In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, legacy modernization stands out as a crucial process for organizations seeking to remain competitive and efficient. This essay delves into the concept of legacy modernization, its importance, the challenges it presents, and the strategies for successful implementation. By balancing the need to incorporate new technological advancements with the preservation of valuable existing systems, legacy modernization represents a key step in the digital transformation journey of any organization.
Understanding Legacy Modernization
Legacy modernization refers to the process of updating or replacing outdated computer systems, software, or technologies with modern alternatives. This process is not merely about adopting the latest technology; it’s about rethinking how these older systems can be integrated or transformed to meet current and future business needs. It involves a strategic approach to enhance, re-platform, or completely rebuild existing IT infrastructure and applications.
The Importance of Legacy Modernization
Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity: Modern systems are faster, more reliable, and often easier to use, leading to increased employee productivity.
Reduced Costs and Risks: Outdated systems are expensive to maintain and pose significant security risks. Modernization can reduce operational costs and minimize vulnerabilities.
Improved Customer Experience: Modern systems can offer better user interfaces and customer experiences, which are vital in today’s digital-first world.
Agility and Scalability: Modernized systems allow organizations to be more agile in their response to market changes and to scale operations efficiently.
Challenges in Legacy Modernization
Cost and Complexity: The process can be expensive and complex, requiring significant investment in terms of time, resources, and capital.
Compatibility Issues: Ensuring new systems work seamlessly with existing ones can be challenging.
Cultural Resistance: Employees accustomed to legacy systems may resist change, necessitating effective change management strategies.
Data Migration: Transferring data from old to new systems without loss or corruption is a critical and challenging task.
Strategies for Successful Legacy Modernization
Assessment and Planning: Conduct a thorough assessment of current systems and develop a clear modernization plan aligned with business goals.
Incremental Approach: Adopting a step-by-step approach can minimize disruption and allow for adjustments based on feedback.
Choosing the Right Technology: Select technologies that are not only advanced but also compatible with the organization’s needs and future direction.
Focus on Data Integrity: Ensure robust strategies for data migration and integrity throughout the modernization process.
Stakeholder Engagement and Training: Engage all stakeholders in the process and provide adequate training to ease the transition.
Partnering with Experts: Collaborating with technology partners or consultants who have expertise in modernization projects can be invaluable.
Legacy modernization is more than an IT initiative; it’s a strategic business decision that can significantly impact an organization’s operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and competitive edge. While it presents challenges, careful planning, and execution using the right strategies can lead to successful modernization. As technology continues to advance, the ability to effectively modernize legacy systems will become increasingly important for organizations aiming to thrive in the digital era.
In the ever-evolving landscape of software development, the demand for rapid, efficient, and scalable solutions has given rise to the prominence of low-code development platforms. Among the myriad of options available, Mendix emerges as a frontrunner, earning its accolades in the 2023 Gartner Report as a Low-Code Leader. This essay delves into the key factors that position Mendix at the forefront of the low-code revolution.
User-Friendly Interface and Accessibility: One of Mendix’s standout features is its user-friendly interface, allowing both seasoned developers and those with limited coding experience to contribute meaningfully to the development process. The platform’s visual development approach empowers users to drag and drop components, design user interfaces, and define business logic with unprecedented ease. This democratization of application development sets Mendix apart, fostering collaboration between IT professionals and business users.
Agile Development and Time-to-Market: In a world where speed is often synonymous with success, Mendix enables organizations to embrace agile development methodologies seamlessly. The platform’s low-code nature significantly reduces the time required for application development. With pre-built templates, reusable components, and an extensive library of connectors, Mendix empowers developers to iterate quickly, bringing applications from conception to deployment at an unprecedented pace. This agility not only enhances time-to-market but also facilitates swift adaptation to changing business requirements.
Robust Integration Capabilities: Mendix’s prowess extends beyond its internal development environment. The platform excels in integration capabilities, allowing seamless connectivity with existing systems and third-party applications. This flexibility ensures that organizations can leverage their current technology stack while progressively modernizing their infrastructure. The ability to integrate with popular enterprise solutions enhances Mendix’s appeal, positioning it as a versatile tool for a wide range of industries and use cases.
Scalability and Performance: A hallmark of a truly effective low-code platform is its ability to scale with the growing demands of an organization. Mendix excels in this regard, providing a robust foundation for the development of scalable and high-performance applications. Whether an organization is a startup with ambitious growth plans or an established enterprise managing a vast user base, Mendix’s architecture ensures that applications can scale effortlessly to meet evolving needs.
