Why developing a mobile app makes sense for your company
You can develop a mobile app for internal use or as a product that is intended for your customers. Both offer advantages in each case.
Benefits of a mobile app (used by your customers)
- Customer loyalty: With push notifications, exclusive offers and personalized content, you can reach and retain your users very directly.
- User experience: Customers can find everything in the app — contract data, receipts, downloads, etc. No need for another online portal or a call to support.
- Competitive advantage: If your mobile app is good enough and benefits the customer, they will be reluctant to leave this familiar system. You stand out from the competition and become the preferred choice.
Benefits of a mobile app (internal company use)
- Introduction and training: Employees receive instructions, guidelines or training material directly on their smartphones.
- Communication: Teams stay connected, have access to up-to-date information and can always react — even when they're on the go or working at different locations.
- Map processes: Employees can complete tasks more directly, such as managing orders, checking inventories or documenting information directly on site.
- Mobile access to internal systems: Employees securely access internal resources, such as customer databases, ERP or CRM systems, from anywhere.
Types of mobile apps: Development in three levels of detail
Before you dive into mobile application development, it's helpful to know what types of mobile apps actually exist. For your complete overview, we show all variants here — but also describe in more detail when and whether they are useful to use.
Web apps:
Many developments start with a web app.
- They work independently of devices and without installation.
- Subsequent costs for native development are virtually halved by web app development.
Cross-platform apps:
Here, a single code is used for both operating systems (iOS and Android), for example with frameworks such as React Native or Flutter.
- Common, cost-effective development path
- Simultaneous development for iOS and Android
- No double development (as would be necessary for native apps)
- No double maintenance
- Only minor adjustment for the respective store
Native apps:
- Specially developed for eine platform, for example iOS or Android.
- Provide the best performance and full access to all device interfaces (e.g. gyro sensor, LiDAR, etc.).
- Higher or double development costs if you want to natively cover both platforms.
Native development is only an option when the system and business are already running perfectly and the last percentage points need to be optimized. Pure native development is always possible, but remains rather a rarity. The performance of cross-platform apps is already more than sufficient for most requirements.
Real examples of mobile apps and applications
- E-commerce app: Well-known online shops such as Amazon or Zalando rely on native and cross-platform variants so that their shop runs smoothly and the branding is right at the same time.
- B2B: A company may be developing an internal app for the sales team so that all sales figures are immediately available.
- service sector: Restaurants, hair salons and doctors offer online appointment bookings via their app — making appointments clear and automated.
- Lifestyle apps: Fitness or nutrition apps are often hybrid or cross-platform to deliver quick updates and a consistent user experience across all devices.
Tip: Examples of mobile apps that we have developed at Axisbits can be found in our portfolio.
From time to time, there is no sharp limit for the internal use of a mobile app and the use by your own customers. For example, there are several apps in the large building cleaning industry that very broadly Map internal business processes, but also customer access offer. This access allows the client, among other things, to see in real time whether and how many of the service provider's cleaners are currently in the building.
As you can see, the range is huge. Mobile app development depends on which idea you want to implement and what requirements you have. If you already have a project idea And if you would like to discuss them without obligation, feel free to contact us. The better our team understands your idea, the more detailed information we can give you about the duration and price of your mobile app development.
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The duration of mobile app development as well as phases and costs
The time it takes to develop a mobile app depends primarily on four factors:
- Features and complexity: Simple info app vs. complex mobile app with user profiles, payment functions, chat features, etc.
- platforms: web app, iOS, Android, cross-platform
- Design and user experience: Simple design vs. fine-tuning in every element
- Team and resources: Team size, service providers, freelancers, coordination, etc.
Roughly speaking, anything from a few weeks to several months is possible. A detailed description of the factors, development phases and specific information on the duration can be found in our article on Duration of app development.
Practical tips and conclusion
We've put together a few tips for your journey to developing a mobile app:
- Start small: Focus on your app's core features first (MVP approach), collect feedback and develop based on that.
- Established technologies: Use proven frameworks and tools that your team really knows.
- User feedback: Listen to your users and take criticism seriously. The user experience is of paramount importance.
- Plan for the future: Don't just think about the first launch, but also about maintenance and updates — and the time and costs associated with them.
- Get expertise: If the team's own know-how is missing in order to developing an app, find a partner to help you develop.
A mobile app can be a real asset for your company. This applies both to internal use and to an app that you publish as a product.
Mobile app development by Axisbits
On the way to creating their own mobile app, we take every step together with our customers: Starting with planning, defining the range of functions, technical implementation and further development as soon as the app is live. You can find the exact process on our page on custom software.
If you already have a project idea on the table and need advice on how to implement it, get in touch with us. We'll show you exactly how we implement the development of your mobile app. You can find many customer examples in our portfolio.
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