We’re about to spill the beans on everything you need to know about low-code in financial services. Buckle up; it’s gonna be a fun ride!

Rapid App Building

Low-code platforms are like the turbo boost for financial institutions. They come with a user-friendly, drag-and-drop playground and a treasure chest of pre-made components, making app development a walk in the park. Even folks in suits, like financial analysts and operations managers, can roll up their sleeves and get creative. With this speed boost, new solutions hit the market quicker, cutting down on wait time and ramping up how smooth things run behind the scenes.

Bend It Like Beckham – Agility and Flexibility

Finance is a dynamic game, with rules that change as often as the weather. Low-code platforms let you pull off those fancy agile moves and keep up with shifts in the market, those never-ending legal requirements, and the constant chatter from customers. Thanks to low-code’s magic, you can prototype and tinker with your apps at lightning speed, making it a breeze to adjust to whatever curveballs the business world throws your way. Whether it’s adding new features or tying into your existing systems, you won’t need an army of coders or disrupt your core operations.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

In the old days, IT teams and business folks used to speak different languages, and that led to some pretty epic misunderstandings and delays. But low-code is like the United Nations for business and tech. It brings them together, lets them hash things out, and builds apps that everyone can agree on. No more lost-in-translation moments, just smooth sailing toward those big goals.

Plug and Play

Financial institutions have a pretty tangled web of IT stuff going on. Low-code platforms are like the master key that fits all the locks. They’re pros at connecting with your existing systems, databases, and even those third-party apps you can’t live without. This seamless integration means data can flow like a river, manual tasks can vanish, and your whole operation can get a fresh boost of energy. Plus, they speak the same language as the hottest new tech, so you’re ready for whatever buzzwords come your way.

Playing By the Rules – Compliance and Security

The finance world has some pretty strict rule-makers, like the data privacy gurus and the financial regulation police. When you bring in low code, you’ve got to make sure it plays by the book. Look for low-code platforms that follow the rules, pack a punch with data encryption, let you set the right permissions, and give you a watchful eye with audit features. This way, you can keep the important stuff safe and stay in the good books with the regulators.

Roadblocks and Things to Think About

Even though low-code development brings a ton of perks, you can’t just jump in without a plan. Here are a few speed bumps to keep in mind:

1. Learning the Ropes: Introducing your team to low-code might require time and training investment.

2. Picking the Right Partner: Not all low-code vendors are made equal. You’ve got to be picky and look for the ones with a track record of awesomeness, top-notch security, and the ability to scale to your needs.

3. Tech Debt Pileup: Building apps faster is great but can lead to messy code and a mountain of technical debt. You’ve got to set some rules and keep things in check to avoid this pitfall.

4. App Life Support: Once you’ve got your shiny new apps, you’ve got to look after them. That means managing different versions, testing, and getting them out there into the world. You need processes and tools to keep everything running smoothly.

Digitalization takes center stage: Almost two decades ago, major financial institutions established separate units to explore e-commerce. Today, 70% of BFSI executives consider digital transformation essential (McKinsey & Company). The sector now focuses on payments, retail and online banking, and wealth management, extending into institutional banking. Despite progress in 2020, the insurance sector lags in digitization. To thrive, insurers must shift to a digital-first approach, offering personalized services to boost customer loyalty through unified views.

Replacing Legacy Systems with Modern Infrastructure: Change is vital as modern platforms offer superior benefits at lower costs. 79% of banking, fintech, and insurance CIOs recognize the influence of real-time, hyper-relevant experiences on customer expectations.

Rethinking Emerging Payments: Emerging payments are consolidating, not slowing down. It’s the right moment for the BFSI industry to develop frictionless, embedded, and native solutions for customer interaction, setting the stage for success.

Low code is like a superhero for financial institutions looking to make big digital changes. It hands the power to the business folks, speeds up app creation, and makes teamwork between business and tech a breeze. But there’s a catch. You’ve got to be ready for these challenges and always keep an eye on the rules and security stuff. If you do it right, low-code can change the game in finance, bring in some cool innovations, and give your customers the best experience they’ve ever had.

Exciting News! We’ve Got an Exclusive Ebook Coming Your Way – Stay Tuned and Follow Indium Software on LinkedIn

The post Spilling the Deets: Low-Code in BFSI Made Simple! appeared first on Indium.

With RAD, developers focus on building functional prototypes that can be tested and refined throughout development. This approach allows stakeholders to provide early feedback and ensures that the end product meets their needs.

RAD is particularly well-suited for projects with evolving requirements or where time-to-market is critical. It promotes collaboration between developers, stakeholders, and end users, fostering a more iterative and responsive development cycle.

