As I discussed in my blog Why Do I Need a Mobile App Maintenance Contract?, signing a Maintenance contract is important because it ensures that your app:
- Gets the fixes it needs in a timely manner if any issues arise
- Stays current and up-to-date
In this blog, I’ll discuss what a maintenance contract typically includes and how much it can cost.
What Can I Get From a Mobile App Maintenance Contract?
Mobile App Support
The specifics of each maintenance contract depend on the agreed terms, but generally you are paying for a slice of resources needed to maintain your app. When major changes (such as a new operating system version) occur, the app maintainers get together to determine how to get the app ready – months before the new operating system is released. This ensures that your app is ready for new changes on day one.
Most customers, though, want a maintenance contract in order to respond to application problems. If something goes wrong with your app, a maintenance contract guarantees that there is a developer ready to respond to the issue immediately.
Regular Mobile App Updates
For mobile apps in particular, the tools and environments that developers use are constantly changing. This means that even a stable app can fail due to environmental or OS changes. Depending upon the support level selected, a maintenance contract can provide you with proactive tracking of your app in response to OS and current industry trends. In fact, with the proper monitoring in place, sometimes the developers can proactively fix issues before your users even notice them.
Proactive updates and improvements can provide a better experience for your users, prevent bad experiences for your users, or even change your app to capture additional market share. Here are some examples of what developers can do for your app:
- Keep the app secure with regular security updates.
- Improve back-end performance to improve user experience.
- Discover new development options to avoid paying the expensive license fees for proprietary functionality.
- Incorporate new hardware and operating system functionality into the application.
- Keep your app fresh and engaging by incorporating current design trends into the style and UI elements.
- Occasionally perform some limited testing in order to ensure the app is still performing as expected (At Segue, your app is put through meticulous Quality Control testing throughout the mobile app development).
How Much Does a Mobile App Maintenance Contract Cost?
The cost of a mobile app maintenance contract varies a lot depending on the specifics of the application. A good rule of thumb is that you should expect to spend 10-20% of the total cost of development as maintenance each year for a well-developed app. However, specific features and functionality of your app may have a significant cost on maintenance. In addition, your contract structure may impact the cost, depending upon whether you negotiate monthly support up to a set number of hours, or if your support is billed as needed. You may be able to reduce your average costs by coming to an agreement for regular support levels vs. trying to pay by the hour.
Investing in a maintenance contract gives you peace of mind that there is someone looking out for your app while It deals with an onslaught of constant change. You will not only have the resources you need at the ready to support your app, but based on your contract, you will be able to see the cost considerations of that support without having to review quotes from vendors at a critical moment for your application.