Continuous Innovation and Community Support: Mendix’s commitment to continuous innovation is evident in its regular updates and feature enhancements. The platform actively embraces emerging technologies, ensuring that developers can leverage the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and IoT seamlessly. Furthermore, Mendix boasts a vibrant and engaged community that contributes to the platform’s evolution. This collaborative ecosystem not only fosters knowledge sharing but also serves as a testament to Mendix’s enduring relevance in the rapidly changing tech landscape.
As the 2023 Gartner Report identifies Mendix as a Low-Code Leader, it is clear that the platform has successfully navigated the complex terrain of modern application development. From its intuitive interface to its emphasis on agility, integration, scalability, and continuous innovation, Mendix stands as a beacon in the low-code landscape. Organizations embracing Mendix are not just adopting a development platform; they are joining a movement that prioritizes efficiency, collaboration, and the relentless pursuit of technological excellence.
The rise of low-code development platforms represents a paradigm shift in the way software is built and maintained. These platforms empower individuals with varying levels of technical expertise to create applications, reducing the traditional barriers to entry in the world of software development. One such noteworthy player in this arena is Mendix.
Low-code development refers to the use of visual interfaces and declarative techniques to enable the creation of applications with minimal hand-coding and manual programming. This approach significantly accelerates the development process, allowing organizations to respond rapidly to changing business requirements and market dynamics.
Mendix, as a leading low-code platform, has gained prominence for several reasons. First and foremost, its intuitive visual development environment caters to both seasoned developers and business users with limited coding experience. This democratization of application development fosters collaboration between IT and business units, promoting a more agile and responsive development cycle.
The platform’s drag-and-drop interface and pre-built templates simplify the development process, enabling users to create functional prototypes and full-fledged applications without delving into intricate lines of code. This abstraction of complexity streamlines development, reduces errors, and allows for quicker iterations.
Moreover, Mendix embraces a model-driven architecture, where the application logic is defined graphically rather than through traditional coding. This not only enhances the speed of development but also facilitates easier maintenance and updates. Changes can be made visually, making it more accessible for non-developers to contribute to ongoing projects.
The extensibility of Mendix is another noteworthy feature. While low-code platforms are designed to cater to a broad spectrum of applications, Mendix acknowledges the need for customization. Developers can seamlessly integrate custom code when necessary, striking a balance between speed and flexibility.
Security is a paramount concern in application development, and Mendix addresses this by providing robust security features. The platform incorporates built-in security best practices, making it suitable for developing applications that adhere to strict security standards. This is particularly crucial in today’s digital landscape, where data breaches and cyber threats are ever-present challenges.
In conclusion, the rise of low-code development platforms, exemplified by Mendix, represents a transformative force in the software development landscape. The platform’s user-friendly interface, model-driven architecture, extensibility, and robust security features make it a compelling choice for organizations seeking agility and efficiency in their application development processes. As businesses continue to adapt to rapidly changing environments, the low-code revolution, with Mendix at its forefront, offers a promising avenue for innovation and accelerated growth.
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, digital transformation has become a buzzword that permeates boardrooms and strategy meetings. However, achieving successful digital transformation is more than just implementing the latest technologies; it is a strategic journey that redefines an organization’s culture, processes, and operations. This essay explores the concept of successful digital transformation, its key components, and the factors that contribute to its achievement.
Defining Successful Digital Transformation
Successful digital transformation can be defined as the strategic use of digital technologies to fundamentally change how an organization operates, delivers value to its customers, and remains competitive in a digital age. It goes beyond mere digitization or the adoption of new tools; it requires a holistic approach that integrates technology, people, processes, and a customer-centric mindset.
Key Components of Successful Digital Transformation
Clear Vision and Strategy: Successful digital transformation starts with a clear vision and well-defined strategic objectives. Organizations must have a deep understanding of their market, customers, and competitive landscape. This understanding serves as the foundation for crafting a digital transformation strategy that aligns with business goals and values.
Customer-Centric Approach: Customer-centricity is at the core of successful digital transformation. Organizations need to prioritize enhancing the customer experience, which often involves personalized services, seamless interactions across channels, and quick problem-solving. Collecting and analyzing customer data is crucial for making informed decisions in this regard.
Agility and Innovation: Digital transformation demands agility and a culture of continuous innovation. Successful organizations encourage experimentation, adapt to changing market conditions, and rapidly iterate on their digital solutions. They also foster a culture that embraces failure as a stepping stone to success.
Integration of Technology: The adoption of cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, and cloud computing is a vital component of digital transformation. These technologies can streamline processes, automate tasks, and provide valuable insights to inform decision-making.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Successful digital transformation relies heavily on data-driven decision-making. Organizations need to gather and analyze data from various sources to gain insights into their operations, customer behavior, and market trends. Data-driven decisions enable proactive adjustments to strategies and processes.
