Large-scale mobile app development challenges

Aside from the unique nature of mobile apps, there are many challenges to be faced when developing them. Among the most common challenges are the following:

• Integrating multiple platforms to create a seamless user experience: Mobile applications often need to be developed for multiple platforms, such as iOS and Android. This can create additional complexity in terms of testing, deployment, and maintenance.
• Monorepos and multiple repositories: When working on large-scale projects, coordination and version control become challenging.
• Adapting the app to different devices and operating systems: Emulators and simulators can be useful for testing, but they can’t replicate the full range of experiences and issues that users may encounter on real devices. This can make it difficult to ensure the quality and reliability of mobile applications.
• Assuring the app is secure and meets security and data privacy requirements: Mobile applications often handle sensitive data, such as personal information and financial transactions. This requires careful management of the security and privacy risks.
• Staying up to date with mobile app trends and technology: In order to develop mobile apps, you need a unique toolset that is constantly evolving. With ever-growing market demands, there are always new technologies for building, deploying, and monitoring performance.
• Ensuring continuous delivery and deployment: Mobile applications need to be updated frequently to fix bugs, add new features, and improve performance. This requires a robust DevOps process that can handle multiple releases per day.
• Integrating with APIs: Mobile applications often rely on external APIs for features such as location tracking, and data storage. These APIs can be prone to change or downtime, which can impact the stability of the mobile application.

As we mentioned in the Mobile DevOps fundamentals previously, since every business has unique investments, goals, and processes, as well as unique processes and goals, developing mobile applications can be a challenge. Here are a few examples of different kinds of mobile apps that we have, and each needs to be explored briefly in order to better understand their purpose.

In light of all of these challenges, there are different kinds of mobile app companies that can develop.

Super apps

A super app is a mobile application that offers a wide variety of services. A few examples of these services include ride-hailing, food delivery, online shopping, and financial services. A super app provides users with a one-stop shop for all their needs, allowing them to access multiple services without having to download and use multiple separate apps.

Asia is a popular region for super apps because they increase user engagement and revenue for companies that offer them:

• Gojek (https://www.gojek.com/en-id/) – An Indonesian super app that allows users to use a wide range of services, such as messaging and payment processing
• Grab (https://www.grab.com/sg/) – An on-demand app that offers food delivery, payments, and other services
• Paytm (https://paytm.com/) – A popular Indian e-wallet and payment app that offers features such as shopping and investing, as well as booking tickets for travel, movies, and events
• LINE (https://line.me/en/) – A Japanese messaging app that also allows you to make payments and book hotel rooms

By providing convenience to users, super apps can enable them to access a variety of services without having to switch between multiple apps. Business owners can generate new revenue and reach new customers through super apps.

White-label apps

The white-label version of an app bears the logo and name of the company that is reselling it, rather than the name of the original developer who created it in the first place. Typically, these apps are customized to meet the specific needs of the company and are then resold to other businesses or clients in order to generate revenue for the company.

As a result, they are recommended as a way for companies to offer their customers a customizable app solution instead of having to invest the time and resources needed to develop an app from scratch, thereby increasing their customers’ satisfaction.

E-commerce is a common example of white-label applications, in which businesses can purchase preexisting software and customize it with their own branding, products, and prices, such as Shopify (https://www.shopify.com/). This allows them to quickly and easily launch their own online store without having to build a platform from scratch.

Additionally, white-label apps are used in healthcare, education, and government. White-label apps, for instance, are used by healthcare providers to schedule and track patients’ treatments, while schools use them to grade and track students’ progress.

Using white-label apps has several benefits, including the following:

• An app that is developed from the ground up can be expensive and time-consuming. Apps with white labels are more affordable and efficient.
• Due to their pre-existing nature, white-label apps can be implemented and launched more quickly than custom-built ones.

Here are a few examples of white-label mobile apps:

• Branded and customized food delivery apps for local restaurant chains
• Hotel or resort-branded booking and reservation apps
• Customized and branded ticketing and event management software for concert and sports venues

Furthermore, developing an app that the target audience will find valuable and engaging, as well as optimizing the app’s features, can be challenging.

Mobile teams can tackle these challenges by implementing best practices such as CI/CD and automated testing. Additionally, they can use tools such as mobile device clouds and test automation frameworks to streamline their processes and improve their mobile applications.

Let’s summarize:

Since mobile app development is unique, DevOps should also be unique.