Developer insight: Setting the global benchmark for app development expertise

The global market for outsourcing is increasingly growing. For a low cost, you can offshore the development of your app to a competent coding team in a faraway destination. The main driver to this is obviously to keep costs down. Getting work from talented offshore developers for a low cost is an alluring proposition for any business and often they can deliver great results.

However, while offshore development teams are able to build exactly what you ask for if you provide them with very specific requirements, their skills don’t often extend beyond coding. In many ways, consultancy, creative thinking and strategic input are far more critical to the success of your app than just the code.

The UK is world renowned in both the creative and digital industries, with a key focus on an end-to-end service, creative design/UI/UX and providing expertise which can’t be matched. Experienced UK-based development teams are comfortable working with modern project methodologies like Agile, which can keep you in the loop and are open to changes in spec mid-project. UK-based project managers are able to more effectively understand your business needs and provide frequent playbacks in person.

Engaging with UK-based development teams can lead to a more value-adding experience. Contributing more than £2bn to sales made on the iOS App Store, Britain is Europe’s most successful nation when it comes to app development. While London is often thought of as the UK’s development hub, other major cities including Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham have also been instrumental in the nation’s development lead. Homegrown talent is generally more well-rounded with knowledge and insights that extend far beyond the area of code.

How can the UK maintain its world-class expertise?

While some of the UK’s largest and most vital industries, including healthcare and hospitality, are struggling with sizable skills gaps, school leavers are setting their sights on developer roles. The most desirable job titles for school leavers in 2018 included app developer, web developer and game developer, according to research from Nominet.

The industry and education now need to support this demand to create the next generation of developers and digital consultants and this will require some specific growth strategies to support these young people as they enter the industry.

Schools have taken steps to give young people access to laptops, iPads or other devices in most classes from the age of seven-plus. This is a great start as using technology early will drive an interest in it, but the introduction of coding and digital literacy classes is taking time. Gone are the days when casual users need to edit HTML on their webpage or use MS-DOS to load programs, so allowing students to get into a “code mindset” earlier will be key.

Young people leaving education and looking for work now are expecting more from their jobs. Flexibility, growth and freedom of expression are pre-requisites in the Google age and these are a few things that help, encourage and support these people to apply for jobs and stay long term. This is key to creating experienced practitioners and maintaining the UK’s position as tech leader. Flexible working and clear personal development are critical to keeping a driven workforce and giving them time to develop into the experts of the future.

Continuing the support

Nurturing talent goes beyond simply developing staff to a required level. Employers need to retain that talent and ensure the development never stops. The Deloitte Global Millennial Survey also found 55% would leave an employer within two years if they didn’t begin to support personal development.

Employers should always provide opportunities to keep learning; at every level of the business. Supporting continued development means the business, the services it offers and the quality at which it delivers will continuously evolve too.

Implementing peer review processes within development teams mean each stage of each project build goes through scrupulous review but this also provides learning opportunities for developers at all levels within the team; continuously exposing them to new aspects of development and project delivery.

It’s in the interest of development businesses to keep nurturing talent. In doing so, they will retain the most talented employees from all backgrounds. This creates a richer team that continually grows stronger. It’s absolutely in the best interest of UK or international businesses to work with British development teams as they will be getting unbridled access to the most insightful, talented and passionate experts in the industry.

Through his previous work at digital agencies, Rob Sandbach has worked with many big brands and organisations in devising and delivering digital experiences. Having worked with Manchester Airport’s first mobile app, TUI Travel’s first social media portal and virtual assistants for Asda and Makro, he has a wealth of experience working with large clients in a results-driven environment.