Has the Mobile Application Development Market Reached its Saturation Point? − Hyperlink InfoSystem A little less than a decade ago, when faced with a particularly difficult task, the first thing that we'd want to do is find the nearest computer and look for answers online. It was faster than trying to get relevant answers through your friends, family and even workplace. Even in those days, the biggest source for information. Be it your daughter's engagement, or a children's get together craft party. All you need is to type in a few words, and immediately see the magic happen and you're presented with thousands of helpful suggestions that you can then put to good use. The Internet was indeed, a very powerful thing to happen to the lives of everyone, especially, the general public, that happened and has had a resounding effect on our lives for the past many years. As a matter of fact, it still plays a huge part in everyday lives, powering not only homes and small business to huge network of businesses across the world.
But the scenario these days has been a little different. Instead of being glued to the PC screen, many people today have shifted their focus towards the mobile platform. It's definitely not a surprise why they would though, as mobile phones these days have moved on to become a device that you would call and text your friends and family with, and occasionally pull up a website or play Tetris or Snake on to a full fledged computer on your palm top. High end smartphones today boast of some really impressive specs that would give a decent laptop of about 4-5 years ago, a run for its money.
People now essentially live online. They stay in touch with their near and dear ones through their smartphones or tablets, through video calls and instant messaging. They use it for work, using apps for work that let them be up to date with everything that goes on in a timely and swift manner. They keep themselves entertained through their portable computers, choosing between an innumerable list of movies and high end games that probably won't even be supported by my desktop computer. They even keep track of their health and well being with the help of these apps sometimes paired with external sensors.
These days, the moment you yourself encounter a problem or are faced with one that's been thrown at you, the first thing that you consult is probably your smartphone. Or you are met with, "there's probably an app for that". Which there probably is. This goes to show how long we've come, from being, a few thousands of apps in the app store in totality, with there being not enough skilled developers out there to develop said apps, to now literally millions of apps that are vying for the users' attention and everyone and their grandmother wanting to jump on the bandwagon to develop mobile apps.
So much so that people are now complaining that there are now one too many apps that exist to complete a particular task these days. They're attributing the situation to that of the idiom, "too many cooks spoil the broth". With app stores seeing apps coming in for review in the hundreds per day, it can be said that a majority of these apps are pretty linear in nature. These are the kind of apps that are solely focused on providing one specific service that the user can avail of. The best (or worst?) example of which is, the "Yo" app. All it lets the user do is type one word, "yo" and send it to friends or whoever you want. But that's literally what it does.
The problem though, with apps like this is that they tend to lose their "charm" very quickly. People tend to burn through these in the dozens in a very small time frame, which can be bad for business, especially if you're looking for a solution that is to sustain your work and livelihood. The point I'm trying to make is that the app market, today has been rightly saturated with apps that exist just for the sake of it, without having any real meaning. Of course, this would anger a select few that have even shelled out money for such apps. But looking at this scenario as a whole, has made it pretty competitive and difficult for the developers out there that have put in a huge chunk of their lives to create something that offers layers of value to the customers and is a fairly complex and dynamic existence.
Another way to look at this could be that these developers and publishers have to try extra hard at putting out their content to their target audiences now that just being visible in the app store is simply just not enough. Because, then their app would be trampled by the other dozens of new releases in a matter of hours. Of course, there's the fact that the more number of downloads would boost the apps visibility, but as you can see this has again turned into a viscous circle. In order to get more downloads and visibility, you need more people to see and download your app, which you in turn need to fight for and employee marketing strategies like App Store Optimization, which involves getting a great, attractive write up for the app for the description, a great icon that portrays what the app is all about and other tweaks and tricks that help your app get more visibility in user searches and eventually more downloads; and or promote it via a dedicated website and all the major social networks out there.
Alas, all these activities, can rake up your bill quite a bit, not to mention, take at least a little bit of time to finish. Which would prompt you to actually employee someone to handle all the marketing efforts and then oversee their work. All in all, this point in time can turn out to be a little tense, with the amount of money that's flowing out as compared to the amount that's actually coming in, which would probably be close to zero initially. This again, can be balanced out a little bit if you've chosen
an offshore app development company to work on your project. But even so, many people that travel this route choose to appoint a sort of mediator that manages their development team so that there is timely communication as well as total clarity at the state of how things are working out.
These managers are usually local to where the offshore development team is and so better equipped to handle the team, be it in communicating changes and new requirements, legal aspects or something else. And sometimes, these IT companies are themselves well equipped to handle each and every aspect of their working and deal with all the customer's requirements themselves. This is a good thing because then the client is directly in touch with each and every aspect of development and see for themselves how the work is progressing. Whether deadlines are met or not and how well the modifications and changes are being made.