Change Management: The human element is often the most challenging aspect of digital transformation. Effective change management involves engaging and empowering employees to embrace new technologies and ways of working. Communication, training, and support are essential components of this process.
Cybersecurity and Data Privacy: As organizations digitize their operations, they must also prioritize cybersecurity and data privacy. Protecting sensitive data and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations are crucial to maintaining trust with customers and stakeholders.
Factors Contributing to Successful Digital Transformation
Strong Leadership: Leadership plays a pivotal role in guiding and championing digital transformation efforts. Leaders must be committed to the transformation journey, set the tone for organizational culture change, and provide the necessary resources and support.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Successful digital transformation requires collaboration across different departments and teams within an organization. Breaking down silos and fostering cross-functional cooperation is vital to achieving seamless digital integration.
Measuring and Monitoring Progress: Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) and regularly measuring and monitoring progress is essential. This enables organizations to track the impact of their digital initiatives, make data-driven adjustments, and ensure they are on the right path.
Continuous Learning: The digital landscape is continually evolving. Organizations committed to successful digital transformation invest in continuous learning and stay abreast of emerging technologies and trends to remain competitive.
In conclusion, successful digital transformation is a multifaceted journey that goes beyond technology adoption. It involves a strategic shift in how organizations operate, engage with customers, and remain competitive. Key components, such as clear vision, customer-centricity, agility, and data-driven decision-making, are fundamental to achieving success. Additionally, strong leadership, collaboration, measurement, and a commitment to continuous learning are crucial factors that contribute to the realization of successful digital transformation. Embracing this transformative journey is essential for organizations seeking to thrive in the digital age.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of modern businesses, the demand for efficient and agile software development has become paramount. Traditional software development methods often require substantial time, resources, and technical expertise, hindering innovation and adaptability. This is where low-code platforms like Mendix step in, offering an effective solution to bridge the gap between business needs and technology. Mendix empowers businesses by enabling them to create sophisticated applications with reduced complexity, faster time-to-market, and increased collaboration between business and IT teams. This essay delves into the reasons why Mendix stands out as an exceptional low-code platform for businesses, providing a comprehensive overview of its benefits and contributions to organizational growth.
Faster Time-to-Market
One of the most compelling advantages of Mendix as a low-code platform is its ability to accelerate the software development lifecycle. Traditional coding requires a significant investment of time and effort to write, test, and deploy applications. Mendix streamlines this process by providing a visual development environment where users can drag-and-drop pre-built components, reducing the need for intricate coding. This results in a dramatic reduction in development time, enabling businesses to launch new applications and features in a matter of weeks rather than months. By expediting time-to-market, Mendix empowers businesses to stay ahead of competitors and respond swiftly to changing market demands.
Ease of Use and Accessibility
Mendix’s intuitive visual interface caters to a broader audience, including business analysts and domain experts, who might not have extensive coding experience. This democratization of application development fosters collaboration between various departments, allowing subject-matter experts to actively contribute to the development process. Business and IT teams can work together seamlessly, ensuring that applications are aligned with business goals and requirements. This accessibility also reduces the burden on IT departments, enabling them to focus on more complex tasks while empowering non-technical users to create and iterate on applications independently.
Reduced Technical Complexity
Low-code platforms like Mendix abstract much of the technical complexity inherent in traditional software development. Complex coding languages and architectural decisions are hidden behind user-friendly interfaces and pre-built components. This approach not only accelerates development but also minimizes the risk of errors that could arise from manual coding. Mendix’s use of visual models allows developers to focus on solving business problems rather than wrestling with intricate technical details. This shift in focus enhances efficiency and ensures that the resulting applications are robust, reliable, and aligned with the business’s needs.
Scalability and Flexibility
Contrary to misconceptions about low-code platforms being limited in scope, Mendix offers considerable scalability and flexibility. It caters to a wide range of application types, from simple departmental tools to complex enterprise-level solutions. Mendix’s architecture allows for the integration of custom code and third-party APIs, providing the necessary flexibility to meet unique business requirements. As businesses grow, Mendix applications can seamlessly scale to accommodate increased workloads, ensuring that the technology can evolve in tandem with organizational needs.
Empowering Innovation
Mendix fosters a culture of innovation within organizations by enabling rapid prototyping and iterative development. With the ability to quickly create functional prototypes, businesses can gather feedback from stakeholders and end-users early in the development process. This iterative approach leads to the creation of applications that better meet user needs and expectations. Moreover, the platform’s support for continuous delivery and integration ensures that updates and improvements can be rolled out seamlessly, allowing businesses to adapt to changing market dynamics swiftly.
