Currently, there are approximately 4.5 million mobile applications worldwide, which, according to expert forecasts, will generate around $233 billion for their creators by 2026.
Many companies are considering expanding their business capabilities by developing their own mobile applications. It is important to understand that after the development, launch, and deployment of an application, continuous upkeep will be required.
Only with effective mobile app maintenance services, provided by companies like Lampa.dev, is long-term success achievable. The process ensures that all critical aspects of the mobile application are tested, reviewed, and enhanced to meet the expectations of end users.
It can be concluded that technical maintenance is equally important for the continuous growth of a business and for the satisfaction of its clients. This article will provide more details about effective app maintenance and how it can be implemented.
The Essentials of Mobile App Maintenance
Mobile app maintenance is a specific set of activities and processes aimed at supporting and improving the application after its launch, as well as ensuring its successful operation in the market.
Key principles of technical maintenance:
Monitoring and performance analysis to identify issues such as loading problems, response times, errors, and crashes.
Implementing updates to improve functionality and performance, as well as to add new features.
Compatibility with various iOS and Android versions.
Gathering user feedback for further product enhancements (e.g., through automated feedback forms and other methods).
Ensuring security and data protection during both transmission and storage.
Providing user support in case of questions or technical issues (e.g., via an in-app support feature).
Performance optimization for fast and efficient operation across various devices.
Adapting to operating system changes (e.g., updates to Android or iOS versions).
A reliable strategy is an ongoing process that helps to:
Effective maintenance is a multifaceted and comprehensive approach that includes six types of mobile app maintenance. It also ensures the app remains compatible with updates and software changes.
Types of Mobile App Maintenance
There are six types of mobile application maintenance, each of which is necessary at different times. These include:
Emergency maintenance is used when something in the mobile app stops working, and urgent action is required to resolve the issue. This support is essential for minimizing downtime, as it allows functionality to be quickly restored.
Corrective maintenance is needed to fix defects in the app. These are usually minor bugs that do not threaten the overall functionality of the application but still affect the overall user experience.
Preventive maintenance improves the code to prevent errors. It helps avoid problems before they occur. This includes continuous system monitoring and automated regression testing of the system.
Adaptive maintenance ensures that the mobile application continues to function optimally on the latest technologies. In other words, adaptive maintenance ensures the software product's compatibility with the operating systems on which it will run.
Perfective maintenance is usually based on customer feedback and suggestions. It aims to improve the user experience and the overall value of the app.
Evolutionary maintenance works with a long-term vision and involves processes to add additional modules to the app. This makes it more flexible.
With effective maintenance, all six types are used. Only in this way can long-term success for a mobile app be achieved.
Importance of Regular Maintenance
Regular technical maintenance helps maintain the mobile application in good condition, ensuring stable functionality and uninterrupted operation. It also allows the use of the latest encryption features to achieve maximum security for user data.
Regular maintenance of a mobile application eliminates arising issues and introduces new features and updates to keep up with changing trends in the app market.
Why Mobile App Maintenance is a Must for Businesses
Software products are prone to malfunctions and errors, which can manifest as minor inconveniences or significant functional problems. Regular servicing of a mobile application helps avoid downtime, which could cost a business its reputation and large sums of money. Certainly, it requires a significant portion of the company's budget.
The main benefits of implementing a reliable strategy include:
Ensuring optimal performance of mobile applications.
Ensuring client data security and compliance with legal requirements.
Improving user experience.
Without regular updates and bug fixes, investments in mobile app development will not be protected, and providing a seamless UX and adaptability to the latest technological trends will be impossible.
It provides the opportunity to understand, analyze, and address issues related to the constant change in user behavior and expectations. In other words, the effectiveness of a mobile strategy impacts the relationship between business and customer.
Ensuring Optimal Performance
Planning maintenance helps prevent potential issues and also identifies and quickly resolves any that arise, ensuring a seamless user experience and product reliability.
With an effective strategy, a company can avoid numerous performance issues. Regular support guarantees that customers will not face difficulties when making purchases or transactions.
Additionally, the strategy is important not only for fixing errors, but also for introducing new features and updates. In this way, optimal mobile app performance can be achieved while also enhancing its overall efficiency.
Security and Compliance
Cybercrime is one of the biggest issues companies face worldwide today. Mobile applications, in particular, are one of the most preferred targets, and user data is the most valuable asset for cybercriminals.
Therefore, it is important to adhere to a maintenance schedule in order to implement the latest encryption features for the security of both the app and user data.
Failure to protect sensitive customer information will put the brand's reputation in jeopardy, and the company could also face potential lawsuits.
