Irish Development Agencies | Ireland's App Developers
Learn the key factors to consider when selecting an app development partner in Ireland
Audio Version: How to Choose a Mobile App Development Agency in Ireland
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Selecting a mobile app development agency in Ireland
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Table of Contents:
Mobile app development can be complex. From ideation and design to testing and launching in the mobile app stores, there is a lot involved. You should be confident that you are selecting the best partner agency to develop your mobile app. So what are the main considerations to weigh up when selecting an app development agency in Ireland?
Cost
The cost of your app will be determined by how much time is required to develop the app and what the service provider charges for time. For example, if the app will take 750 service hours to develop and the agency charges €50 per hour, the cost of the project will be €37,500.
Irish development agencies operate at a range of price points depending on their delivery models. Some charge lower rates because their delivery teams are based in low-cost economies such as India or Vietnam. Some charge higher rates because all of their staff are based in-house. Others charge mid-scale because they provide some kind of hybrid servicing solution comprised of onshore, nearshore, and offshore resourcing. For indicative purposes, the lower rates can be less than €40/hour, the higher rates above €70/hour, and the mid-scale is between those. These rates tend to be higher in the UK and higher again in the US.
The amount of time that agencies will estimate to develop mobile app products also varies significantly. You need to ensure that your app requirements are well defined so that there is little subjectivity as to what deliverables agencies are actually estimating. For example, “user registration and login” could mean email signup and verification, two-factor authentication, registration and login using Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or LinkedIn profiles, or biometric authentication. The development time for this feature alone could vary from 20 hours to 200 hours.
Quality
As with any industry, there is a broad range of output quality available in the mobile app development trade in Ireland. You should consider what you need to release to the market as your version one to validate your idea and value proposition.
If you are entering an already crowded space in the app market, you will probably need an app that is already better than anything else available to win market share. If you have a completely novel value proposition, a less sophisticated and refined app may be sufficient for launch.
There are ways to check and validate the quality of delivery and client experience of potential app agency partners in Ireland. A starting point is to check out the main international tech services review sites, such as Clutch. Here are other examples:
While some of these review sites go to lengths to ensure that the reviews are valid, as with many review platforms, they are open to abuse. To ensure that reviews are valid and accurate, you can ask agencies for contact details of their recent reviewers. If the reviews are valid, the agency should be prepared to put you in touch with the respective clients.
You can also download some of the agency’s previously built apps for your own personal evaluation.
Communication & Transparency
Depending on your availability, experience, and expectations, you may want to work with an agency that welcomes regular input and feedback. However, you might prefer to be less involved in the project. You should ask candidate agencies what their client communications policies are.
There should be a regular communication plan in place. Otherwise, a mismatch between what is being developed and what you expect can emerge.
Data Security
There are important considerations when evaluating data securities.
Safeguarding your information is important. You should ask what ‘Non-Disclosure’ and’ Intellectual Property’ agreements potential partner agencies have available.
Protecting your app users’ data is also critical, particularly in regulated environments. When you are evaluating any agency’s mobile app development proposals, ensure that robust, scalable, and industry-appropriate data security provisions are included.
Post Development Support
Developing an app is one thing. However, what happens post-development will heavily impact the potential success of your app in the marketplace. Check what agencies provide in terms of after-development bug fixing, submission to the app stores support, and ongoing service level agreements.
Conclusion
Selecting the best agency in Ireland appropriate to your specific requirements to develop your mobile app is crucial to the success of your app project. Consider the quality and cost of what they offer and have previously delivered for others, their communication and security policies, and their post-development support. Each of these elements will impact your business planning, market solution fit, product delivery experience, and probability of success in the market.