Mendix’s effectiveness as a low-code platform for businesses lies in its ability to bridge the gap between technology and business requirements. By offering a faster time-to-market, ease of use, reduced technical complexity, scalability, flexibility, and a culture of innovation, Mendix empowers businesses to develop and deploy applications that drive growth and streamline operations. As the demand for agile and efficient software solutions continues to grow, Mendix stands out as a transformative tool that empowers organizations to remain competitive in the dynamic landscape of modern business.
In the digital age, industries are transforming their traditional operations to keep up with evolving customer expectations. The insurance industry, traditionally known for its paper-based processes and complex procedures, is now embracing digital transformation to enhance the customer experience. By digitizing the insurance customer experience, insurers can streamline operations, improve efficiency, and provide a more personalized and convenient service. This essay explores the numerous benefits that arise from digitizing the insurance customer experience.
Enhanced Accessibility: Digitization brings insurance services closer to customers than ever before. By leveraging digital platforms, insurers can offer self-service options that enable customers to access policies, submit claims, and manage their accounts conveniently. With 24/7 accessibility through websites and mobile apps, customers can obtain information, request assistance, and make transactions at their own convenience, eliminating the need for time-consuming physical visits or phone calls. This enhanced accessibility provides customers with greater control over their insurance needs, leading to improved satisfaction and loyalty.
Streamlined Processes: Digital transformation allows insurers to streamline their processes, reducing paperwork and manual tasks. Online forms, electronic signatures, and automated underwriting processes eliminate the need for physical paperwork, making the application and policy issuance procedures faster and more efficient. Additionally, digitized claims management systems reduce the time and effort required for claims processing, leading to quicker resolutions for customers. Streamlining processes through digitization enhances operational efficiency, reduces administrative costs, and enables insurers to focus on delivering better customer service.
Personalization and Targeted Offerings: Digitization enables insurers to gather and analyze vast amounts of customer data, facilitating personalized insurance offerings. By leveraging data analytics and artificial intelligence, insurers can gain insights into customer behavior, preferences, and risk profiles. This information empowers insurers to tailor insurance products and services to meet specific customer needs, leading to improved customer satisfaction and increased cross-selling or upselling opportunities. Furthermore, personalized digital communication and real-time notifications enable insurers to engage with customers proactively, providing relevant information and assistance when it matters most.
Efficient Customer Support: Digitization offers new channels for customer support, making it easier for insurers to engage with their policyholders. Online chatbots, virtual assistants, and AI-powered customer service tools enable insurers to provide instant and accurate responses to customer inquiries, guiding them through various processes and addressing their concerns promptly. This efficient customer support helps improve customer satisfaction and loyalty by ensuring a seamless and hassle-free experience.
Improved Risk Management: Digitization plays a vital role in improving risk management for insurers and policyholders alike. By leveraging technologies such as telematics, IoT devices, and data analytics, insurers can gather real-time information on risks, enabling them to develop more accurate underwriting models. This data-driven approach allows insurers to offer customized coverage, more accurately assess premiums, and reward customers for low-risk behavior. Moreover, digitization facilitates proactive risk mitigation through predictive modeling, helping policyholders take preventive measures and reduce potential losses.
The digitization of the insurance customer experience offers numerous benefits to insurers and policyholders alike. By embracing digital transformation, insurers can enhance accessibility, streamline processes, personalize offerings, provide efficient customer support, and improve risk management. As customers increasingly expect seamless digital experiences, insurers that invest in digitization will gain a competitive advantage by delivering superior service, fostering customer loyalty, and adapting to the changing demands of the modern insurance landscape. Ultimately, digitization opens up new possibilities for insurers to better meet customer expectations and build strong, lasting relationships in the digital era.
The economic downturns that come with a recession can be tough on businesses. In such times, companies need to find ways to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and maintain productivity to stay afloat. One way to achieve these goals is by implementing low-code development. Low-code development can recession-proof your business by enabling rapid application development, faster time to market, and more efficient use of resources.
Low-code development is a method of software development that relies on visual modeling and configuration rather than traditional coding. With low-code platforms, businesses can develop and deploy applications faster and more efficiently than traditional software development methods. This approach can help companies cut down on costs, reduce the time required to develop applications, and improve the productivity of their development teams.
During a recession, businesses need to be agile and responsive to changing market conditions. Low-code development provides companies with the ability to quickly create and deploy new applications to meet evolving business needs. With low-code platforms, companies can develop applications in a fraction of the time it would take with traditional development methods, allowing them to respond quickly to market changes and maintain a competitive edge.