As the demand for rapid software development continues to grow, the global RAD market is expected to reach $46.2 billion by 2023. This approach offers a solution to the challenges posed by the ever-changing software landscape, enabling developers to create high-quality software that meets user demands efficiently.

What is Rapid Application Development?

Rapid Application Development (RAD) is an agile software development methodology focusing on quick feedback and iterative prototyping. Unlike traditional approaches like Waterfall, RAD allows for rapidly creating and implementing software applications. It treats software projects as flexible and malleable, allowing developers to make multiple iterations and improvements without starting from scratch each time.

The goal is to design, build, test, and deploy new apps quickly. RAD remains relevant and valuable in today’s fast-paced and competitive market, where technology is advancing rapidly. It solves the limitations of older development methods and enables businesses to keep up with evolving user needs and market demands.

Phases of Rapid Application Development

Getting the Project Requirements Sorted: First, it’s time to nail down the objectives, timelines, goals, and budget for the project. Get everyone involved to agree on what must be done and seek management approval.

Let’s Build Some Prototypes: Once you have a clear project scope, it’s time to dive into a rapid web app or mobile app development. Designers and developers will work closely with clients to create and optimize software prototypes until they hit the mark.

Feedback from the User Heroes: Now it’s time to implement those prototypes! Developers will create working models and beta systems, gathering user feedback. Adjustments will be made based on this feedback to craft the best possible final product.

Testing, Testing, Testing… and More Testing: It’s time to put your software through its paces. Software testers will ensure everything works as expected and meets the client’s requirements. Keep incorporating customer feedback and testing until you achieve a seamless, functional end product.

Crossing the Finish Line: Congratulations, you’re almost there! In this stage, the finished product gets implemented and launched. Make any last-minute adjustments, perform system switchover, data conversion, and testing. Also, don’t forget user training—it’s all happening now!

Applications of Rapid Application Development Methodology:

1. Suitable for modularized software solutions that can be released step-by-step.

2. When there is easy accessibility to software designers for modeling purposes.

3. With a budget for automated code generation tools.

4. Availability of dedicated developers and domain experts with the required skillsets and knowledge.

5. When requirements and needs change during project development, working prototypes must be presented in small iterations.

Benefits of Rapid Application Development:

1. Quick project development, ideal for tight schedules and strict deadlines.

2. Cost-effective compared to other development models, but hiring a dedicated development team may incur additional costs.

3. Emphasis on testing and feedback throughout the development process, leading to improved project efficiency.

Advantages of Rapid Application Development:

1. Improved flexibility and speed: Changes in strategy and functionality can be easily accommodated, saving time and effort in development

2. Enhanced product usability: Iterative development allows for early feedback, resulting in a more robust and user-friendly product.

3. Minimized bugs: Testing occurs in each iteration, leading to early bug detection and a higher-quality end product.

4. Client satisfaction: Clients have more opportunities to provide feedback, increasing the chances of delivering a product that meets their expectations.

5. Constant feedback loop: Frequent revisions and prototype releases enable continuous user feedback, aiding in the evaluation and improvement of the software.

Remember, along with the advantages, there are also some disadvantages.

Conclusion

If your team is considering adopting the rapid application development (RAD) model, several factors must be considered. Here is a checklist to determine if your team is ready:

1. Proficient Team: Do you have a skilled team of designers, programmers, and developers who can execute the project within the desired timeline?

2. Required Tools and Technology: Do you have the tools and web development stack to support the implementation of rapid application development?

3. Timeframe: To meet project deadlines or market demands, are you aiming to develop the product quickly, preferably within 2-3 months?

4. Collaboration: Are you prepared to actively collaborate with the development team throughout the project, providing timely feedback and participating in iterative development cycles

5. Quality Assurance: Do you have competent QA testers who can thoroughly test the prototypes, provide valuable feedback, and ensure the quality of the final product?

If your answer is “YES” to the above questions, it indicates that your team is ready to embrace the RAD model for your project.

The post Rapid Application Development: An Ultimate Guide for 2023 appeared first on Indium.

So, how do companies ensure they have a properly designed website or app that serves its purpose to the letter? Well, full-stack development is the answer! Businesses find full stack development ideal, as it covers both the backend and frontend sides of the portal. If you’re looking to embrace full stack development for your portal but have doubts, here is why you should give it a shot and a success story to inspire you.

What is Full Stack Development?

Full stack development is the end-to-end software development approach, which encompasses both front and back ends. The front end covers the user interface elements (UI), whereas the back end covers various “internal” components, such as application workflows and business logic.

In full-stack development, developers work on a product’s server-side and client-facing components, whether a website, web or mobile application. Since full-stack developers can work simultaneously on both front and back ends, they build better products faster and more efficiently.

Why Should Businesses Embrace Full Stack Development?

