What is an SDK? (Introduction, Types and Benefits)

“The best application is taken care of from the scratch”.

App developers play with the tools in hand to build a masterpiece. One such toolkit is Software Development Kit (SDK) or devkit that is used to build some high-end platform-specific applications. 

What is an SDK?

SDK aka Software Development Kit is an installable development toolkit that helps app developers create some masterpiece applications oriented to a specific OS platform. If a developer intends to build an iOS application he will use iOS SDK, similarly, for Android App development through JAVA coding needs Java Development Kits.

There are also VMware SDKs to build apps for VMware platforms, for any Windows OS it is .NET SDK framework and Nordic SDK for wireless smart-gadgets.

No matter what OS an app developer targets, a comprehensive SDK will include components like libraries, codes, plugins, documentation, development and runtime environments, drivers, compiler, testing analytics tools, and debugger. It is like assembling the right tools to develop a high-responsive and functioning application.

How does an efficient SDK help your business mobile application?

No one will want to invest in an outdated application right? No matter it’s Android or iOS, and efficient SDK is a base for an advanced and robust application with no technical errors and bugs.

Here is how an efficient SDK benefits your business application: 

1. Integrates Functionalities Faster – An app accomplishes a lot of tasks and has to synchronize with the existing tech stack used by the customer. A pre-coded, tested and proven SDK framework will help integrate the functionalities quickly and simply run quicker and smoother on the intended OS. 

2. Quick Development and Less Time to Market – An app has quite a number of tools, and coding of every single tool is time and effort consuming. This is where the pre-coded and tested SDKs come to our rescue. For instance, a high-end Android application uses more than 15 publically available SDKs. 

Pre-coded SDKs reduce the time to develop, test, and debug the app as a result you are ready with a robust application to compete in a market within a lesser time.

If you are investing your money then your app development company will invest its time and resources and thus there are many functionalities in the app that are custom coded by highly experienced and certified app developers.   

3. Enhances A Brand’s Goodwill – Successful SDKs if integrated into your mobile application will benefit your customers with a quick and personalized user-experience which will ultimately contribute to the goodwill of your brand/business. SDKs are highly responsive to the OS they are specifically designed for.   

4. A Wider Audience Reach – There are around 2.87 million credible apps residing on the PlayStore and 1.96 apps on AppStore. It is quite evident that a high-end robust application selling a demanded product or service will definitely grow in terms of downloads and usage. Among such large traffic on app gateways, it is quite possible for an app to get faded if it is not an outstanding application with the latest tech.    

5. Brand Control and Reduced Risks – If an app possesses a well-built SDK it is more likely to synchronize well with other third-party applications. For instance, your app needs action from Facebook or is integrated with FB it has to give a better user experience for your viewer to remain. Other than that, these SDKs are secured protecting your application from fraudulent activities.    

6. Building Customized Apps – Every app has different goals, purposes, and target audience to serve, a robust Software Development Kit provides the base for customizing the application for personalized use. App developers can build tailor-made tools and functions to justifies the purpose and theme of your business.

The ideal SDK for your mobile application

As said above, an efficient SDK is the base of a robust application as it guides the app developers well. This brings us to judge the worth of an SDK. 

Look up to this checklist to judge the efficiency of an SDK: 

-> Easily Accessible by the developers

-> Scalable

-> Possess absolute documentation explaining the working of each code with example codes.

-> Is not a threat to the OS, CPU, is not battery draining and dataspace consuming.

-> Synchronizes well with other SDKs.

-> Should have small and large libraries

-> Fully Functional

-> Should have multiple APIs for advanced functioning and communication with other apps.

Difference between SDKs and APIs

API is a much smaller term in comparison to SDKs. Let’s differentiate between the two…

Which are the ideal SDKs for your business application?

As discussed above an app needs more than one SDK for functioning. For sure..!! But which SDKs are the best for your business application and how will help you get the best out of your investment.

Let’s dig into the types of mobile app SDKs and how they contribute to your business application: 

1. Attribution SDKs

2. Analytics SDKs

3. Engagement SDKs

1. Attribution SDKs

“You might not want to shoot in the dark”.

There are various marketing strategies a business uses to promote its app, an attribution SDK helps them discover which marketing strategy works best for them and from which platform quality leads are generating. For instance, your users are converting more from ad campaigns then you might want to invest more in the ads.

Top 5 Attribution SDKs

AppStore

(source: appfigures)

Google Play

(source: appfigures)

2. Analytics SDK

This tool is an asset for developers as this helps enhance the functioning of the app as per the customers’ actions. The tool is a go-to utility when it comes to analyzing user actions on the app and is fulfilling the goals and the sales targets of the business.

Top 5 Analytics SDKs

AppStore

(source: appfigures)

Google Play

(source: appfigures)

3. Engagement SDKs

Needless to say, every application needs user engagement and retention in order to flourish in the market, and here comes to limelight App’s Engagement SDKs. This app tool is mandatory for any mobile application to grow as it brings in more impressions to your application increasing the reach of your application.

Top 5 Engagement SDKs

AppStore

(source: appfigures)

Google Play

(source: appfigures)

Conclusion

A business needs a fully-functioning app to compete well in the market, to increase its reach, and to establish its brand’s goodwill domestically and worldwide. Now that you are expecting this much from your application, it is crucial to plan a robust app for your purpose. Here comes the need for powerful and tested SDKs to implement and integrate into your app.

The app development experts from VerveLogic assure you a robust application by integrating the best SDKs along with customized coding to pace with your business goals in 2021.

Our years of experience in developing apps have made our team well-versed with all the potent SDKs and their implementation in the app. Whether you want to build an app, a run-time environment, or analyze your user behavior/engagement on your application our expert minds are here to get to the roots of your requirements and accordingly build a masterpiece for you.