Unclaimed: Are are working at Mendix ?
Mendix is a cloud-based app development platform designed to help users build apps easily via a SAP cloud platform. It has key features that include visual development, multi-channel apps, proactive and context-aware app management, development and operations (DevOps), multi-cloud deployment, security, open and extensible integrations, AI-assisted development, and more. It also allows users to empower real-time collaboration and develop applications with experimentation, iteration, and collaboration of different units.
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| Capabilities |
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|---|---|
| Segment |
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| Deployment | Cloud / SaaS / Web-Based, Desktop Windows, Mobile Android, Mobile iPad, Mobile iPhone, On-Premise Linux, On-Premise Windows |
| Support | 24/7 (Live rep), Chat, Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support |
| Training | Documentation |
| Languages | English |
Compare Mendix with other popular tools in the same category.
The speed of creating an impressive app, the scalability
Newer versions are not always fully backwards compatible. However, this is well documented.
Quick responses to user problems, easier to generate feedback from the business.
Can create, develop, and deploy innovative apps at light speed.
Videos in tutorials are not according to latest version
Will develop applications to support multiple devices
I can discuss, develop, create and deliver business applications and logic without have any prior technical education.
Steep license fees prohibit me from developing for small companies
Business logic that can't be covered in standard ERP systems (or are very user unfriendly in these ERP Systems)
The speed of development in Mendix is incredible. Espcially startup of a project is done quickly. If you are using Mendix Cloud hosting, the CI is up-to-speed within minutes.
At the moment publishing of REST services is not a native functionality. Custom Java modules are required. Additionally, webservice versioning is not supported.
Development of prototype for specific use cases (experiments), integration bus for eCommerce, custom ERP, website backend.
Mendix takes a lot of the guesswork out of building business applications. They have a very solid framework for creating efficient databases, integrating with the databases and building various workflows (using microflows) to enable users to accomplish their goals. The app builder (Modeler) is very intuitive and makes it quite easy to visually prototype an app, gain agreement, then fully code the app. This process does not require a traditional, highly-skilled developer to get started. Mendix has a lot of integrations, great out-of-the-box UI components, native mobile and responsive capabilities, and a variety of ways to extend core functionality including the use of Java and Javascript. In addition to the development environment, their cloud hosting is also extremely convenient and quite worry-free for most applications.
What I dislike is less about the technology and more about the challenge it is to find developers with Mendix experience. While there are millions of Java or .Net developers in the world, there are thousands of Mendix developers. They are hard to come by and when you find them, they're costly. So what you might save in rapid development, you give (at least somewhat) in resource costs. Over time I would expect that to get better.
We have mainly been focused on building internal applications to improve and automate various business processes. In some cases the ROI is around needing fewer people to handle an increased workload (first application resulted in a 3x productivity gain). In others, the result is eliminating n external vendor application that was simply not integrated into anything else (reducing multiple-entry situations, increasing data quality, eliminating licensing costs). We've also found that we can be much more nimble with turn-around, nor only related to reduced reliance on external vendors, but with development cycles that are typically based on 2 week sprints.
Mendix platform allows me to create web applications very fast by aiming the focus on business rules rather than dealing with plumbing code. This is great when the requirements are not clear from the beginning and the final product is created iteratively. Mendix is great for fast prototyping, which could bring customer ideas into reality without the hassle of writing lots of code.
It is common for frameworks to impose certain ground rules to be followed by developers and Mendix is not the exception. Sometimes you need to do bend those rules and it could be kind of hacking.
Mendix is helping us on delivering insurance applications that go in sync with fluctuating market demands. Those days were product delivery was most of the time behind the current market needs are virtually over.
Mendix allows me to turn ideas into functional prototypes with amazing speed. It's a wonderful feeling being able to show business stakeholders functioning prototypes in hours rather than days, in days rather than weeks or months. Once the application is launched, ,and it comes to maintenance, the model based development makes everyone's "code" readable. You need more power - Java is just a few clicks away. Everything can be tweaked, if you take the time and have the knowledge.
The ease with witch a prototype can be created sometimes obfuscates the complexity that comes with implementing new business processes in an already deployed application. That being said, that's more a Mendix marketing and a stakeholder management issue than a technical issue. Mendix does make refactoring fairly easy, and they will provide advice on how to improve performance for an application that's overgrown.
I have mostly used Mendix to replace existing business processes implemented in other platforms, implement new ones which were still run on paper, and add new user facing functionality tying together other enterprise back-end services. I could say Mendix is the glue and presentation layer to some of the large enterprise systems I run. The main benefit has been the speed of development, coming from the ability to reuse functionality, having responsiveness out of the box, and being browser independent.
Mendix really excels at getting you started, but allows you to really dive in shortly thereafter, even for someone without a development background. It's also nice to not have to worry about setting up a database, and the built-in debugging does a great job of leading you to the root cause, and telling you what must be fixed. The community has also proven to be a huge boon, and answers to most issues are only a quick forum search or question away.
OOTB, Mendix lacks some functionality, such as email integration and authentication, but this is mitigated by leveraging their great and growing appstore, and some custom Java. The default UI/UX themes are workable, but a bit stale. Delivering a truly amazing experience requires some knowledge of CSS/SASS styling. As well, you must carefully evaluate the value in updating projects to newer versions of the Modeler, as some functionality may break when doing so.
We are mostly replacing legacy business applications with Mendix-built solutions. The speed at which solutions can be delivered has proven to be a huge benefit, as well as the ease and speed of iterating on feedback from the business side of the development relationship.
The ease with which you can learn to build apps and expand built-in functionality with Java.
New Modeler releases sometimes break existing functionality which has been around for years.
We use Mendix to build smart apps and connect with IoT devices. It's the perfect tool to quickly build and try out new functionality.
Mendix is really easy to get in to, but it does give you the opportunity to really dive in!
Some parts of the modeler (the development interface) is a bit outdated because of the rapid growth.
We use Mendix as a platform, to implement business applications solving our customers problems