This is actually the right way to deal with things, which will ensure quality apps would be created that actually offer the user long term service ensuring longevity for itself as well. Offering valuable services means that the user will remain more loyal to the app. Well, until you make an active effort to keep updating the app with the latest features and offer support. A good practice is to have an open mindset and actually listen to what the user has to say. Ultimately, if what they say ends up working for you, it's only going to be a good thing for you monetary wise and will even be a kind of free promotion. Because, anyone, whether it is the user of your app or a reviewer etc. likes the fact that you are open to constructive criticism and are open to take suggestions and actually follow up on them.
It is usually the case that the best apps that have been developed had visionaries that had an active part in their work and always made sure to be a part of what was going on in the process. Keeping a strict lookout for any red flags. These are also the same people that have a strong belief in their app idea, but aren't afraid to make changes and tweaks if the circumstance calls for it. For them, the most important thing is not what or how their app does something or works, is how well it offers its users a great experience and actually manages to add value to their lives in some form or the other. Because, this is the only way to stay ahead of the competition and make sure years down the line, people would still believe in the work that you do and actually want to try out the products and services that you would have to offer then.
Indeed, the biggest thing that would guarantee good returns and an increase in the client base is of course, creating a great product. The product in our case is a mobile app. Now, it is well known that there are different ways to approach this scenario. And the best way to choose what path you want to travel is to look at your requirements. Because, these days there is a rush to adopt the Agile methodology without understanding the whole picture of what it surmises. This is especially true, because investors, developers and everyone else involved are well aware of the fact that the mobile app development market is one that is full of risks and extreme competition. And in times like these, fist mover advantage can be the best thing to happen to the business.
But, you definitely do not want to get out there unprepared and with a half-baked product in your
hands. So, this is where you need to think over what would be the best strategy that should be used to go forth implementing your app project idea. This could even mean you try out Waterfall model for app development. This methodology would be especially beneficial for your project if you are aware of all the specifications for the app and have a good grip over what kind of shortcomings may affect the app and are dealing with a time frame that isn't really flexible.
This highly conventional methodology is best suited for developers that don't really have the time or the freedom to e flexible with the development. Because, the Waterfall method require all to most of the requirements already to be enlisted and communicated with the development team at the very beginning of the project development phase. The client and whoever there is that needs to be consulted for requirements are approached and a blueprint is created and followed through out the entire development period. A point to be noted is that incorporating changes can be a bit of a hassle if this process is followed. Because, this method doesn't really allow the inclusion of changes after the initial stages have been passed.
Which can actually make sense if you are on a tight budget and can't really allow relocating resources and holding meetings to rethink how plans. Disrupting workflows can end up losing money, and the Agile methodology can be a devil in disguise if you don't have the favorable circumstances. You shouldn't choose this method if your clients aren't really hands on about developing the project. And are more inclined to not take charge of each and every aspect of the process. If the project requirements aren't going to change as frequently and as broadly, you wouldn't really need to be on your toes managing and coming up with what the next step would have to be. You need to be aware of the fact that Agile development needs a really hands on efforts from everyone on the team. Team members need to be actively involved in the process and need to be always offering feedback of their process developments, because you see the Agile process requires that the time period be divided into clusters of sprints that are focused on developing the app in bits and pieces and in each step required to collaborate with every team member and make sure everything fits in place. If even at the middle of the sprint, unfavorable results occur then the entire sprint is stopped and new plans are made to remedy the situation so that the required results are met with.
If you think your app needs aggressive expansion and is pretty volatile to the effects of the market and you think that you would need to update various aspects of the development during the duration of a considerable less amount of time, and want to remain open with your needs, then you should look to adopt Agile. And if you're aiming to get a project developed in time and within your boundaries that you set out with when you first started work on the project, then you should definitely look toward Waterfall.
One of the most important aspects prior to starting work on your app development project is wondering really extensively what kind of value your app will be offering its users. As mentioned many times over, the mobile app market is one that is really up to the brink with apps, many a times people employ an offshore application development company to develop a great innovative app and release it to get numerous downloads and a whole lot of support. Seeing the success, and wanting to be a part of something huge, then rogue developers clone these apps making only minor
changes that will get their apps through the review processes and published at the app store. Recalling an incident that a developer shared sometime ago, wherein they had released a countdown to Christmas app that had gotten a decent amount of downloads and made them some good money; people had cloned their app many times over putting their own twist at the project and one person even copied the app description word to word without even changing one single word.
This is the kind of behavior that can be pretty misleading and demotivating for good, talented developers out there that try their very best by putting their sweat and blood on a project only to be ripped off by app store goons. Although unnerving, experiences like these should can end up being off-putting, they shouldn't cause you to strive even harder to come up with a product that's better for the sake of making an impact in the lives of the user. Because, when you look at it, the times that we are living in, are very exciting, that offer us so many perks like the Internet of Things that are really looking to change the way we work and live our lives.
This concept is exceptionally of value to our lives because it has a very important role for our smartphones, which would now transform over to become techno hubs that will let us control and command a wide array of devices and services. From every miscellaneous appliance in your house to everything from navigation to diagnostics of your car. Honestly, the possibilities are endless. So, start thinking up of ideas for the future and you'll definitely be able to find an offshore app development company to do rest of the work!