An effective strategy will ensure timely and up-to-date security updates.
Enhancing User Experience
The most important aspect of a strategy is ensuring that clients are satisfied with the app's performance. Regular updates not only address existing technical issues but also improve the user experience.
If user feedback is ignored, application usage will proportionally decrease. Regular maintenance and release of updates will allow the company's clients to have a positive experience with the app, building their trust. This will make it easier to retain existing users and attract new ones.
Planning Your Mobile App Maintenance Strategy
An effective mobile app maintenance strategy involves utilizing all types of maintenance. However, the first step is planning, which includes three important and sequential steps:
Let’s take a closer look at each step towards building a reliable strategy.
Identifying Maintenance Needs
The priority of maintenance tasks for the app can be determined based on:
Identifying necessary changes, evaluating their importance and urgency helps define the type of maintenance (e.g., bug fixing or preventing errors).
A detailed analysis provides the opportunity to assess prospects and risks, as well as to develop a clear schedule for regular and effective support.
Setting Up a Maintenance Schedule
A schedule is necessary to ensure:
the quality of functionality;
uninterrupted app operation;
timely updates;
prompt bug fixes.
To build this schedule, it is important to know the frequency of required updates and maintenance. This includes emergency bug fixes as well as planning major updates. The schedule should also cover strategies and plans for scaling the mobile app, adding new features, and optimizing performance.
For the strategy to be as effective as possible, regular analysis of user feedback and consideration of their suggestions when planning future updates are essential.
Choosing the Right Maintenance Services
After launching a mobile app, some companies prefer to build their own support team. This option is suitable if the goal is only to periodically fix minor errors in the product.
However, if scaling or adding new features is necessary, this approach is not ideal. An external service provider with the required professionalism is the best choice for companies that want to ensure effective and long-term support for their mobile applications.
Finding the right team can sometimes be a challenging task, as maintenance requires constant attention to the functionality of the product, expertise, and experience in strategy and rapid response. The Lampa.dev team is the perfect choice for businesses that want to see long-term success for their mobile application.
Cost Considerations in Mobile App Maintenance
It is important to understand that a business's reputation directly depends on regular mobile app maintenance. Therefore, the company's annual budget must include the cost of maintenance and its regular updates.
There are two major mistakes a company can make when investing in software product development:
Insufficient financial investment in regular maintenance.
Lack of a plan for future updates to adapt to changing conditions and improve the product.
Ideally, a business should understand the importance and necessity of:
Regular mobile application maintenance (bug fixes, security enhancements, and ensuring compatibility when new versions of iOS and Android are released).
Implementing new features and improvements.
Constant performance monitoring.
If the developed mobile app supports both Android and iOS, then the cost may be slightly higher.
In the first year, expenses for effective business development typically account for 40% of the initial amount invested in the mobile app development process. In the following years, these costs may decrease to 15–25% of the cost of app.
Estimating Maintenance Costs
The total cost of maintaining a mobile app is typically an important indicator of the effectiveness of the maintenance strategy. It involves investments in:
reduced downtime;
increased productivity;
long-term success.
If the cost of the strategy is lower than the losses it prevents, then it is effective and chosen correctly.
The maintenance cost usually depends on:
As practice shows, outsourcing product support significantly reduces the overall cost.
The cost of support also depends on the pricing for app maintenance services of the outsourcing company, as each organization has its own terms of cooperation.
ROI of App Maintenance
Regular maintenance of a mobile app can bring significant financial benefits. Specifically, it can maximize the return on investment (ROI). Maintenance opens opportunities for exploring innovative ways to reduce costs and attract new customers.
For example, planning and promptly addressing accidental errors will help distribute the operational costs of supporting the software product over a longer period. This allows for investment optimization.
How Lampa.dev Can Elevate Your App Maintenance Strategy?
Regular maintenance and an effective strategy are essential for companies that want to remain successful and retain their customers. The business goal is not only to maintain the app's relevance and improve its performance, but also to continuously enhance the user experience.
Lampa.dev offers highly professional mobile application maintenance services of any complexity. The experts on our team have extensive experience in this field and provide clients with a detailed mobile app maintenance plan, ensuring solutions fully align with business goals.
We help improve your business strategy with attention to detail and the use of:
reliable and proven methodologies;
a strict approach to quality control;
a personalized approach to each client.
We are ready to work efficiently with your development team to achieve optimal results for your mobile app's performance.
Want more detailed information about supporting your software product? Contact us immediately. We will gladly answer all your questions.
Partnering with Lampa.dev is your right choice and confidence in tomorrow!