5 Cost-Saving Tips When Hiring an OTT App Development Company
In recent years, streaming movies and TV series have taken off with OTT platforms that are modifying the industry. With Amazon Prime and Netflix on top, the business tycoons have established the scope of OTT platforms. That being said, the interest of entrepreneurs is shifting towards, and they are focusing on building their own OTT app.
In such a case, they often look forward to hiring an OTT application development company with extensive experience in building one. However, the decision to build such an app requires immense capital investment. This becomes a deciding factor for the decision makers, and that brings in the idea of cost-saving measures here and there.
While the investment is huge, the necessity is to focus on how to save money as well while maintaining the OTT app’s quality. There can be multiple things we would suggest in that case. Not hiring freelancers is one of them, as the quality might get compromised. However, there can be multiple other factors that might change at both ends. Since cost-saving is a priority, let us understand why OTT app development can get expensive and then look for spaces where cost-efficiency can be counted in.
Reasons Why OTT App Development Can Get Expensive
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As we mentioned above, OTT apps can be expensive when built from scratch, keeping the industry tycoons in mind. Prior to beginning with the tips, we want you to get an understanding of why those suggestions might assist. Understanding the reasoning for hefty capital investment is imperative when thinking about OTT app development.
1. Multi-Platform Support
From a user’s perspective, an OTT platform that streams on multiple devices is an app worth investing in. Not everyone is going to use the same devices or might match their device preference as per the app.
In that case, the expectation of uninterrupted experience across a range of devices will drive revenue but also requires development across web, mobile, smart TVs, and other streaming devices. This becomes expensive if not chosen the right platform for OTT app development.
2. Streaming Infrastructure and Storage Needs
Offering users an extensive range of content to stream from would be the expectation. However, building an infrastructure for streaming and storage simultaneously costs a lot more than expected.
Storage in the context of file size, content complexity, and other factors can be a defining factor when planning storage. This way, the entire process to streamline the infrastructure and storage needs can be costly.
3. Importance of Planning for Long-Term Scalability
When entrepreneurs plan on building a solution for their OTT app, they focus mostly on future scalability. Reason being that the features and functionalities change with time and needs constant upgrade throughout.
Since that is the vision of decision-makers, it can be expensive in terms of building an app, keeping a futuristic perspective in mind. This way, the entire choice of frameworks and development cost may increase when finding a budget-friendly application development company.
5 Major Tips for Cost Saving When Hiring an OTT Application Development Company
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Considering that we have discussed the reasons why hiring an OTT application development company can be expensive, now is the time to look at the tips. These tips are focused on cost-saving while focusing on the streaming app quality. Since that is the premise, you must take a look at the suggestions that should be your priority when thinking about hiring a company for development services.
1. Clearly Define Your MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
It is often seen that starting small and scaling smart is the approach that saves money and brings forth an OTT app that people are looking forward to. Rather than investing capital in all the features at the same time and not locating the user’s issue with the app functionality, you should go by defining the core functionalities of your OTT MVP.
This way, you can save time, money, and resources with a model that flourishes in the market rather than one that is not preferred by the people.
2. Choose a Company with Pre-Built OTT Frameworks or Reusable Components
Another suggestion that might assist in OTT app development is hiring a company that already has a pre-built framework for the OTT platform. Rather than beginning from scratch, it is always preferable to go for one that can be easily composited with existing video CMS solutions, pre-integrated payment gateways, analytics for video playing, and interface templates.
This way, the cost-saving begins, and the project fastens right from the start for the market. Such an application development company keeps this in mind and brings a cost-efficient quotation.
3. Opt for Cross-Platform Development
As we mentioned above, the multi-device feature is much needed for an OTT app that is convenient for all to use across all platforms. In this case, you can plan on building your app with cross-platform development from an application development company that has a decade-long proficiency in building OTT apps with such frameworks.
You can opt for React Native, Flutter, or progressive web apps (PWA), which reduces development hours as you don’t have to sit for different platform development at different times. This also assists businesses in saving money with a single code working on different platforms.
4. Leverage Cloud-Based Infrastructure from the Start
As we also mentioned above that streaming infrastructure and data storage with on-premise approach is costly. However, when businesses prefer cloud as their content and backend infrastructure, it shifts into a cost-effective solution.
You may ask why. Well, cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP offer entrepreneurs benefits like pay-as-you-go pricing, meaning no upfront and massive capital investment. They also assist in auto-scaling the streaming scenarios as per the active hours and users’ capabilities, causing no lags or buffering. Last but not least, they bring in CDN integrations built into the model for faster content delivery to the OTT apps installed in users’ devices. With an OTT app development company holding expertise in development with cloud infrastructure, you can save money without server-focused problems.
5. Negotiate for post-launch support in the contract
We also have the post-deployment support and maintenance cost which works as an additional but has the probability of getting lowered earlier in the discussion phase. You can ask your service provider to build a contract that consider this fees less and focus on other aspects that are non-negotiable.
Additional Cost-Saving Factors to Focus on When Hiring an Application Development Company
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As we have presented you with the tips that account for the cost-saving, we would also like to bring forth some additional pointers that also influence the cost of OTT app development. These suggestions are dependent on your choice, but they can be of great help if you are planning on bringing a mindful OTT app while focusing on the cost-effective nature.
These are the additional aspects you must consider when you are planning on hiring a company for an OTT mobile app, as they focus on low-key factors that may not appear in the beginning but might cost a lot.
- Consider outsourcing to a region with cost-effective yet skilled talent.
- Invest in UX upfront to reduce rework later.
That being said, we have presented you with every imaginable factor that can be of great use when trying to save cost while building a quality and future-ready app with OTT app development.
Conclusion
As we wind up the bifurcation on how to save cost when hiring an OTT app development company, we hope that our guide assisted you. Consider the service provider as your assistant till the end and make decisions based on data and quality for the future.
