4 Different Types of Software App Support and Maintenance Services

If you have ever worked with a software development partner before, you would have some idea about why it is so important for any sort of software application to be properly maintained. Software applications generally require some sort of upkeep to help them stay up and running. This is the basic idea behind the practice of application maintenance and support. If you are looking for some assistance in your app’s maintenance but are confused about what sort of services you might need, you have come to the right place.

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In this article, we will talk about the different types of application maintenance and support services so you can decide which services you require for your software product. There are four main types of support and maintenance services:

1. Preventative or predictive maintenance
2. Corrective maintenance
3. Adaptive maintenance
4. Perfective maintenance

Before we discuss their types in-depth, let us briefly talk about why support and maintenance services are more important than you may believe them to be.

The Importance of App Support and Maintenance

The rate at which we, as a whole, are making technological progress is truly staggering. Along with the accelerating digital growth, businesses are also fighting tooth and nail to gain and retain the largest possible market shares possible. In this competitive environment, it is critical for businesses that rely on their digital presence to ensure that their software applications continue to provide non-stop value to their users.

Types of Software Maintenance and Support

Let us discuss in a little bit more detail the four main types of app support and maintenance strategies.

Preventative or Predictive Maintenance

Have you ever received a message from any type of service provider about how their services will not be available for a certain time period on a certain date due to “scheduled maintenance activities”? Preventative or predictive maintenance is sometimes also known as scheduled maintenance.

Preventative application maintenance services involve conducting certain maintenance activities that may be routine. They are usually the bare minimum that the app needs in order to stay up and running as per usual. However, being “bare minimum” absolutely does not take away from the importance of this type of maintenance.

All types of software applications require some aftercare. This particular maintenance type is often all about internal caretaking. For example, the developers may want to improve the code base as some new development methods or libraries get introduced a while after the launch of your software product. It could also involve code optimization. Consequently, they would also want to make relevant changes to the corresponding documentation so that it stays updated for future reference.

The main goal of preventative maintenance is to make sure that your software application stays afloat and functional in the long run and to prevent its technical deterioration or stagnation.

Corrective Maintenance

Making sure that an app is behaving in exactly the ways that it was intended to is very crucial. Therefore, you must take appropriate action if your app goes the slightest bit off track.

As its name suggests, corrective application maintenance and support are all about taking corrective actions to fix any issues in your software app. These issues could pertain to the underlying business logic of the app, a design flaw, or broken code. In order to ensure timely corrective action, you need to be aware of any bug reports generated at any point in time. While it is common for these reports to surface when customers encounter problems during their usage of your app, it would be even better if you could identify these areas of improvement internally with regular, routine testing. The steps required to be taken in order to correct such bugs are often implemented as part of small, quick updates to the app.

With efficient application support services paired with timely corrective maintenance, you will be able to let your customers know that you are actively listening to their complaints and grievances and working on improving the quality of your product to give them a flawless experience.

Adaptive Maintenance

The world around us is in a state of constant transition, welcoming the launch of new and evolved technologies, tools, platforms, and devices. It is important for your app to stay functional in line with these changes. Adaptive application maintenance and support services help your app catch up with these advancements and stay relevant to your consumer base across the globe. The aforementioned changes could be related to software updates, hardware changes, progress in cloud technology, the growth of IoT (Internet-of-Things), the constant updates to operating systems, the launch of better, smarter gadgets every year, and much more!

Meeting technological challenges is not the only goal of adaptive maintenance. Another target is to meet changing business requirements or policies. What would happen if a company did a complete overhaul of their accounting system due to a change in the country’s financial regulations? They would not want to completely discard their accounting software. A viable solution would be to make the required changes in the existing system so that it can adapt to the new regulations and business needs.

Perfective Maintenance

Last but not the least, we will talk about perfective maintenance, which, in simple terms, aims to make your software application just perfect!

There are always plenty of ways to make your app do the best that it can. One way to achieve this perfection and maximize its capabilities is to add new features to it. As time passes and your user base grows, you can venture into previously unexplored areas and come up with ways to improve your app and add more meaningful value to it. You can also look into new features by closely following technological trends and keeping an eye on what your competition has been up to.

Another way to add value to your app is to, once again, listen to its users. Your app’s users are priceless sources of feedback regarding its performance. As they use your app, you can monitor their behavior and interaction with your app to figure out the features that they do not care much about, or features that you do not offer but they would like to see in your app. These changes can be addressed with the help of perfective application maintenance services.