What is the cost of developing the blockchain apps in 2019?

Blockchain is a smart technology. Everyone is going crazy about it. It permits the digital information to be distributed but not copied. Simply saying, blockchain is a decentralized network. However, it has a great effect on the world.

These days, blockchain is mostly related to the crypto market and the infrastructure associated with it. But, it is not only limited to cryptocurrencies. The scope of application is wider than imagined. There are many different applications for different industries. They help businesses reduce costs, save money and store data.

Blockchain app development platforms

Cost of developing blockchain apps also depends on development platforms. Well! That’s expected. Let’s take a look at the choices for blockchain app development platforms:

· Ethereum: Ethereum is a decentralized platform which runs smart contracts. It facilitates applications which run seamlessly in a pre-programmed way without downtime, censorship, frauds and third-party interference. They are tailor-built blockchain which represents a powerful global infrastructure capable of moving values and represent property ownership.

· Hyperledger: It is developed to augment the cross-industry blockchain technologies. Hyperledger is an open-source platform. It is mostly used to develop advanced blockchain solutions based on loT etc. Hyperledger is a good option for developing blockchain apps for the supply chain management.

· EOS: It aims at delivering smart contract capabilities, decentralized app hosting and enterprise decentralized storage. Hence, it allows apps with top-notch quality in terms of scalability which is missing in the apps developed using Ethereum and Bitcoin. It has amazing capabilities like several commercial-scaled apps, inter-blockchain communication and a well-established system of authentication and execution.

· IOTA: It is an open-source DLT based solution which aims to facilitate swift and secure payment services between devices connected in an IoT network. While using a DAG technology, IOTA provides some of the high-end and distinct capabilities like free transactions, faster confirmation time and unlimited transactions at a single instant. It is considered as one of the most ideal platforms for payment system development.

· Multichain: Multichain is well-known for accelerating the process to build and deploy blockchain apps. It helps enterprises to establish private blockchain networks which can be used effectively by the organization for financial transactions. A simple and easy to use API in collaboration with a command-line interface of multichain helps developers to preserve and set up the chain.

What is the blockchain app development process?

Step 1. Problem identification and goal finalization

The first step of blockchain app development is to clearly define the problem statement. As clear from the name, this stage refers to not only clear up the problem and the requirements in hand but also find out the most feasible solution.

This step includes cost-benefit analysis, internal capabilities, issue identification and risk analysis.

Step 2. Identify the best-suited consensus mechanism

Being a centralized system, blockchain requires network nodes to authenticate the transaction. This process is known as consensus. For instance, bitcoin uses proof of work as a mechanism. It is one of the most popular methods, you can choose from various options-

· Proof of stake

· Proof of elapsed time

· Byzantine fault tolerance

· Federated

· Round robin

· Delegated proof of stake

Step 3. Identify the platform

When you are well aware of the popular platforms for blockchain app development then it is time to choose what fits your concept the best. Some of the factors which closely affect your choice:

· Nature of the platform

· Smart contracts

· Consensus protocol

· Cryptocurrency

· Public or private network

Step 4. Architecture designing

Blockchain solutions can be facilitated via the cloud, in-house or in a hybrid model. You need to select from various hardware and software configurations like processors, operating systems, memory and disk size.

These are required to be considered to ensure that the entire architecture complements the high-level requirements of the blockchain app.

Step 5. Configuring the blockchain app

The configuration of the blockchain app is followed by careful planning due to the presence of critical elements which if configured, would be very tough to alter or modify. Some components include user permission, asset issuance and reissuance mechanism, atomic exchanges, consensus, key management and structure, parameters, signatures, hand-shaking, address formats.

Step 6. API development

Technology includes many pre-built APIs for most of the use cases, you would still need to get in touch with an expert blockchain app development company to take your plan ahead. Some are available as:

· Generating key pairs and addresses

· Executing audit-related functions

· Data authentication and related functions using digital signatures and hashes

· Data storage and retrieval

· Smart contract management and triggers

Step 7. Design of user-facing application

Once you are through with the backend planning and development, then it is time to get UI designed along with the admin console of the app as per user’s needs. Here, you need to figure out front-end programming language, servers and external database for the blockchain app.

Step 8. POC scaling and problem marking

Start from the early stages of blockchain development, applications based on blockchain followed by an MVP development to ensure minimum issues. Scaling would be more beneficial if the MVP model of the app is used for the same. You also need to identify the performance issues, latency, crashes, storage or memory glitches.

How much cost involved in developing a blockchain app?

It is not easy to answer the question directly. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are infancy. It is tough to find the right professionals which can deliver the end product in time. The best way to reduce the development cost of blockchain is to use offshore or nearshore software development services. This process is known as software out-sourcing.

When outsourcing development software, you hire the remote development team with a project manager and a tester. They offer a neat code and have twice lower rates. They charge according to the average hourly.

When it comes to block-chain app development, the most important thing which you need to consider is the budget that you are allotted for it. Blockchain app is important to your business but you also have a budget constraint on it. You need to hire blockchain development services which are skilled and experienced to give you solutions according to your requirement.

The team of experts is very important. To successfully launch a coin in the market, you need a team of advisors in marketing, software developers, cybersecurity specialists and so on. These people will help you search for investors to give credibility to the project. It is also important to find an advisor in cryptocurrencies to guide you through the market. Interaction with your target customers is also critical.

You also need to know how to promote new cryptocurrency and earn a profit. It is also important to tailor the needs of your audience, communicate your benefits, show your competitive edge and so on. That is why you need a marketing advisor who will plan your marketing efforts.

Once the marketing strategy is moulded then you can proceed to the blockchain network development. It will take a month or so for developers to build the network from scratch with C++, Java, Python, Solidity and other technology. There is a difference in what technology to use.

Another aspect is how to make your cryptocurrency legal. Nowadays, the most well-known crypto-currencies face difficult regulation issues all around the globe. That’s why the legal advisor is necessary for every blockchain app development.

Few things that you need to consider while choosing blockchain development company:

· Size of the company

· Development cost as per the industry

· The app’s complexity

· Consensus mechanism

· Platform

· Stack

· APIs

· UI/Ux

· Proof

All these factors will analyze the final cost of your blockchain app. If you do analyze and breakdown the structure of the blockchain app:

· Low complexity blockchain apps

· Medium complexity blockchain apps

· High complexity blockchain apps

Based on what factors do you think the cost of developing a blockchain app depends? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.

Originally published at https://rejolut.com on August 3, 2019.