According to Business of Apps, the average cost of developing a digital product ranges from $30 to $72 thousand. These figures may vary depending on the type of project, its scale, and customer needs.
Businesses may be tempted to opt for cheaper software development services to save costs.
It is clear that not every business owner likes the high cost of IT services, so they have a logical desire to save money. But is it reasonable if a high-quality, cost-effective product provides a good return on investment?
Please note that low development costs can later be transformed into high costs for:
Software modernization.
Testing and bug fixing.
Migration of the tech stack.
Developing a project from scratch.
Restoring reputation and customer relationships.
Legal processes.
Therefore, if you save money on the initial development, you may face problems requiring significant investment.
Lampa Software specialists have conducted their own research on the issue of saving money on software development. We recommend reading the material to protect your business from extra costs due to cheap development.
Risks associated with choosing a cheap development option
Saving money makes sense, but not in the case of creating a digital product. A low-cost IT solution can be harmful to a company due to a number of potential risks. For example:
Insufficient level of software security.
Poor architecture and structure of the program.
Poor quality of the product.
Stealing an idea or concept.
Weak UX for the target audience and company representatives.
Lack of potential for scaling and modernization.
This leads to reputational, economic, and legal risks that could destroy a business. In addition, excessive savings can turn into high costs in the future.
The Hidden Costs of Cheap Software Development
The proverb "a miser pays twice" vividly characterizes entrepreneurs who seek to minimize software development costs. They simply do not realize that a low-quality digital product can lead to significant economic problems.
The first investment (directly in development) is only the beginning of financial costs. The lower the quality of the released digital product, the higher the cost of fixing it.
Check out the common issues that arise from over-saving.
Cheap software development may lead to poorly designed and developed software, resulting in technical issues, crashes, and bugs
An MVP release is a milestone for a company. But only if the software meets at least the minimum required criteria. Cheap development can result in your digital product not even working correctly.
Will the software in this state be able to provide at least a return on investment? The question is rhetorical.
Fixing issues can take more time and resources than building the software from scratch, ultimately costing the business more in the long run
Even if a cheap product performs its main functions, it doesn't mean that it doesn't need to be optimized, scaled, or simply updated. This usually results in high costs that could have been avoided.
In the long run, your product will require significant investments; as a rule, the lower the initial development cost, the higher the upgrade costs.
Potential security risks that come with cheap software development
Corporate information is the most valuable asset of a business, ensuring its competitiveness and viability. Cheap development is a risk of leakage or outright theft of data, even ideas or concepts, not to mention commercial evidence, etc.
Therefore, you should not save on development services, especially if you are not confident in the contractor or their technical solutions to protect digital products and corporate information.
The Impact on Productivity and Growth
Cheap development causes not only technical problems. A low-quality digital product is noticeable from afar by its design and, usually, poor ratings with bad reviews in specialized app stores.
When it comes to enterprise software, the cost of an IT solution usually impacts its performance and UX, which is also very important for company employees.
Low-quality development negatively affects everyone who uses a digital product: company employees and users. It also reduces the potential for scaling or modernization. Your business cannot reveal its strengths and grow effectively with a poor IT solution.
You will need to re-implement the technology solution for the company. This means additional costs that almost always exceed the initial investment.
Poorly designed and developed software can negatively impact employee productivity and efficiency, as well as customer experience
According to the Business Of Apps study, about 60% of entrepreneurs invest an average of $5 thousand to $50 thousand in digital product design.
This is not just a whim, as the design, UX, navigation logic, and usability directly affect the quality of software interaction and productivity.
Cheap software may not be scalable or flexible, which can limit the business's growth potential and require costly updates or redesigns down the line
The viability and competitiveness of a digital product directly depend on its scalability, i.e., on the tech stack (frameworks, programming languages, databases, APIs, etc.).
The cheaper the development, the more primitive technologies (usually Open Source) are used. Accordingly, they have less scalability, flexibility, and reliability. This, in turn, negates the long-term prospects of the project.
The Value of Investing in Quality Software Development
Businesses need to present an IT product of the right quality to their target audience as soon as possible. To:
Return on investment through monetization.
Strengthen the impact on the audience.
Take a high position in the target market.
Increase the popularity of the brand.
Make a profit from the sale of goods or services through the software.
Increase the company's scaling potential.
These are the results expected by every entrepreneur who invests in developing their own digital product. The quality of the IT solution typically dashes such hopes if a minimum of funds is invested in it.
On the other hand, high investment in development helps improve software quality and reduces the cost of updating, maintaining, or scaling it. However, the benefits of costly projects do not end there.
Importance of investing in quality software development to ensure a reliable and secure product that meets the business's needs
Quality development is primarily about matching the technical and UX components of the software to the needs of the business and audience. Investing in such a project ensures its competitiveness and viability in the target market.
Working with an experienced and reputable software development company can save businesses time and money in the long run
A reliable partner is the key to the security of your software, corporate information, and brand reputation. That is why, by cooperating with Lampa Software, you get maximum expertise in developing and protecting an IT solution according to the most advanced industry standards.
Examples of businesses that have seen significant returns on their investment in quality software development
Still don't believe in the effectiveness of high-quality development? Look at the examples of successful start-ups that did not spare money on software development services.
Instacart. Invested $2.7 billion, the company's total value is $45 billion.
Grab. Invested $17.7 billion, the company's total value is $40 billion.
Flipkart. Invested $4.9 billion, the company's total value is $38 billion.
These start-ups won investors' trust not only with their ideas and concepts but also with their vision of the future of their digital products. This means they primarily invested in developing high-quality software and its design, UX, and only then in marketing.
Conclusion
Corporate and custom software is the face of a brand. That's why saving on development is considered bad manners among serious market players.
Too low investments in the technical side of development, in design, UX, become a factor in the emergence of various risks:
Problems with software security.
Poor quality of the experience of using programs.
Reputational challenges.
Weak competitiveness.
Poorly implemented functionality.
Lack of potential for scaling or project development.
All this is not the only threat. Task performers may sometimes steal your idea, copyright, or corporate information. This is another reason you shouldn't work with unverified or low-rated contractors.
If you want to create a truly high-quality product for your business needs, use the services of a leading developer, Lampa Software. We aim to create a functional IT solution that meets your needs and establish a long-term partnership based on fruitful collaboration.
Delegate your project to Lampa Software – invest wisely in the future of your business!