Furthermore, low-code platforms allow businesses to optimize their resources. Low-code development requires fewer development resources than traditional software development, allowing businesses to allocate their developers more efficiently. Additionally, low-code platforms enable citizen developers, or non-technical users, to build applications, freeing up IT teams to focus on more complex tasks. This allows businesses to get more done with fewer resources, reducing costs and improving overall efficiency.
In times of recession, many businesses are forced to cut back on their technology budgets. With low-code development, companies can continue to innovate while staying within their budgets. Low-code platforms have a lower total cost of ownership than traditional software development methods. The platforms require fewer developers and less time to develop and deploy applications, reducing costs and increasing ROI.
Low-code development is also beneficial for businesses that need to maintain legacy systems. As companies look to modernize their applications, low-code platforms offer a cost-effective and efficient solution. With low-code development, businesses can build new applications that integrate with existing systems, providing a modern user experience while maintaining the functionality of legacy systems.
In conclusion, low-code development can recession-proof your business by enabling rapid application development, faster time to market, and more efficient use of resources. During a recession, businesses need to be agile and responsive to changing market conditions. Low-code platforms provide companies with the ability to quickly create and deploy new applications to meet evolving business needs. With low-code development, businesses can optimize their resources and continue to innovate while staying within their budgets. By adopting low-code development, businesses can emerge from a recession stronger, more efficient, and more competitive.
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If you want to learn more about how low code can help you adopt a successful digital conversion strategy, you can contact BAYPM. However, if you are more interested in learning about the pros and cons of leading low code platforms, check out Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Enterprise low code implementation platforms.
Low-code platforms are gaining popularity in the software development industry as they allow developers to create software applications with minimal coding requirements. These platforms provide a visual interface that enables developers to drag and drop components to create applications, reducing the time and effort required to develop software applications. However, choosing the right low-code platform can be a challenging task for organizations. In this essay, we will discuss how to navigate low-code platform project fit.
The first step in navigating low-code platform project fit is to define the requirements of the project. This involves identifying the business needs, technical requirements, and user expectations. The requirements should be clearly defined and documented to ensure that the low-code platform can meet the project’s needs. The project requirements will determine the type of low-code platform that is required, such as a platform for web or mobile applications, or a platform that can integrate with other systems.
The second step is to evaluate the low-code platforms available in the market. This involves researching the features and capabilities of the platforms, such as the ease of use, scalability, security, integrations, and customization options. It is important to evaluate the platforms based on the requirements of the project, as not all platforms may be suitable for all projects.
The third step is to test the low-code platforms. This involves creating prototypes or proof-of-concepts using the low-code platforms to determine how well they meet the project requirements. Testing the platforms allows developers to identify any limitations or issues with the platform, such as the inability to integrate with other systems or limited customization options. Testing also provides an opportunity to evaluate the user interface and determine if it is user-friendly and intuitive.
The fourth step is to consider the cost of the low-code platform. This includes the licensing costs, implementation costs, and ongoing maintenance costs. It is important to evaluate the costs of the platform in relation to the benefits it provides, such as reduced development time and increased productivity. It is also important to consider the scalability of the platform and whether it can support future growth and expansion of the project.
The fifth step is to consider the support and training provided by the low-code platform vendor. This includes the availability of technical support, training resources, and community forums. The level of support and training provided can impact the success of the project, as it ensures that developers have the resources and assistance they need to use the platform effectively.
In conclusion, navigating low-code platform project fit requires a thorough understanding of the project requirements, evaluation of the available platforms, testing of the platforms, consideration of the cost and support provided by the vendor. By following these steps, organizations can choose the right low-code platform that meets their project requirements and delivers value to their business.
There are a number of excellent benefits that your business can get out of building a mobile application for its needs; whether that be for internal communication, marketing to new clients, or communicating with existing ones.
The objective that the mobile app you are building is meant to fulfill will have a major impact on the type of app you are developing; particularly with reference to its architecture.
In such a situation you have a choice.
You can either build a standalone native app that must be downloaded from an app store and take advantage of the features of a user’s device; or you can opt to build a simpler, more cost-effective and less resource-intensive progressive web app.
In this article, we will explore the differences, benefits and drawbacks of each of these.
This should give you a better idea of which framework would best meet the objectives of your business, no matter what reason you are developing an app for.
Native Apps
Native apps make use of a specific codebase and are developed to be compatible with certain devices that use that framework.
For instance, if a native app needs to be released for both Android and iOS systems, the app will need to be developed for each of those frameworks separately.
This allows the app to take advantage of the hardware and features of that specific device, and also enables it to stand alone as a functional application.
