Comparing Low-code Platforms

A low-code platform is a family of tools that enables the development and delivery of complete applications visually. A drag-and-drop interface is at the core of low-code platforms that helps both coders/non-coders to build applications faster with limited budget including the development & deployment of applications, unique interface design , seamless integrations and many more with minimal coding. There is a key difference between low-code and no-code platforms i.e. no-code aims to provide all of the intended features and functions but eliminate the need to add or modify components.

9 Principles of Low-code Platforms:

According to Mendix survey, 70 percent of the developers with no programming background learned how to build applications with a low-code platform in just one month or less, and 28 percent learned in just two weeks or less. Gartner estimates that low-code app platforms would account for over 65% of development by 2024.?

There are many low-code/no-code platforms namely ?Microsoft PowerApps, Appian, OutSystems, AWS Honeycode, Salesforce.com Lightning Platform and Google AppSheet etc. We need to understand customer requirement and use cases then map it to the platform features considering cloud ecosystem services for selecting the target platform.

Power Apps:

Power Apps is a suite of apps, services, and connectors, as well as a data platform, that provides a rapid development environment to build custom apps for your business needs. The data platform can be Microsoft dataverse or in various online and on-premises data sources.

Out Systems: OutSystems?is a low-code platform which provides tools for companies to develop, deploy and manage omnichannel enterprise applications.

AWS Honey Code:

Honeycode is a brand new fully-managed low-code/no-code service that gives you the power to build powerful mobile & web applications without writing any code. Developers can build Honeycode apps for managing almost anything, like projects, customers, operations, approvals, resources, and even our team. It ?uses a web-based visual interface, where users drag, drop, and customize parts to build simple apps, much in the same way that a visual webpage builder like WordPress works. Honeycode has two APIs namely "GetScreenData" and "InvokeScreenAutomation" that allow users to programmatically interact with Honeycode apps. The APIs can be used to read, write, update or delete data stored in Honeycode workbooks as users interact with Honeycode apps. External applications also can use the APIs to interact with Honeycode-built applications.

There are three main elements to a Honeycode app:

• Teams?are groups of users made up of both admins and members. Once a user has been added to a team, they can create workbooks and apps and share them with others within their team.
• Rows and tables?are spreadsheets that contain the data used by your app. This data is laid out in rows.
• Workbooks?are the “folder” in which all the pieces of your app are bundled together. Your data tables, app, and any automations applied to your app are stored together within a workbook.

Industry Specific Use Cases:

Criteria for Evaluating a Low-Code Platform:

Reference:

[1] https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powerapps/guidance/planning/app-development-approaches

[2] https://www.andrewdwelch.com/blog/cloud-application-platform

[3] https://datasemantics.co/low-code-apps-hour-innovate-at-speed/

[4] https://www.outsystems.com/evaluation-guide/how-does-outsystems-fit-in-an-enterprise-architecture/