While many businesses are still creating apps that store app data within users’ devices, this technique leaves user information vulnerable to data breaches and limits the types of platforms that are compatible with these apps. Fortunately, there’s a better alternative: cloud hosting.
Mobile cloud traffic has increased from 81% in 2014 to 90% in 2019, according to Statista. This means that more businesses are opting to use the cloud for mobile video and audio streaming, gaming, social networking and more. Moving forward, the percentage of mobile traffic that is not processed to the cloud will be below 10%, where it currently stands, eventually disappearing.
Cloud hosting for mobile apps offers a number of benefits, including reduced costs and improved scalability. In fact, cloud hosting for mobile apps offers so many advantages that it is hard to justify developing apps that are not hosted in the cloud.
Hybrid App Development is Easier
With cloud hosting, it’s easy to develop apps for both iOS and Android devices at a reasonable cost. This freedom prevents the dilemma of deciding which platform to build for and makes it possible to develop a hybrid app that will reach a much wider audience.
Naturally, having your app on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store will bring more users in and lead to higher revenue. Hybrid app development also increases the success rate of your marketing campaigns since you won’t have to worry about alienating part of your target audience. And, since you only have to develop one app that will work on multiple platforms, the development process is cheaper and quicker.
Lower Costs and a Higher ROI
Choosing to host your app on the cloud lowers your costs, not just when developing the app but also after the launch. Without the cloud, you would have to invest in servers, security systems, backup solutions, storage hardware and more. With the cloud, you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank in order to set up an application.
Roughly 18% of apps cost more than $25,000 in maintenance after a year. Cloud hosting can help you reduce this cost greatly because maintenance becomes much easier and more accessible for workers. It’s also much simpler to configure an app in the cloud, which reduces the overhead spent on IT operations.
The power and utilization cost and upfront capital investments are also lower. It’s more costly to keep the servers that power an app running than it is to power the app through the cloud. All this means that less money is necessary to develop a high-caliber app, thus bolstering your bottom line.
Increased Data Security and Reliability
When you store data on users’ devices, an error, security flaw or malfunction within a device can cause the data to be lost or otherwise compromised. Cloud hosting improves mobile security because accessing the cloud offsite through an app protects centralized data from hackers even if the device goes missing.
The cloud also allows users to roll the app back to any moment in time or any specific version. This is a useful tool that makes it easier for users to handle any sort of disaster and reduces the amount of time needed to recover data.
Many apps store sensitive information about their users, including credit card numbers, addresses and other payment information. Your company can better protect your users’ data through the cloud, which ultimately helps to preserve your brand reputation and attract more users. Remember, even a single data breach can irrevocably harm your business’ reputation and cost you greatly in terms of revenue.
Improved Scalability
The ability to scale your mobile app’s servers up and down on demand is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity to compete in the digital era. Because the market is constantly changing, you need to be able to scale your apps to meets these shifting demands.
With legacy systems, this process was quite tedious and expensive. However, the cloud makes it easy to increase or decrease the app’s capacity according to your needs, ensuring that your business is as productive as possible. Thanks to the cloud, you can roll out new features without asking users to update their apps.
Technical difficulties are among the main reasons why users have poor mobile app experiences, and the scalability of the cloud eliminates instances of servers overloading. Similarly, you can save greatly on costs and resources by being able to scale seamlessly.
Why You Should Consider Cloud Hosting for Mobile Apps
When considering whether or not to opt for cloud hosting for mobile apps, the answer is simple. The cloud will help you lower the costs associated with developing and maintaining your app, reduce your time to market, enhance the security and management of your users’ data and scale up or down on demand. Combine all these factors and you have a more successful app than you would when developing an app outside of the cloud, thus improving your brand’s reputation and increasing your profit margins.
If you’re hoping to develop a cloud-hosted mobile app, the first step is finding the right developer. Here at 7T, we specialize in cloud hosting and custom mobile app development. In addition, we provide services related to many cutting-edge technologies, including augmented reality, virtual reality, blockchain and natural language processing.
7T is headquartered in Dallas. However, we are also happy to work with clients in Austin, Houston, and beyond. To discuss your project, please contact us today.