What is the cost of maintaining a mobile application in 2024?
When you don’t have an in-house development team, maintaining a mobile application can result in what are considered hidden costs . In reality, it is a necessity and it is good to know what to expect. We thus refine the dedicated budget, or we launch our application development project with full knowledge of the facts.
What is the cost of maintaining a mobile application in 2023?
Maintenance as a subtle mechanism
Having a beautiful application is good. That it is functional in the long term is better! It is the same with digital services as with the mechanical world: without maintenance, nothing holds. The simple fact that your users can change their phone to new versions will force your application to follow suit. It must remain up to date to remain accessible .
There is a continuous movement there which makes your application this living system deserving much care. And, like any complex mechanic, this requires the intervention of specialists, especially when you want to implement new elements. If many factors come into play, we will do our best to provide you with as many elements as possible here so that you can best estimate the budget that is appropriate to allocate to the maintenance of your application .
The forecast budget for a mobile application
The main parameters that must be kept in mind relate to the complexity of the application, the functionalities implemented in it, the platform on which it is developed, support or updates. To put things a little quickly, each year you have to count around 20% of the initial development cost to ensure maintenance worthy of the name. If you use powerful servers and push notifications , you will need to count on a few dozen additional euros each month. If you use the services of a payment gateway, count on up to 150 euros per month (to which will, of course, be added transaction fees). And the amounts climb like this…
Rely on an IT service provider
The established expression is TMA ( Third Party Application Maintenance ). To put it simply, it is a third-party IT service provider, which can carry out preventive, corrective or even evolutionary operations. Explanations:
Predictive maintenance secures and optimizes the system, updates it, compensates in advance for virus attacks and all kinds of IT problems. It aims for the proper functioning of the mobile application continuously.
Corrective maintenance intervenes on identified failures to bring the application back to an optimal operating state. The stakes are high, because a disruption of the system can significantly impact the user experience.
Evolutionary maintenance responds to technological developments, changing user needs or recent business requirements. New interface, addition of modules, migration to another platform, etc. the activities of this maintenance are the mark of a digital existence in motion. Clearly, it is a necessity in the user loyalty strategy.
Generally, an annual maintenance contract costs between 2,000 and 20,000 euros , depending on the complexity of the application (number of pages, presence of push notifications, offline mode, pdf generation, etc.). A very wide range, therefore, reflecting the wide range of development possibilities.
Entrust maintenance to your development agency
Naturally, the ideal is still to entrust this maintenance of the application to the good care of its creator. Indeed, the mobile application development agency sometimes offers maintenance services to its clients. Thanks to a dedicated technical team , it is available to the beneficiary company and provides solutions so that the application maintains or further increases its efficiency . However, make sure that the maintenance costs are completely explicit before even launching the project. A word of advice: if the information on this subject lacks clarity, turn away immediately!
We understand that application development agencies are not simple interchangeable service providers. It is important to consider yours as a true partner, because this collaboration is intended to last. As long as you rely on the performance of your service, you will also have to rely on the informed and meticulous commitment of your interlocutor . Hence the need to choose carefully in advance, or to seek new expertise in the event of dissatisfaction. Fortunately, there are some excellent agencies out there. Poyesis , for example, arouses enthusiasm among its customers. With a high degree of technical skill, a keen sense of collaboration and exchange, this web and mobile development agency has been able to impose its ways in a competitive sector. Take care of your application and optimize your investment.