This gives them a number of unique advantages over web apps, but also means that they require specific skill sets to develop, and as such, generally come at a much higher cost than the other two.
Still, if you need to develop an app that is fast, highly functional and complicated, the native approach is generally the best bet thanks to the way they excel in terms of intuitiveness and functionality.
Benefits
From the above description, a few of the top benefits of native apps should start to show themselves.
Let’s take a look at some of the top advantages of choosing native development. These include superior performance, app store support, an enhanced user experience, the ability to use features on the device using the app, as well as higher levels of trust between potential users.
Best Performance
Out of the three approaches mentioned in this article, native apps provide some of the best levels of performance. These builds are generally more stable, reliable and efficient in the way that they use device resources.
This, in turn, creates a more pleasant experience for users but also provides the only viable option for particularly complicated or functional apps.
App Store Support & Discoverability
Because native apps are generally only downloaded from recognised app stores, they are also given more comprehensive support from platforms like the Google Play and iOS App Store.
On top of this, having a presence in these app stores also makes native mobile apps more discoverable than other types, which means that there is a much higher chance of users finding and using it, as opposed to other types that are not hosted on stores, and therefore may need additional marketing to get them into the hands of your potential users.
Smooth & Intuitive User Experience
Because native apps are built using compatible code for specific devices, they are built within a framework that accentuates best-practice guidelines for that specific device.
This means that navigation, usability and functionality all come with a sense of recognisability for users, who will find using the app an intuitive and natural experience without much of a learning curve.
By allowing for a framework that is familiar to your users, these types of apps make them more accessible to users, regardless of the devices they were developed for.
Make Use of Device Features
One of the top advantages to native mobile apps is that in being built with code that is compatible with specific devices, these types of apps are able to make use of the features and hardware on that specific device.
Consider the way Google Maps uses your location through GPS, how Apple Music can send you a notification when your favorite artist releases a new album, or how Instagram can make use of your phone’s camera and apply filters to it.
All of these are examples of how native apps use the functions of a device to provide a unique and seamless experience for users.
App Store Approval Raises Trust
As media consumers, we are all quite a picky lot. If we smell a rat, we are likely to keep our distance. Having native apps listed in the various app stores requires them to first be approved by the stores themselves.
This means that by simply being listed, there is an added layer of trust between the app and its potential users, which means a greater chance of users confidently downloading it.
Drawbacks of Native Apps
Of course, if native apps were just a list of benefits there would be no need for web-based ones. So, let’s have a look at a few of the disadvantages of building native apps.
Requires Experienced Developers
Because each platform that a native app is being developed for differs completely in their coding and frameworks, native apps need to be developed separately for each operating system it is released on.
This means that different developers will need to be used for each platform since each will specialise in a specific coding language.
Even when finding a developer that works across a few Operating Systems (such as Android and iOS), the app will still need to be built independently for each different OS, which can raise the price and time of development substantially.
Higher Cost of Development
Because of the reason mentioned above, and also because of the specialised skill set needed to develop native apps in various forms, these types of apps come at an extra cost to other types.
But when you consider their added functionality and superior performance, this extra cost is worthwhile for apps that need to take advantage of native development.
Not Ideal for Simple Apps
Because of the monetary and time costs of developing native apps, and because they work within a complicated framework of specific coding languages, they are not ideally used for simple apps with limited functionality.
While they can be used for more simplistic apps, the approach isn’t always practical, especially when web apps can facilitate them at less of a cost, and with less time in development.
Web Apps
Now let’s move to an approach on the opposite end of the spectrum, progressive web apps.
These types of apps take a much more general and simplistic approach to development, albeit one that offers far less functionality.
Still, cost-effectiveness and relative ease of development makes web apps ideal for simpler apps.
Web apps are generally used in browsers like Opera or Google Chrome. This is because they are developed using coding languages similarly used for websites like C++ and HTML.
Because of this, web apps only need to be built once. Since web architecture can be used seamlessly across multiple devices, it can be employed to be used on console, PC, Android and iOS all at once; as long as the device using it accesses the app through a browser.
In this way, the app itself is stored on a server rather than a device, from where it is accessed by users when they open the app through a browser. When changes occur on the web app, there is no need to push updates to users’ devices, since the changes will automatically be applied when they access the web app.
It does this, however, while sacrificing on the added functionality of native apps.
Benefits
The fact that they are somewhat simplified doesn’t make web apps worse than native ones. Just different. There are still a number of advantages that they can bring when used in specific situations:
Easy to Use Across Device Types
Because they are developed within a web framework, the same web app can be accessed, as is, across multiple devices, regardless of the operating systems they use.
