches or updates to resolve issues reported by users or detected through testing.

Performance Optimization: Monitoring and optimizing the app’s performance to ensure it remains fast, responsive and efficient. This may involve optimizing code, reducing memory usage, optimizing network requests and improving battery efficiency.

Compatibility Updates: Ensuring the app remains compatible with the latest versions of mobile operating systems (e.g., iOS, Android) and devices. This includes testing the app on new devices and OS versions, making necessary adjustments or updates to maintain compatibility and leveraging new features or capabilities introduced in updated platforms.

Security Enhancements: Implementing security measures to protect the app and its users from potential threats, vulnerabilities and cyber attacks. This may involve applying security patches, implementing encryption, enforcing secure authentication mechanisms and conducting security audits or penetration testing.

Content Updates: Updating the app’s content, such as text, images, videos, or other media, to keep it relevant, accurate and engaging for users. This may involve adding new content, refreshing existing content, or removing outdated or obsolete content.

Feature Enhancements: Adding new features or functionalities to the app to improve its usability, value and competitive advantage. This may include implementing user-requested features, integrating third-party APIs or services and innovating based on market trends or user feedback.

User Experience Improvements: Continuously enhancing the app’s user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) to make it more intuitive, accessible and enjoyable for users. This may involve redesigning UI elements, optimizing navigation flows and incorporating user feedback to improve usability.

Compliance Updates: Ensuring the app complies with relevant laws, regulations and industry standards, such as data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) or accessibility guidelines (e.g., WCAG). This may involve updating privacy policies, obtaining necessary permissions or certifications and addressing legal or regulatory changes.

Key Cost Factors of Mobile Application Maintenance

Predicting the cost of maintenance for a mobile app involves considering various factors that can impact ongoing expenses. Here are some key factors to consider when estimating the maintenance costs:

Complexity of the App: The complexity of your mobile app, including its features, functionality, and integrations, will significantly influence maintenance costs. More complex apps with advanced features may require more frequent updates and bug fixes, leading to higher maintenance expenses.

Platform Compatibility: If your app is available on multiple platforms (e.g., iOS, Android), maintenance costs will increase due to the need to ensure compatibility and consistency across different operating systems and devices.

Third-Party Integrations: If your app integrates with third-party services or APIs, you’ll need to consider ongoing maintenance costs associated with keeping those integrations up-to-date and resolving any compatibility issues that may arise.

User Base and Usage Patterns: The size of your user base and their usage patterns can impact maintenance costs. Higher user engagement may result in more frequent updates and support requests, leading to increased maintenance expenses.

Security Updates: Security is a critical aspect of mobile app maintenance. You’ll need to allocate resources for implementing security patches, addressing vulnerabilities and protecting user data from potential threats.

Operating System Updates: Operating system updates from iOS and Android can impact your app’s performance and compatibility. You’ll need to budget for testing and updating your app to ensure compatibility with the latest OS versions.

Performance Optimization: Over time, you may need to optimize your app’s performance to ensure smooth operation and responsiveness. This could involve code optimization, database tuning and other performance enhancements that require ongoing maintenance efforts.

Bug Fixes and User Feedback: Users may encounter bugs or issues with your app, requiring prompt attention and bug fixes. Additionally, you’ll need to allocate resources for addressing user feedback, implementing feature requests and improving the overall user experience.

Regulatory Compliance: If your app collects and processes sensitive user data, you’ll need to comply with relevant data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA). Ensuring ongoing compliance may require periodic updates and maintenance efforts.

App Store Guidelines: App store guidelines and policies may change over time, requiring updates to your app to remain compliant and avoid rejection from app stores. You’ll need to stay informed about these changes and budget for any necessary updates.

Do you need a partner capable of producing high quality IT development for your company? At Bocasay, our dedicated teams of developers provide cutting edge software solutions for companies around the world. Get in touch to find out how we can help with your next project.