In the mobile technology market, two main categories must be distinguished. So-called “native” technologies chosen by Apple and Google to develop as optimally as possible on their respective operating systems (Kotlin for Android, Swift for iOS) so-called “multi-platform” technologies or “cross-platforms” like React Native or Flutter. These aim to make it possible to deploy your application on iOS and Android from the same codebase and thus reduce development costs by coding only once for both platforms.

• why are development costs being reduced?

Multiplatform has attracted many companies, from startups to tech giants. One of the main arguments in favor of this choice is the reduction in development costs.

1) One team instead of two

When developing an application natively, it is necessary to have a team of Android developers and a team of iOS developers. Each team will work separately, with constraints specific to each operating system. On the other hand, if you want to develop this same application on a multi-platform basis, a single team of developers will be necessary to obtain the same result and to have a mobile application available on iOS and Android. As a result, there will be a need to recruit fewer developers to produce the application with the same level of quality. It should also be noted that this simplifies the organization of the business. For example, Pinterest testifies aboutVelocity increase of its developers, by highlighting the reduced number of meetings and a more fluid sharing of knowledge between developers.

2) Savings on development costs

When working on a digital product, you should not only take into account the initial cost to reach the MVP (Minimum viable product). With market changes or feedback from your users, you will want to adapt your product by creating new functionalities. As your codebase grows, the marginal cost of developing a new feature increases because the code is more complex to handle, and there is a risk of regression. By having a single codebase thanks to the multiplatform, you avoid doubling these evolution costs. For example, Soundcloud, which uses ReactNative, notes that implementing a new feature valid on both stores would have a marginal cost of 10 to 20% instead of 100%. Finally, note that a single codebase mechanically reduces the number of possible bugs, and the time it takes to resolve bugs. And this time saved can represent serious savings in the long run.

3) a step ahead of competitors

Digital technology requires businesses to innovate quickly, and this is reflected in the ability of application publishers to have to adjust their content and release new features frequently. Multiplatform meets this need for speed. This is one of the advantages put forward by Bloomberg, which redesigned its consumer app in 5 months, and considers having Divided its development time by two thanks to React Native. By being sharper than its competitors, thanks to regular releases, this allows you to quickly learn from your market and users, and thus avoid developing functionalities that are sometimes expensive, but ultimately never used, for months.

Finally, we must not forget that thanks to multiplatform, each development has repercussions on both operating systems, without additional effort unlike native development, which can force some teams to favor Android or iOS, then serving some of its users or depriving themselves of conquering a potential market. When redesigning its application, Walmart explains that they chose React Native, which meets this Time-to-market challenge by allowing them to deploy their evolutions simultaneously. In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, Walmart was able to adapt to new constraints in a few days, for example, by adding a contactless payment functionality on their app.

• How much are development costs reduced?

There is no scientific measure on the issue. After working on a hundred products, and following the exchanges that we were able to have within communities of native and multiplatform developers, we estimates that gaining an average of 40% development speed with multi-platform software compared to native software.

Are you wondering which technology to choose for your project? Contact us ?