This means two things: firstly, it means that the app only needs to be developed once, and secondly, it will be able to reach a wider perspective audience.
Less Costly to Develop
Because they are built for the web, these types of apps don’t require as specialized (and rare) a skill as native apps do.
They also only need to be developed for one platform that can be used across devices.
This results in remarkably lower development costs and times when compared to native apps.
No Need for Marketplace Approval
Since these apps behave similarly to websites, they are hosted in the same way as well.
This means that they don’t have to go through the sometimes-lengthy approval process that native mobile apps have to face. This is as true for hosting as it is for when the app needs to be updated.
Because of this, they can be made available to users in much less time than the other types of apps.
Easy to Update
When you update a native app, it needs to be done on the store. At that point, your users will be notified of the update and prompted to do it.
Progressive web apps on the other hand, only need to be updated on the host.
Since these apps are not necessarily downloaded to the device that is accessing it, updated features will show immediately when users access it.
This makes things a lot more convenient for your users, and also gives you more control over which build of the app they are using.
Drawbacks of Web-Based Apps
Limited Use of Device Features
Because web-based apps make use of a C++ framework, they do not contain any of the code that allows the app to take advantage of device-specific features. This means no camera, no GPS and no access to your contacts or storage.
Because of this, web-based apps are only really suited to very basic functions.
Difficult to Collect Usage Metrics
Collecting information on how many users are accessing your apps is straightforward enough with native apps since all of that information is readily available through the respective app store.
Since progressive web apps are hosted independently, that is, away from app stores, getting usage statistics that you can use to improve your services is a little more difficult, and not as detailed or accurate.
Poor Discoverability
Discoverability is also a concern when apps are not hosted on app stores. They will have to be marketed much in the way a website is if you want to attract in users.
This is perfectly fine and well if you are using an app to communicate with existing clients or offering them a service. But when you want your app to build its own success, native apps on stores are far more discoverable.
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If you want to learn more about how low code can help you adopt a successful digital conversion strategy, you can contact BAYPM. However, if you are more interested in learning about the pros and cons of leading low code platforms, check out Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Enterprise low code implementation platforms.
By now, we’re all too familiar with the saying “every company is a software company” but scaling and delivering quality software is — to put it simply — hard: software development complexity keeps growing, with tech stacks constantly changing and new cloud services popping up. Yet, there simply aren’t enough software engineers available in the market: IDC quantified that the shortage of full-time developers is currently 1.4 million people (2021) and that will rise to 4 million people in just 4 years.
At the same time, the revolution of hybrid work and the pandemic acceleration of digital has exploded the backlogs of software dev teams in every industry. These last two disruptions may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back on the old approach for conventional development.
This new reality demands that software engineering leaders must review their 2022 assumptions and make plans to modernize their teams, practices, and tools to address the 4 core pillars of their software engineering:
Developer experience: aiming to reduce technical complexity so that teams can innovate rapidly.
Development workflow automation: removing friction and handovers among all platforms and tools from the different stages of the development lifecycle are integrated holistically.
Security and compliance: developers shift left everything that can be tested during development, and right everything that’s better tested later, making it easier for developers to write secure code.
Deployment and operations: focusing on user adoption to enhance service reliability and performance.
Based on these pillars, we predict 7 software development trends that will be key in 2022 and that software engineering leaders should consider to modernize their dev teams, practices, and tools and achieve their business goals:
DevSecOps
API-led Integrations
Low-code for Pros
Cloud-Native Platforms
DesignOps
Universal Observability
PWA-First
#1: DevSecOps
Security, unfortunately, will continue to be the #1 concern for IT executives and software engineering teams. Between an uptick in ransomware attacks, lack of clear boundaries for organizational data, and increased risk with collaborative citizen developments, the data privacy, and regulatory requirements are threatened more than ever before. This led to an increased demand for DevSecOps, where security and compliance requirements are validated at every step of the development lifecycle.
With this increasing pressure to protect development environments from supply chain security threats and harden software delivery pipelines, we’re seeing CISOs and CIOs gradually preferring to create new web&mobile apps on platforms that manage all stages of app development and delivery for each new app — instead of depending on the non-systematic nature of different people with different practices in secure development.
The ultimate goal is for dev platforms to promote and make it easy for dev teams to create secure code, assuming a Zero Trust security model, instead of relying mostly on security testing methodologies.
#2: Hybrid Integrations
According to The State of SaaS Sprawl in 2021, the average company has 254 SaaS applications but, on average, only 45% of a company’s SaaS apps are being used on a regular basis. Moreover, 56% of all these apps are shadow IT, or owned and managed outside of IT. And the crazy part is to think that goes on top of all the software packages and systems of records they already have to run the core of their business.
