Mobile Engineering

Custom Mobile App Development Services for iOS, Android & Cross-Platform

Vortex provides custom mobile app development services for enterprise workforce and customer apps. We build native iOS and Android apps and cross-platform apps in React Native and Flutter that work offline, distribute through MDM and sign in with your existing SSO. As an enterprise mobile app development company, we plan the release process, device support and integrations along with the app itself.

What We Deliver

What we deliver

A mobile project here includes the app itself, the backend it depends on and the way it reaches devices. We deliver all of it.

Enterprise workforce apps

We build apps for inspection, dispatch, logistics, clinical and retail teams. These people work at the edge of the network, sometimes in gloves, on limited bandwidth or in harsh conditions, and the app has to work reliably there.

Enterprise customer apps

Customer-facing apps cover account management, order management, booking, loyalty programs and customer service. We build them natively or on top of your systems of record and business platforms. This work also includes ecommerce mobile app development, where we build shopping apps for your customers.

Cross-platform apps in React Native or Flutter

Our cross platform mobile app development services use React Native or Flutter when you want one shared codebase that still gives each device an appropriate native experience.

Native iOS and Android apps

We go native with Swift, SwiftUI, Kotlin, Jetpack Compose and related tools when the app needs advanced hardware access, top performance or deep platform integration. For teams looking for an iOS mobile app development company, this covers iPhone and iPad apps built in Swift and SwiftUI.

Mobile backend services

The APIs and backend services are built for mobile from the start. That covers synchronization, push notifications, delta processing and payload design.

Device integrations

Apps can talk to cameras, barcode and RFID scanners, GPS, Bluetooth/BLE, NFC, biometrics, printers and other compatible hardware. For offline and device-heavy apps we define local storage and queued actions first. Then come the sync and conflict rules, the permissions, and the screen a user gets when a scanner drops out or the network is gone.

Enterprise app distribution

We deliver through MDM/EMM platforms such as Intune, Jamf and Workspace ONE, and handle private distribution, enrollment and provisioning.

Legacy app modernization

When users are stuck on a legacy mobile app, we move them to a maintainable replacement and plan the risk and cost of the transition up front.

Problem

Where enterprise mobile goes wrong

Enterprise mobile development is rarely about the app on its own. The hard part starts when the finished product has to work in the field, on mixed devices, for different user groups, against several backend systems.

Offline connectivity

Field technicians, drivers, warehouse workers and clinicians don't always have a stable connection. An app that assumes constant connectivity gets in their way.

Sync conflicts

Working offline means two people can edit the same record before either one syncs. Without a rule for that, one person's work gets overwritten without warning. We design sync logic around your business rules so conflicts are handled on purpose instead of defaulting to last-write-wins.

Identity and access

Enterprise users need stronger authentication than most consumer apps provide. We build around your identity provider. That means single sign-on and session management, plus the device restrictions and entitlements your security and audit teams already require.

Distribution

Enterprise apps often reach users through mobile device management (MDM) and enterprise mobility management (EMM) tools instead of the public app stores. Enrollment, provisioning, distribution and private publishing are all part of getting the app onto devices.

Release velocity

A critical update can take days if it waits on app store review. We support staged rollouts and over-the-air updates so the app keeps pace with your product releases.

The backend

Enterprise apps are usually API- and integration-heavy. Sync efficiency, payload size, caching and backend response times decide how the app performs in the field. When the integrations are the hard part, our API integration services team works on the same build.

Native vs. Cross-Platform Overview

Native, cross-platform or both: when to use each

The best enterprise mobile app development platform is the one that fits the app's hardware needs, performance targets and long-term maintenance plan. We help you pick based on those, and the reasoning goes into the architecture document.

Cross-platform (React Native or Flutter)

Cross-platform works best when the UI is fairly simple, the app is data-driven, both platforms need similar features and a shared codebase helps your team move faster. Many enterprise workforce apps fit that description. React Native is a good fit for these apps, and so is Flutter.

Native (Swift or Kotlin)

Native is the better choice for apps that need deep hardware integration, critical performance or the newest platform capabilities. Some clinical apps and apps with AR or heavy sensor use fall here.

A mix of the two

An app can use native components for specific UI controls or hardware features and build the rest in a cross-platform framework.

Our guide to native vs cross-platform app development covers the tradeoffs in more depth.

How custom mobile app development services run

One team covers the backend, the app, distribution and support, so each step below is handled by the same engineers.

