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Tag: Siemens

  • Mendix Embraces DevOps for Next Era of Low-Code App Development

    Mendix Embraces DevOps for Next Era of Low-Code App Development

    Mendix, a subsidiary of Siemens, today updated its namesake low-code application development platform to add support for DevOps workflows and make it simpler for developers to compose applications and embed artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

    Sheryl Koenigsberg, vice president of product marketing for Mendix, said Mendix 10 makes it possible to use Git repositories for version control along with Mendix Pipelines, currently in beta. Mendix Pipelines is a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) environment that will be embedded in the low-code platform. In addition, Mendix is adding support for Webhooks that can be used to integrate Mendix with existing CI/CD platforms.

    Mendix has also added a Solutions Kit, now generally available, to make it possible to customize applications in a way that ensures those changes will be preserved as application environments are upgraded.

    There is also now a Portfolio Manager tool to track projects and a connector for integration with the Jira project management software from Atlassian.

    Later this year, Mendix will also make generally available Adaptation Insights to provide insights into application extensions.

    In the future, developers will be able to leverage an extensibility framework to tailor the Mendix Studio Pro integrated development environment (IDE) by adding their own plugins, wizards, editors and third-party integrations. Later this year, Mendix 10 will also add, in beta, a version of its Studio Pro IDE for MacOS.

    The Mendix approach to composability is also being extended to incorporate AI. The company is adding Mendix Assist, a bot that generates validation logic for data entry. This module is the second AI capability that Mendix has developed after previously previewing Mendix Chat, a tool based on a large language model created using Mendix data that will be integrated into the Mendix integrated development environment (IDE) later this year. Mendix Assist will be incorporated into Mendix Chat.

    Mendix is also developing additional LLMs for creating applications and will as part of its commitment to composability plans to make it possible to integrate third-party AI services and LLMs into the Mendix Runtime to create “smart apps.” AI models will be converted to the Open Neural Network Exchange (ONNX) format, an open standard for machine learning models, to provide that capability.

    In addition, Mendix is adding support for event-driven architectures via Business Events and an Event Broker, to build more complex applications.

    Other capabilities being added to Mendix 10 include updated REST and database connectors, support for visual data filters, rich properties and design controls, a Start from Spreadsheet tool, end user survey tools, a PDF document generator and a revamped set of governance and risk assessment tools.

    Finally, Mendix is adding a Terraform module to make it simpler to deploy its low-code platform on the Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) in addition to providing a reference implementation for building private clouds to develop applications using the Mendix Cloud service.

    As AI-infused low-code applications are developed faster, it’s not clear to what degree organizations are prepared to embrace the inevitable disruption that will ensue. However, the one thing that is clear is that the DevOps workflows used to deploy these applications at scale will soon be put to the ultimate test.

  • Siemens Acquires Mendix to Advance Low-Code Platform Adoption

    Siemens Acquires Mendix to Advance Low-Code Platform Adoption

    Siemens this week moved to substantially accelerate its transition into becoming a software company by acquiring Mendix, a provider of low-code application development tools, for $730 million in cash.

    Mendix CEO Derek Roos said Mendix will operate as a business unit of Siemens, which has poured more than $10 billion over the last decade to software development as part of an ongoing digital transformation to a multibillion-dollar conglomerate.

    Siemens over the last year determined that Mendix was now a strategic component of that initiative, Roos said, as more applications are shifted to and developed in the cloud. Many Siemens employees already use Mendix tools to develop custom applications with limited to no programming skills. That capability is especially critical in line of business (LOB) organizations that are starting to deploy their internet of things (IoT) applications, he noted. Mendix also recently revealed it is starting to infuse its low-code application development platform with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

    Roos said the $730 million investment Siemens is making to acquire Mendix is larger than all the venture capital investments made in rival companies delivering low-code platforms combined. As low-code tools have gained mainstream adoption, however, Mendix increasingly finds itself competing directly with larger rivals such as Microsoft and Salesforce, he noted.

    The Siemens decision to acquire Mendix comes at a time when archrival GE is throttling back on digital process transformation efforts. Roos said GE’s decision is unique to structural issues within GE versus being a decision that reflects loss of faith in digital process transformation driven by custom application development. Software is now the fastest growing segment of the Siemens conglomerate, he said.

    A recent survey conducted by Mendix in collaboration with ASUG, an end user association for organizations that have deployed software from SAP, finds 64 percent of respondents are experiencing increased demand for custom applications within their organizations. The primary problem is that same survey finds the average custom application development backlog is 24 months. Primary issues cited by survey respondents include high development costs (50 percent), difficulty integrating with existing systems (47 percent) and lack of skilled development resources (45 percent).

    Of course, as Siemens becomes a larger software force, some organizations will start will take into consideration how much they may compete with the company before selecting an application development platform. Mendix is betting that as application development expands well beyond internal IT organizations, its status as an independent business unit of Siemens will provide enough distance between Mendix and Siemens business units that a Mendix customer might compete against.

    In the meantime, organizations that are embracing low-code platforms are simultaneously increasing their investments in DevOps processes. As the number of applications being developed using low-code tools increases, there is a corresponding increase in application release management that requires them to modernize those processes. As Mendix plays the role in enabling applications that can be deployed from the cloud to the network edge, it’s now only a matter of time before the Mendix low-code platform becomes a more significant element of a larger set of DevOps processes driving digital process transformation projects as unprecedented levels of scale.

    — Mike Vizard