ITP 140 Mobile Technologies. Build vs. Buy

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1 ITP 140 Mobile Technologies Build vs. Buy

2 1. App idea App Development Process 2. User profile 3. App definition statement 4. Design (wireframes, prototype) Functionality layout App icon, color palette, any other images you need for the app 5. Development 2

3 Types of Mobile Native app Specific to the operating system Great if charging for your mobile product Mobile-optimized websites Mobile version of your website Can t integrate with itunes billing Normally free Cross-platform Great for marketing Cross-compiled app Games 3

4 Basic Buckets of Apps Basic table functionality Database driven custom functionality Games Enhancement or modification of the device firmware or hardware This means that you take certain functions of the phone, such as the alarm, camera, or flash, and make it better Example: Camera+ app Fully dynamic apps Rely purely on external information Examples: Twitter, Weather Channel, Flipboard Custom utilities Allowing the user to input content in a specific way Examples: Pages, Adobe Ideas, Numbers 4

5 Simple, Table-based App Hierarchy - opening screen has big topics and you click one and you now have a set of new lists to click on Definitely the easiest to build and design and a good option for businesses who want a simple app that displays basic information Example: You provide all the content, clear direction, and example apps of what you want it to do Cost: $1,000-4,000 5

6 Database App Creatively parsing out content Example: dog breeds Development on this gets more complex and starts to get into whether or not you want the data housed native (built into the app) or dynamic (built into an online web services) you provide every piece of content, image, writing, sound, etc. Cost: $8,000 - $50,000 6

7 Games Largest range of complexity, starting with something as simple as a PONG type functionality all the way up to a 3D physics engine that does high speed air racing Scoring points, incorporating the user experience through the physical movement of the device, and hooking into Game Center are all possible Cost: $10,000 - $250,000 Hardest to ballpark Angry Birds cost ~$125K - $180K to develop 7

8 Additional Includes In-App Purchasing Allows for users to buy new content or full versions of the apps Cost: $1,000 - $3,000 Web Services Update your app with XML files Cost: $1,000 - $5,000 Game Center Cost: $1,000 Share Capabilities Integrate with social media (twitter, facebook), ing, and other APIs Cost: $500 - $1,500 8

9 How much? Infographic A bare-bones app costs $1,500 to $5,000 A decent app costs $10,000 you can just throw in a few graphics and tables here in there and voilà you re ready for the App Store If you re serious about developing an app that actually gives value to its users, expect to spend anywhere from $30,000 to $150,000 for a highquality product You will need to invest in hiring a programmer, testing, and additional costs 9

10 Average Cost of Initial Development A survey of IT professionals was conducted in 2013 by AnyPresence. Over half reported spending more than three months and over $50,000 developing a typical app. Very nearly a quarter reported spending over $100,

11 Calculators We ve now found four different websites designed to estimate the cost of developing an app. They each ask somewhat different questions about your requirements, which can be useful in thinking about what your requirements actually are. We ran an example app through each calculator, answering the questions to represent, best as possible, the kinds of features and complexity we see in our own customers high-end mobile solution requirements. In general this meant we required most but not all available features. 11

12 Otreva App development company Otreva has a calculator site to estimate the cost of developing an app based on features chosen. We entered features that seemed suitable for an enterprise app of the kind our customers typically need, for ios and Android, and the estimate came to over $360,000. Average cost = $218,

13 Tusnua Designs Another calculator is available at Tusnua Designs, who generates an estimate of what they ll charge to create your app for you. We generated an estimate for an ios/ Android app with similar bells and whistles, and the total came to around $300,

14 Kinvey We tried out the app cost calculator at Kinvey, a Backend-as-a-Service company. This time we ordered up a large app with similar features for ios, Android and Windows, and the estimate came out at $321,000. This Kinvey estimate was for the price of building the apps yourself. To be fair, Kinvey also calculated the lower cost of $139,000 to build the app using their own platform. 14

15 Kony Finally, we tried the TCO estimator that MADP company Kony offers to determine the 3-year total cost of ownership of an app. Their estimate came in a little lower at $256,000. Like Kinvey, Kony also suggests the same app would be substantially less expensive ($133,000) on their own platform. cloud/ 15

16 Cost for Design One type of device (such as iphone or one specific Android device) Cost: $500 - $10,000 Add another similar device Cost: add 25% to above cost Add a different kind of device like a tablet (ipad) Cost: add 50% to above cost 16