The recent furore by business users to deploy RPA over old tools lacking APIs was a shortcut for old systems but not ideal for the fluid nature of digital business making changes all the time. For that agile businesses are using rapid app changes with low-code dev platforms, and the leading ones include these capabilities inside.
Above all, we’re now at a stage where organizations need more than ever to connect in real-time their data management, governance, and auditability across these multiple data sources which begs for more tools in hybrid integrations. The right software dev platforms or dedicated tools allow integrating data from different SaaS and legacy systems for a data fabric used by multiple systems and apps, which is key to supporting business leaders to make data-driven decisions.
“By 2025, 70% of new applications developed by enterprises will use low-code or no-code technologies”.
Low-code doesn’t mean that developers will be replaced by business users (to understand the difference between low-code and no-code take a look at this blog post). Low-code platforms provide abstraction to remove some of that complexity that developers typically face when creating an app or system. And the best ones provide full-stack control for software engineers to have fine-grain control.
The goal is that those repetitive and boring tasks like dependency management, code validation, and automatic builds are done by the platform so that developers can focus on the extra mile that makes the difference, instead of just keeping the lights on.
#4: Cloud-Native Platforms
Still on the SaaS topic, the explosion of niche cloud applications is changing the “build vs buy” economics and timings. That’s because SaaS sprawl is not only exploding the original budgets but also becoming another form of technical debt: jumping among a dozen systems is a poor experience, with business consequences.
To recover business agility in enterprise systems used by customers, partners and employees, it demands a new type of cloud-native app development — one that is highly distributed, scalable, and enables the creation of resilient, fit-to-purpose enterprise apps that increases the agility of the organization.
The explosive growth of the mega vendors’ web services from ~30 five years ago, up to 250 by a single IaaS provider today, is becoming a massive distraction for business developers creating cloud-native applications.
To overcome these challenges, it is key that cloud-native development platforms allow dev teams to remain focused on the value stream management for their digital products, instead of exhausting their engineering talent on infrastructure management alone.
And with tech giants winning the race for scarce specialized engineers, organizations outside that tech elite need to embrace new ways to stay innovative and competitive with their own teams. This means finding technology that allows them to abstract or remove technical complexity and allow their development teams to focus on business outcomes and innovation — like a new crop of Cloud Native Low-Code Platforms.
#5: DesignOps
DesignOps is a tight team sport with close collaboration between design teams and front-end developers (including shared repositories, tools, asset exchange) promoting collaboration across the different product teams within an organization, and ensuring consistency of the product’s experience from the first delivery.
Now, the year 2022 is the first time when IT and app development budgets already reflect the hybrid work reality since both employee and partner experience has become just as critical as the customer experience — for hyperadoption: the broad and frequent use of the applications created to gain business agility.
As organizations are pressured to launch more digital products while meeting user adoption goals, they need to manage design at scale, while minimizing technical and UX debt, bringing DesignOps practices to the center of the stage.
#6: Observability
Going hand-in-hand with DesignOps, engineering leaders should invest in observability for hyperadoption. Combined with new end-user behavior observability and supported on open standards like Open Telemetry for tracing with plans to expand their use for logs and metrics, more digital product teams will aim for user adoption levels that were historically hard to achieve.
#7: PWA-First
Progressive Web AppsPWAs combine the functions of native apps and website accessibility without involving the app stores. Like native apps, PWAs can work offline, send push notifications, and access device hardware, such as cameras or GPS. The user experiences are similar to native apps on mobile and desktop devices without downloading or updating hassles, with great benefit — they run well on top of poor connectivity.
PWAs will regain momentum in 2022 due to their connectivity resilient design and user resistance (to keep piling native apps in their devices). There were already great technical arguments to adopt a PWA-first mindset by developers and software leaders, but the great acceleration to digital experiences is accelerating this change too, because:
From an end user perspective, PWA are easy to use their mobile devices (no app store) and are lightweight.
From a dev perspective, PWAs are way faster to change than native apps, and they are easier to maintain.
For dev teams, unlike native apps, they use one codebase for all devices, they’re searchable by search engines, and they are light.
Get Ready for 2022
So overall, the top software engineering trends we see for 2022 confirm the core of our mission as a company:
“To enable every business to innovate throught software”.
We believe we can’t go wrong in delivering to our customers a platform that keeps removing complexity, addressing the developer experience gap, abstracting the complexity of cloud native development, and, ultimately, enabling our customers to grow faster.
We wish you a successful 2022!
1Breaking out the top of the analysts scale, as you can find out in the first ever “Low-Code Wave” by Forrester in 2016.
