Top app development companies interview: Anthony Main – The Distance

Anthony Main is the Founder and Managing Director of The Distance. This top mobile app development company was founded in 2009 and it is located in York, United Kingdom. The mobile app development company employs 7 people.

Anthony Main was originally a web developer creating bespoke.net based web sites and web apps, but as customer demand shifted towards mobile, so too did his skills. His mobile app development company, The Distance, launched its first app shortly after the release of the first iPhone.

Here’s what Anthony Main had to say about his mobile app development company and the mobile world:

What does your mobile app development company do?

Our name comes from the fact that we’ll go The Distance to make sure every project we take on is completed to the highest levels of quality, and that’s a commitment we take seriously. Our activities are underpinned by following three considerations:

• We are experienced
We’ve been developing apps since the launch of the first iPhone, and our extensive portfolio of brands -including household names and world famous companies- speaks for itself.
• We are specialists
Our apps are built in-house in our York office by a highly specialised staff whose skill sets guarantee quality and excellence are at the heart of each project. Our sole service is native app development on iOS, Android and Windows tablets and phones. Dedicated developers on each platform ensure delivery of the best quality user experience.
• We are here for you
Our team are on hand through every stage of the process to ensure your complete satisfaction. We are a credible and independently stable partner in business; our name comes from the promise we make at the beginning of each client relationship.

What clients have you worked for?

We’ve worked with a wide range of clients, some big and some small, but all of whom we’re proud to be involved with.

• Virgin Trains East Coast
• NHS
• EDF Energy
• Slimming World
• Camden Market
• SafeStyle UK
• Julian Lennon
• FERA
• Astra Zeneca
• Bentley Motors
• Brother
• Public Health England
• Network Rail
• RSPB
• PGA Golf
• OK Magazine

If you had to choose one category, what kind of app do you think is The Distance specialty?

We excel at developing Business/Enterprise apps that help companies streamline their processes increasing efficiency and bottom line profit. Our apps have delivered terrific long term costs savings for many of our clients and we look to help many others in the same way.

What is the average budget of the mobile apps you develop?

£10,000-50,000

Do you develop all mobile apps in house or do you outsource some parts of the process?

All our development is done completely in house in our office in York, West Yorkshire, using our specialist teams. This increases communication ensuring fluidity of projects and reduces risk of cross-platform development differences.

Which would you say are the best mobile apps that your company has developed?

Our work for Virgin East Coast Trains is a key tool in the company’s daily activities. Not only have we helped to improve the staff’s efficiency, but we have also given the management better access to data in to further analyse for continually process improvement.

Our project for Astra Zeneca has proved a key element in making data more available to management staff in a highly visual and interactive format. This allows for more dynamic and accurate decision making process across their various divisions.

The apps we have written for Slimming World have been downloaded almost 3 million times and has a monthly user base of 750,000. The extra value the apps add really helps people manage their weight loss journey.

Do you prefer to build mobile apps with native, hybrid or web languages?

We only develop using native technologies so we can be sure the user has the best possible experience and we can take full advantage of the whole platform SDK, without compromise.

Let’s focus on iOS and Android mobile app development. Which are the Pros and Cons of each platform?

Both are unique and offer different features, iOS tends to lead with regards revenue generation through app purchases whilst Android is a much more accessible due to reduced hardware costs. The Android ecosystem is more open so provides better opportunity for more complicated Enterprise implementations

Which one will evolve more within the next 5 years?

Both platforms will heavily develop however Android’s open source nature will provide wider opportunity for developers. Apple’s focus is mainly on the consumer and not the wider business community.

Which device is the best in the market right now?

I’ve been really impressed with the OnePlus offerings. They off high priced tech at very accessible price points. However, the latest Google Nexus phones are always top in my recommendation list as they offer a pure Android experience on top of reliable hardware.

And which device do you feel more comfortable developing an app for?

Apple ecosystem is limited in its range of hardware so it makes it easier to test all the supported hardware to ensure quality of our output. Apps can be easily refined for each different device type unlike the extensive Android device range.

Why is AppFutura useful to you?

AppFutura looks to define an important place in the app development lifecycle allowing customers to find and connect with suppliers in a competitive yet managed environment.

You can know more about The Distance visiting their AppFutura mobile app development company profile.

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