Optimize tomorrow today. TM 1 Optimize tomorrow today. Arlene Minkiewicz, Chief Scientist PRICE Systems, LLC Software on the Move Cost Considerations for Mobile Application Development

Optimize tomorrow today. TM Agenda Introduction Historical background Categorizing mobile apps Cost Overview Cost Drivers Conclusions

Optimize tomorrow today. TM Introduction January 2011 IEEE Spectrum puts the Smartphone at the top of its list of top technologies of the decade Proliferation of Smartphones and tables has led to a proliferation of mobile apps Mobile app development presents new and exciting challenges to application developers Mobile apps will become important to many businesses While the industry is still basically in start up mode, it’s not too soon to assess cost drivers and likely costs 3

Optimize tomorrow today. TM Historical Perspective 1983 – Motorola introduces the first hand held cellular phone – Weighed 2.5 pounds – Memory for 30 phone numbers – 10 hours to recharge – Sustain an hour of conversation before recharging 2007 – Apple announced the launch of the iPhone which integrated: – Cell phone – Web browser – iPod – Camera – All the gadgets teenagers (and some of the rest of us) can’t live without 2011 (anticipated) – iPhone 5 is expected to be available with: – Near Field Communication (NFC) technology – Updated OS with cloud integration – Music streaming – Voice interface – Embedded social networking tool – 4G connectivity Similar offerings are abounding from other providers as well 4

Optimize tomorrow today. TM There’s an App for that (or at least there could be) As technology advances it seems there are no limits to what we can do with our phones. Some examples: – Games – Banking – Social Networking – News – Travel and entertainment And the list goes on with new apps emerging every day 5

Optimize tomorrow today. TM Categorizations of Mobile apps By Platform – Apple – Android device – Blackberry Native or web By function types – Basic table driven functionality – Data driven functionality – Games – Device driven functionality – Full dynamic functionality – Custom utility functionality 6

Optimize tomorrow today. TM Cost Overview Data collection not a real priority But much is being written or blogged by both the developers (probably optimistic) and those selling mobile app services (potentially opportunistic) General conclusions – Simple app $10-$20K – Average app $40-$60K – Complex app $100K+ Apple seems generally cheaper to develop for than Android and Blackberry 7

Optimize tomorrow today. TM Cost Drivers Areas where mobile app development is different than traditional software development: – Multiple platforms Literature suggests that developing for more than one platform increases costs by 20 to 50% Compatibility issues when multiple companies are developing hardware Multiple OS’s to support even within a platform – Interfaces External sensors Touch screens GPS Real or virtual keypad 8

Optimize tomorrow today. TM Cost Drivers Areas where mobile app development is different than traditional software development: – App may need to respond to motion of the device – Resource consumption is important – Testing of the application Development environment is not the user platform Emulators and simulators are available but the jury is still out on many of these Sheer magnitude of ensuring successful operation across all possible combinations of hardware, software and carriers – Development Resource availability limited – projects either need to: Pay extra $ for experienced developers Expect to spend extra time and $ for training and learning 9

Optimize tomorrow today. TM Conclusions Mobile app development is still somewhat of a Wild West type activity – technology is new – not a lot of process around many development efforts While mobile app development is similar to other software development in many ways there are new challenges associated with multiple platforms, added complexities, and limited resource availability Mobile apps will increasingly be in demand as: – Technology advances (4G, cloud computing, etc) – Businesses realize the strategic importance of utilizing mobile apps 10

Optimize tomorrow today. TM 11