17 Costs As a general working figure, we can say it costs at least $30,000 to design, implement and deploy a brand-quality native app Mobile web design and development is usually less than the cost of a mobile native app 17

18 Costs A survey of 96 mobile app developers showed the average cost to develop an app was $6,453. Alex Ahlund, former CEO of AppVee and AndroidApps, and later an advisor to Appolicious, wrote a guest blog article about app sales on TechCrunch. The development cost range for small apps is $3,000 to $8,000 and that more complex or recognized brand apps can cost $50,000 to $150,000. This was reported in an article on OS X Daily about iphone Development Costs. The development costs (as compared to design and other costs) range from $12,000 to $150,000 or more. This was reported in an article on PadGadget.com that explored The Cost of Building an ipad App. 18

19 Costs The average app developer in the US charges around $100 per hour, and the time required to code even a simple app quickly pushes the cost up. Types of contracts: Time & materials Fixed-price 19

20 Get Quotes The only sure way to find out what it will cost to get your app idea developed is to get some quotes from experienced app developers. They can discuss the details of your idea with you and give you a pretty good idea of what it will cost. Getting three quotes is helpful as it will give you an idea if a quote is too high (or too low, which can be just as bad). 20

21 Finding a Developer Get multiple bids from experienced app developers. The lowest bid is not always the best or even the cheapest. Ask questions. You want them to have experience in what you need. Check out the developer's website. Check out other apps developed by the developer. Don't pay to train an app developer. 21

22 Ways to Reduce Costs Third-party providers Native wrappers Pick one operating system (OS) / device 22

23 Third-party Providers Consider working with a third-party mobile platform provider that is willing to build and host a mobile app for you on a revenue share basis. These platform vendors typically have template solutions that you can leverage to get to market quickly for little cost. Their offerings normally include the key features that you ll want already built in (e.g., push notifications, sharing functionality, and rich-media advertising). Pay to have the third-party provider only develop the app. 23

24 Native Wrapper Another approach to building an app in a cost-effective way would be to consider rebuilding your website in HTML5 and then placing it in a native wrapper rather than building a pure native app. If it s done wrong, users will see a degradation of app experience in terms of speed and functionality. 24

25 Pick One OS The third cost-effective approach would be to build a native app for only one operating system (e.g., ios). The value of this approach will depend upon both the concentration of your user base and your access to skilled developers, either inhouse or contracted. 25

26 Return On Investment (ROI) Using a conservative estimate of 234 million US adults with mobile phones Type Cost Reach Number of People per $ Mobile Website $30, % Mobile App (iphone only) Mobile App (iphone, Android, Blackberry) $30, % $90, %

27 Continuing Costs after Dev Forrester estimated in 2012 that the average amount spent on a typical customer mobile app ($50,000 to $150,000) turns out to be just 35% of the true twoyear cost. According to the AnyPresence survey, over 80% reported updating their apps at least twice a year and nearly a third were updating at least once a month. An app developed today will need to be updated in the future for changing business processes and for operating system updates. It will need to be ported to any new platforms you want to support. 27

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29 Develop Yourself Need to learn how to code! Take a programming class ITP 165 Intro to C++ Programming ITP 109 Intro to Java Programming CSCI 103 Intro to Programming using C/C++ And take a data structures class ITP 365 Managing Game Data using C++ CSCI 104 Data Structures and O-O Design using C++ 29

30 Native Apps Development OS Programming Language IDE Store ios Objective-C Xcode Apple AppStore Android Java Eclipse Google Play Windows Mobile C++, C# Microsoft Visual Studio Windows Store OS = Operating System IDE = Integrated Development Environment 30

31 ITP Courses ITP 342 Mobile App Development ios apps using Objective-C Available Spring 2015 ITP 341 App Development for Smartphones and Tablets Android apps Available Fall 2015 ITP 382 Mobile Game Programming Cocos2D & Unity Available Spring

32 ios Developer Sites Android Windows Blackberry 32

33 Companies

34 Mobile App Designers

35 Resources figuring-the-costs-of-custom-mobile-businessapp-development 35

ITP 140 Mobile Technologies. Build vs. Buy

ITP 140 Mobile Technologies. Build vs. Buy ITP 140 Mobile Technologies Build vs. Buy 1. App idea App Development Process 2. User profile 3. App definition statement 4. Design (wireframes, prototype) Functionality layout App icon, color palette,