How Will The 2021 Union Budget Affect Mobile App Development?

Highlights Of The Union Budget 2021-22

Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has released the Union Budget 2021-22 recently. It offers strong intentions for reform and the right direction for the financial growth of the country. Here are a few highlights of Union Budget 2021:

According to The Hindu, the Union Budget has doubled the allocation to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to ₹15,700 crores for the next financial year. 

According to Inc42.com, the Union Budget proposes to allocate ₹1500 crore to boost the penetration of digital payments and financial inclusions.

Financial Aspects of The Mobile App Development

There are various financial aspects to be considered in the mobile app development stages. The major ones are discussed below:

1. Requirements

The most important factor in the cost determination of mobile app development is the business requirements. Usually, the clients are not exactly sure of how they want their app to function and this results in the unrealistic estimation of the cost. It is very important to frame all the features and functions of the mobile application.

The client should use the network and contact a good mobile app development company. The developers can analyse the client’s requirements and then begin with the process. They will also provide the client with a reliable budget of mobile app development.

The key framework for fixing the budget can also be given to the client. In the development process, the scalability and complexity should be on a high level, expected ROI on the medium level and timeline and budget flexibility should be on the lowest level. 

These parameters can help fix the client’s budget. He may have to spend some extra amount for high complexity and scalability but that can be balanced by lowering the timeline and budget flexibility.

2. Development Process

Before finalizing the budget for mobile app development, the client needs to have an understanding of the development process. The mobile application development company chosen by him must deliver him some basic information about the process. The basic development process consists of the following steps:

• Research: The client must analyse the digital market and its behaviour. After that, he should list down the features and requirements of the app accordingly.
• Wireframing:  In this stage, the developer will analyse the client’s requirements. The developer will then jot down the technical requirements and work on the prototype.
• App Design: In this stage, the mobile app development company chosen by the client has to start working on the app design. The app will go in for a  review loop many items until finalized by the client. The developers must keep in mind that the design and styling hold and important role in the branding of the client’s business.
• Back-end Development: The development of the back-end should begin with the designing stage. It is equally important to start front-end development after a couple of weeks of back-end development.
• Front-end Development: The developers of the company should begin the front-end development as soon as the design is finalized. The client and the vendor should monitor and collaborate in this stage for completion on time.
• Support and Maintenance: The process of testing is necessary to assure product quality. It is done usually throughout the development process. The client should make sure that the mobile app development company he chooses must provide support and maintenance after the launch of the app. This is a necessity for business satisfaction.

*More details in the section below

3. The Team

The timespan of the process of mobile app development can be approximated by the team size. The number of team members depends on the total number of human resources and their efforts in the development process.

Usually, the top mobile app development companies include the below mentioned members in the development team:

• Designers
• Mobile Developers
• Backend Developers
• Testers
• Web Developers
• Lead Engineers
• Support

Sometimes the mobile app development companies charge according to the experience of the team members. The more experienced team will have a higher cost as compared to the less experienced team. Though, the most experienced ones will offer a smooth development process. Hence, this aspect must also be considered while planning the budget.

4. Solution Type

The cost of mobile app development also depends on its type. The typical characteristics of any mobile app can be divided into the following categories:

• Basic Apps: The cost of development of these apps is less than $15,000. These are simple apps with 5-6 screens and would work even without a network connection. Some examples of these apps are camera, calculator, SMS app, etc.
• Data-Driven App: The cost of development of these apps is around $15,000 or a little bit more. These are not that common today but they still exist. These apps are demonstrated by the ones that consume specific information. For example, calendar, weather, maps, etc.
• Authentication Apps: The cost of development of these apps starts from $60,000. The user authentication apps consist of data collection, storage and analysis steps. These apps are complex but also support push notifications and data syncing. Therefore, the features included in these apps increase the cost of development. For example, Google Drive.
• Social Networking Apps: The cost of development of these apps ranges from $60,000 to $230,000. The social media apps handle a lot of data right from the beginning as social media platforms consist of a lot of information. For the client’s social media app to be successful, the main thing that matters is the number of active users. Therefore, this app requires data servers of high capacity and big data analytics. For example, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
• Ecommerce Apps: The cost of development of these apps ranges from $60,000 to $230,000. Any mobile application that belongs to a business requires money transactions. These apps need integration of standard payment gateway. The apps will need digital wallets like BHIM UPI, Paytm, etc. as well as card/net banking services. For example, Amazon, Flipkart, etc.
• On-Demand Apps: The cost of development of these apps ranges from $70,000 to $80,000. The goal of these apps is to satisfy the user’s requirements. These apps include the functions of ordering, delivering and purchasing, same as E-commerce apps. For example, Uber, Postmates, etc.
• Gaming Apps: The cost of development of these apps starts from $80,000. The gaming apps need high graphics. Therefore, the development of gaming apps involves high designing cost. These apps consist of many iterations as the user experience requires a lot of work. In these types of apps, high budget flexibility is necessary as it is a long-term project. For example, COD.
• IoT Apps: The cost of development of these apps starts from $60,000. These apps require expert assistance. These are also known as hardware-dependent apps as they consist of cutting edge technology. The implementation of the solutions of these apps needs the risk of spending money. For example, Beacons.

5. Right Outsourcing

Before choosing a mobile app development company, the client should do a complete research in order to get the best and trusted results. The best mobile app development companies will provide the client with the best budget and a reliable relationship.

The company should be able to deliver services to various parts of the world. Thus, before picking the client should go through the company’s previous accomplishments and current projects. The client should match his requirements with the company. If the company is found to be reliable, then the client can even ask for some budget adjustments.

Mobile App Development Cost at Different Stages

*As mentioned above

In a mobile app development process, there are 5 stages:

• Pre-Development
• UX/UI Design
• App Development
• App Testing and Deployment
• Support and Maintenance

Most of the vendors begin with their project from the Pre-Development stage, also known as discovery or research phase. The benefits provided by the discovery phase is:

• Cost and time saving
• Validating the requirements
• Goal-based solution
• Covering the risks
• Synchronizing the product with the client
• Prioritizing tasks

These mobile app development phases use the deliverables obtained from the discovery phase. An important thing to do before the actual coding phase is having a visual representation of the idea. The cost of development is proportional to the design complexity, screen count, and other features and complexities.

The functions that are of low complexity cost less like user registration, in-app search, push notifications, etc. The features that are connected to the admin panel like data management, audio/video streaming, etc. are complex and therefore more expensive.

The testing phase makes sure that the product being delivered functions properly and is of good quality. The functionality of the mobile app directly correlates with the cost of development. Ap testing takes 30% of the cost whereas frontend development takes 10%.

How To Build Your App On Budget

If the client has understood the basic idea of budget estimation of mobile app development, below are some recommendations that may help in staying within the budget.

• Prepare: List down the requirements and market analysis for an app idea, target audience and solution.
• Choosing the right company: Select the mobile app development company that has a good portfolio. The company should be experienced in its industry and had given exceptional products.
• Monitoring the rates: The client should analyse development rates on an hourly basis and check if the price-quality ratio is being maintained.
• Start small: Start with developing the first app version
• Simple Design: Use simple and intuitive app designs for the first version
• Product Owner: The client should be as involved as the product owner. The client should monitor the process and give feedback.
• Plan: The discovery stage of the mobile app development process is an important one. The developers should plan every single line of code for better results
• Project Estimate: The client should receive the project materials and the approximate estimate of the budget.
• Scope: The company should not divert itself from the scope of the app.

Conclusion

The estimation of the budget for mobile application development is kind of similar to determining the budget of a household. There is a lot of effect of Union Budget on apps as the client has to be a bit more careful and aware of the happenings around him.

First, the requirements are to be analysed properly. Second, cost estimation around the solutions has to be checked. Third, a list of optimum prices is to be noted down. Fourth, negotiation has to be done with the providers and finally, ideate the budget.