How to start an app development venture in Middle East

App development is one of the most lucrative ventures globally – and in the Middle East, the domain has chart-busting revenue figures, brand scaling case studies and exemplary startup stories that got acquired by giants. The first reason is the dynamic nature of the middle eastern population: diverse, tech-savvy and high acceptance for technology solutions like mobile apps. Second reason is the availability of tech talent: with a decent budget, you can work with a reputable, full-cycle mobile app development company UAE with teams that are well-versed with emerging technologies like virtual reality, Internet of Things, blockchain, machine learning and business process automation. The barrier to entry is very low – and that’s why there is strong competition and need for strong app marketing. If you are sold on the idea of building and launching a mobile app in the middle east, here is the shortest and simplest guide to walk you through the process. 

Idea validation

There are two key factors to success as an app founder: a brilliant app development idea and strongest development execution. Now there are two options to validate your app idea: first is simple – you book a no-obligation session with a product development strategist at a typical mobile app development firm in UAE. If you like their validation process, and the approach to development, go ahead and sign an NDA. If not, there are hundreds of reputable mobile app developers – and you can work with one that matches your vision and budget. 

The other option is to conduct market research independently before reaching out to a company. Read the trends and analyze the recent updates of your industry. If similar solutions exist, look at their user experience, app’s technology stack and monetization model, differentiation strategies and unique selling points, and identify the gaps that your app can fill. Once you have this homework, it would become easier to find a developer with a portfolio and track record of creating apps like yours. 

Design

After idea validation, you have to map the user journey within the app – look at their motivation to use the app, then create a user flow diagram and list down features you think they’ll need to accomplish their task with the app. This way, you’ll have a list of specific features. Now for each feature create a rough sketch called a wireframe. Then work with your UI/UX designer to create app screen mockups. 

Prototype

Add animations and interactions to the navigation panels and CTA buttons. Make a high-fidelity, clickable prototype and see where the prototype lacks or exceeds expectations. This is where you have to think critically about the user experience – improve, iterate, test and build on. 

Development execution

Once your prototype is done, it’s time to build the features of the application – which we technically call frontend, backend and API integration.

Frontend has the features that your users will directly interact with. Backend is the data storage setup that powers the frontend. APIs are small code snippets and apps that connect the functionality of one app with the other – for example PayPal payment integration and Google Map location integration. 

If you are working with an agile-based mobile app development company, you’ll learn that they typically follow scrum and distribute workload into sprints. Each sprint lasts for 8 to 10 working days, starts with a planning meeting and ends with a review meetup. 

App developers complete the development stage feature after feature and sprint after sprint, all while testing each feature as it develops. With complete development execution and sprint conclusion, the app’s first build is ready for testing.  

Testing

Testing and quality assurance analysts check the app on five fronts: compatibility, performance, user experience, security and functionality. They perform unit and device tests, integration tests, penetration assessments, and user acceptance testing to identify technical and experiential bugs in the app. 

With each bug and crash logged in the error report and testing document, the developers work on fixing the app bug by bug. With the app’s testing and fixing done, the project manager hands it over to the product manager.  

Licensing

After complete development and testing, it’s time to acquire necessary permissions, licenses and certificates to operate. For example, if it’s a healthcare application, app founders typically have to seek a license of HIPAA compliance. This licensing and regulatory phase can take some time during which the app developers also prepare the app for launch. 

Launch 

With licenses submitted, the development team’s specific deployment units work on a pre-launch and launch strategy. This strategy has some part of preparing the app for launch and other part of marketing. 

In the launching document, you’ll find a list of relevant keywords – these are search terms that your potential users search for when looking for apps like yours. You have to utilize these keywords when creating the title, subtitle and description of the app – these go in the listing. Then take visually appealing screenshots of the app’s interface showing the features. Your app can now be submitted for Google Play and App Store approvals. 

Marketing

Now you have deployed and launched the app – but you’ll need to make some extra efforts to acquire users. Go ahead and make a landing page and social media handle for your mobile app. If your mobile app team doesn’t offer web or marketing services, you can hire it from a web developer company in dubai and create a customized website to promote your app. Create a content calendar with at least 15 ideas so you can post consistently. If you need instant user acquisition, consider running ads on Google AdSense. 

Maintenance

 Most mobile app development companies in Dubai offer a FREE post-launch maintenance service and if you had hired your team for full-cycle development, you’ll most likely qualify for one. After conclusion of post-launch maintenance, you’ll need on-going maintenance and app support services to keep your mobile application up and running in good health. In Dubai, total app maintenance services account for less than 9% of the total cost of app development. The service is not expensive compared to the benefits of user experience. 

Conclusion

By now, you have touched the surface of how typical mobile app development ventures kick off and move forward. If you do plan to get your hands dirty, then I would recommend partnering with a mobile app development company that has the technical expertise and niche experience to handle your idea, proven track record of building revenue-ready apps, and a vision to build a sustainable and scalable mobile product.