Low-code Hall of Fame: Mendix

Nowadays, the demand for digital transformation among businesses of all levels and industries spikes so dramatically that traditional development practices usually fail to offer the necessary speed and flexibility. Above that, not all businesses can afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a year or two-long software development project. 

These circumstances fueled the need for disruptive technologies to unfold in the programming world. This is what inspired software engineers to invent low-code platforms. 

We, as a low-code development company, consider it our mission to help businesses get to know more about top low-code technologies and how they can employ them for their benefit. In this article, we will highlight the Mendix platform that has solid ground in the domain and has proven itself, having brought millions of internal tools to thousands of businesses.  

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Mendix profile

Mendix is a low-code development platform that was founded in 2005 by three Dutch developers who were looking for ways to deliver enterprise-level internal tools and applications faster and easier. One of the founders, Roald Kruit, pointed out that developers frequently have a hard time tailoring software to exact business needs. Thus, he aimed to create a platform where citizen developers could build business-specific solutions.

Mendix founders succeeded in their endeavors. Today, Mendix is one of the best low-code platforms that allows citizen developers to build low-code B2B mobile applications, web-based internal workflow apps, and automatization tools. It has drag-and-drop functionality that makes it easy for citizen developers to compile applications in hours. Also, you can connect Mendix low-code apps with different databases, APIs, and 3’d parties. 

In addition, there are pre-made Mendix connectors that make it possible to connect other applications and web services to your business application in a few clicks. 

At the moment, the low-code platform helped more than 50k businesses to build over a million applications and internal tools. 

What’s inside

So, let’s review the Mendix functionalities in more detail. Here we will zoom into several vital low-code software development dimensions such as user interface, hosting, integrations, customization capacity, and pricing.

User interface

Mendix allows citizen developers to create rich UI using a drag-and-drop interface with dozens of pre-made elements and components. This functionality combines with the WYSIWYG page editor in Mendix Studio which is the no-code part UI builder. These no-code functionalities allow citizen developers and beginners to create basic applications regardless of their level of programming skills. For professional developers, who are going to use platforms for sophisticated custom solutions there is Mendix Studio Pro. All the customization in Mendix goes with JS programming language. 

Hosting

With Mendix, you can deploy low-code applications almost everywhere. Mendix provides its own PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) hosting environment called Mendix Cloud. Mendix cloud is very secure and allows to deploy your application with a click. Besides, you can deploy your business application in a private cloud or other services like SAP and IBM cloud. For on-premise deployment, Mendix offers Microsoft and Linux servers. 

Integrations

Mendix applications can be integrated with other services and systems using industry-standard protocols: REST, SOAP, JDCP, and OData. The process of connecting the 3’d party services to your Mendix low-code app is rather simple due to the numerous code abstractions and visual data mapping tools available in the platform. Mendix automatically maps the incoming JSON, XML, or MSDL message structures to create domain models and data mappings. Data models then transform to be used as Mendix app application models. In addition, Mendix offers a large number of pre-built connectors, business events external entities, and others.

Customization capacity

The platform’s customization capacity is centered around the Mendix Studio Pro editor. There you can enter custom JS code including the JavaScript-based libraries (React, Angular, Dojo, or D3) to create new UI components, app business logic, and connectors. The editor is embedded with multiple developer tools that accelerate the customization process with code suggestions. Also, you can edit your code in a variety of IDE (Integrated Development Environments) such as Eclipse, IntelliJ, and many others. 

Another essential feature of Mendix low-code extensions is that you can extend not only the app itself but the modeler too. Such extension capabilities ensure code reusability, security, and app performance.

Use cases

With Mendix, you can create tons of different applications and connect them to other systems, databases, AI, machine learning, and IoT sensors. Overall, Mendix enables businesses to create flexible, consistent, and performant digital transformation, client-side, and internal applications.  

Mobile apps

Mendix for mobile development focuses on business apps. Developers can create native mobile apps with custom business logic, integrations, and UI. Mendix perfectly fits the digital transformation needs of SMEs and enterprises alike providing speed/ease of development and reasonable pricing.

Web applications

Customer web portals, internal portals, and business PWAs are the most widespread web applications you can build with Mendix. Integrations with banking services will allow you to create another revenue stream and increase overall customer satisfaction.