01

Mobile architecture assessment · about 2 weeks

We look at requirements, users, devices and backend readiness, make the platform decision with you, and finish with a delivery plan that has a real number in it.

02

Architecture and planning · 2–3 weeks

This is where the offline data model, sync and conflict rules, identity, API contracts, distribution model and testing approach get decided and written into the delivery plan.

03

Build in two-week increments

We build the app and backend together, in increments you can release, monitor and test on real devices.

04

Device and distribution testing

Automated and device testing with tools such as XCTest, Espresso, Appium, Detox, Firebase Test Lab and BrowserStack. MDM enrollment and private publishing are tested before rollout.

05

Staged release

Whether it goes through the app stores or MDM, we roll the app out in stages so problems surface with a small group first.

06

Support or handover

We maintain the app under a managed services contract, or set up maintenance and update procedures so your team can run it.

How to choose a custom mobile app development company

Other questions worth asking:

  1. Who builds the backend and APIs? For us, the same team that builds the app.

  2. Who owns the code? You own the source code, infrastructure definitions and documentation, subject to the contract.

  3. Can our team maintain it after launch? Yes. We use mainstream technologies with good documentation, or we keep maintaining it for you.

  4. Will the people on the first call write the code? Yes. The engineers who scope the work are the ones who build it.

Technologies We Work With

Technology stack

We choose between mobile app development platforms based on product requirements, infrastructure, device capabilities, security and long-term maintenance.

Native
  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • Objective-C
  • Kotlin
  • Java
  • Jetpack Compose
Cross-platform
  • React Native
  • Flutter
  • .NET MAUI
Backend
  • Node.js
  • Python
  • .NET
  • Java
  • GraphQL
  • REST
Sync
  • WatermelonDB
  • Realm
  • SQLite
  • CRDT-based sync
Identity
  • Okta
  • Microsoft Entra ID
  • Auth0
  • biometrics
  • certificates
Distribution
  • Intune
  • Jamf
  • Workspace ONE
  • App Store Connect
  • Google Play Console
Testing
  • XCTest
  • Espresso
  • Appium
  • Detox
  • Firebase Test Lab
  • BrowserStack

If your existing app is built on modern technologies with a maintainable architecture, we can take over its maintenance and updates.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Discovery and the mobile architecture assessment take about two weeks, and architecture and planning take two to three weeks. The build then runs in two-week increments. The total depends on scope, backend readiness, integrations, security requirements, device constraints, offline behavior, testing and the distribution model, and the delivery plan from discovery gives you the sequence for your app.

Yes. We review the codebase and architecture first and flag any critical stability or performance issues before we change anything.

Yes. We handle app store submission, MDM enrollment, distribution, private publishing and the rest of getting an enterprise app to users.

We use a local-first database and a sync protocol with a conflict resolution strategy. Whether last-write-wins is acceptable is a business decision, so the sync logic is designed around your business rules.

Yes. We set up maintenance and update procedures so your team can support the app after launch, using mainstream technologies with solid documentation. If you'd rather we host and maintain it, that runs under a managed services contract.

Through one of three engagement models: fixed-scope delivery priced by milestone, a dedicated engineering pod billed monthly, or managed engineering billed annually with tiered response targets. In every model you own the code and documentation, subject to the contract, and we can hand the app over to your team.

Yes. Mobile backend services, sync and integrations are part of the same build. For integration-heavy apps, see our API integration services.

What drives the cost of a custom mobile app

These are the questions our estimator asks, because each one moves the number.

  1. The biggest one is how much has to work offline. An app that runs a full shift without signal needs a local database, queued actions and conflict rules. Read-only offline access costs less.

  2. Platform scope comes next: iOS, Android, one shared codebase, or a managed tablet or handheld fleet. Each scanner, printer, BLE or NFC device then adds its own integration and testing work.

  3. Identity and backend readiness are often underestimated. Matching corporate SSO, session rules, device restrictions and entitlements takes real effort, and so does building APIs the app needs when they don't exist yet.

  4. Distribution matters too. A managed MDM fleet, staff-owned phones, the public app stores or a mix of them each change the release work.

Send the scope through the mobile app estimator and you get a range back within one business day.

Estimate

Get a range for your app

About the project

What are we building?
Which platforms? (optional)

The ERP, the scheduling system, the device or scanner — whatever it reads and writes.

Sharing this with someone? Open the standalone Mobile App estimator.

Start with a mobile architecture assessment

The assessment takes two weeks. We cover requirements, the platform decision and backend implications, and you leave with a delivery plan that has a real number in it.