Internal workflow tools

Another software group you can create with Mendix are workflow automation and optimization tools. These cost-effective solutions will help you save time on routine tasks, enhance collaboration in the team, and centralize your internal resources. 

Legacy system modernization

Mendix's low-code platform offers an easy way to level up your legacy system with less operation and maintenance costs. This means that you can supplement or replace your old system with new Mendix applications. As far as the platform’s low-code apps have the capacity to be integrated with top software and services, Mendix is a great way to overcome the limitations of your business systems.

Pricing plans

Mendix includes 4 pricing plans:

Free - $0

The free plan includes only basic no-code functionalities. The plan includes: 

• Agile project management tools;
• No-code & Low-code capabilities;
• Mendix Cloud deployment;
• Shared database tenancy;
• 2 environments per app;
• Free online academy;
• Community support.

This plan better suits for platform testing.

Basic - $50 per month for 5 users. + $10 per additional user per month.

The basic service package has everything from the free plan plus:

• Your app is always on – first in a stack;
• Access to your log files;
• 9/5 support;
• 99.5% uptime guarantee.

Serves better those who need simple workgroup applications.

Standard - $800 per month. + $10 per additional user per month.

The standard plan enables you to create enterprise-level applications offering:

• Personal customer success manager;
• Project dashboard;
• Enhanced deployment options;
• Dedicated database tenancy;
• 4 environments per app;
• Ops dashboard;
• IDP integration;
• Vertical scalability.

Premium - custom pricing negotiated with the platform representatives.

With the premium Mendix account, you unlock the full capacity of the low-code platform that can provide functionalities and tools for building mission-critical core systems. Premium service includes:

• Private app store;
• Flexible number of environments per app;
• Enhanced vertical scalability;
• Horizontal scalability;
• HA/Fallback;
• Advanced infrastructure control;
• 24/7 support;
• 99.95% uptime guarantee.

Pros & Cons

Mendix pros:

• Enterprise-level security and integrations;
• One-click deployment on cloud or premise;
• AI-assisted custom components development;
• Centralized application management;
• Easy-to-use interface and productivity tools;
• Multi-channel and multi-device applications;
• Open platform with high flexibility capacity;
• Social and developer collaboration tools.

Mendix cons:

• There can be some lags if you process large amounts of data using a single database;
• In some cases, Mendix apps for public use can be hard to spot for search engine bots.

Verdict

All in all, you can use Mendix for almost any business need, especially when it comes to business mobile and web apps, internal workflow optimization, legacy system modernization, and integration of new minor applications with your core system. 

The platform has a beginner-friendly interface so that you can start developing your business internal apps without having any deep coding skills. Low-code developers and business owners notice the following positive factors of using Mendix:

“I always love to work in Mendix which is low-code/no-code enterprise application development software. The user interface and ease of using the software. And most likely continuous deployment and development and we can able to see the live design of the application which we were developing.”

Source: G2.com

“Create responsive web apps and even native mobile apps in no time with powerful developer tools. Full platform solution, so deploy your app to the cloud with a single click. New releases every month, filled with improvements and new features.”

Source: Product Hunt.

“I've been working with Mendix for 11+ years and this allows me to develop apps at the speed of ideas. The platform's flexibility allows me to create any application I can think of. The platform evolves quickly to respond to changes in the world and is therefore always ready for tomorrow. The visual aspect of software development allows for fantastic insights into the inner workings of the software and makes sure the created apps are always prepared for change which is a necessity in an ever-changing world!”

Source: Product Hunt.

Low-code development experts

There’s no faster and easier way to build your business application or internal workflow optimization software than by using low-code approach. Low-code and no-code platforms make software development available, affordable, and easy for all businesses (SMEs, startups, and enterprises) and individuals alike. But usually, to access the full potential of low-code you may need professional developer assistance that has experience using these platforms.

You can discuss your project with our low-code development experts if that is your case. We have more than 7 years of software development experience including working with various low-code development platforms including Retool, UI Bakery, Appsmith, Budibase, and others. Some of our developers even participated in the creation of one of such platforms. We can help you at any stage of your low-code app development: from the right low-code platform selection and process strategizing to full-scale development, customization, and integration with your existing systems. For more information, reach out to our low-code development team leads and get a free consultation. 

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