As a company, you want to get the best results and services from your website or application. Full-stack development enables you to build state-of-the-art products by integrating the latest technologies to streamline the development process and enhance the efficiency of your software. Here are some top reasons why you should choose full-stack development for your company:

1. Streamlined Operations and Improved Efficiency

Full-stack development allows organizations to speed up app development and transformation to improve their operations. Embracing full-stack development enables you to build dynamic solutions that can adapt to changing user demands and automate various processes.

For instance, a custom-built document management system designed using the full stack development approach can help manage various elements, such as new sales, warranties, and services. Such a solution can store a wide range of document types, including images, Word-Files and PDFs. Various programming languages can be used to integrate features, such as filter and search options, to ease website navigation and enhance the ability to find documents. All these features minimise process delays, reduce overreliance on spreadsheets, and improve the overall process effectiveness.

2. Enhanced User Experience

User experience (UX) is important as it tries to satisfy the customer’s needs. Creating an outstanding user experience is crucial because it helps maintain customers and build brand loyalty. Also, a meaningful UX enables you to define your customer journey throughout your website, which is key to improving your products.

With full-stack development, you can build solutions that go above and beyond to meet your customer’s demands. For instance, it allows you to integrate analytics for monitoring and analyzing customer engagement and communication systems to help you stay connected with your customers. This way, you can enhance your competitive power by delivering customer-centric services.

3. 100% Ownership

Companies often rely on third-party applications to process various services. This means they don’t have total control over the services they deliver. Also, third-party service providers usually charge high licence costs while offering less-customizable solutions. What’s more, it puts your applications and data at risk should a security breach occur in the third-party processes.

However, full-stack development enables you to create custom internal solutions that address your unique requirements. To meet the demands of emerging markets, these solutions are highly adaptable. Additionally, you will have total control over the product, which implies that neither your data nor your applications are accessible to any third-party providers.

4. Saves Time and Cost

Full-stack development enables businesses to build and deploy apps faster and more efficiently because developers have end-to-end company visibility. Also, it facilitates seamless transitioning between frontend and backend elements since developers can manage both sides. What’s more, you only need a few individuals to get the job done, sparing huge contractual and operational costs.

Read this as well; it might be interesting: Increased Revenue Can Be Achieved Through Rapid Application Development.

Applying Full Stack Development: A Success Story Client

The client is a pioneer in providing technology-related and consulting services to the power and utility industry. Functioning in diverse fields, such as transmission, distribution, line construction inspection, material inspection, and so on, requires an in-house web portal that builds dynamic forms for line construction inspection. At first, the client was using a third-party application for their portal. This application wasn’t cost-effective, as the client incurred high license costs. Also, the app had limited customizability, which restricted the client from adopting business-specific services and features.

Business Requirements

The client encountered a number of issues with the form builder portal that was already in place. The following requirements required the development of a new, customised dynamic portal:

• Create a multi-sided and dynamic form builder portal that meets the client’s requirements
• Integrate several built-in features, such as monitoring day-to-day tasks, feeding transmission line details, and generating automated workflows.
• Reduce the time required to generate a form
• Create a highly responsive and automated web portal that could effectively manage large volumes of data.

Planning Preparation

To create an effective, business-specific custom form builder portal, Indium Software, a leading tech solutions provider, performed an assessment to determine pitfalls in the current form builder portal. Some key findings were:

• The current form builder portal was inefficient, time-consuming, and expensive.
• Basic functionalities such as data retrieval and processing require manual intervention
• The existing portal for the form builder was static and had limited functionalities, which couldn’t be extended, making it difficult for the client to adapt to changes in user demands.

Solution

A custom portal for the form builder was created by Indium Software’s team of certified full-stack developers as a way to address the outlined business requirements. Following were the steps that made up this remedy:

• Building an interactive multi-sided web portal developed using open-source technologies
• Using Sisense JavaScript dashboards that are embedded into the Universal Windows Platform using iFrame.
• Adopting single sign-on (authentication using Auth0) to minimize password fatigue and allow only relevant records to be viewed by each logged-in user
• Building a UI that allows the admin user to create a responsive form with drag-and-drop options and archival functionalities.

The full-stack development team at Indium used a number of tools, including Angular 8 for the front-end user interface and the frontend backend, as well as MongoDB, REST API, Java, and Spring Boot framework for the backend. Admin users would be able to view APIs and audit logs with the new portal. Additionally, the new portal offered the ability to dynamically enable the creation and triggering of workflows (assign, email notifications, etc.) for each form, as well as the ability to create email templates with tokens for each form. Additionally, users would use the portal to upload any kind of media files to the S3 bucket.

Business Impact

The client benefited significantly from adopting Indium Software as their full-stack development partner. Here are the key highlights of what the business achieved:

• The time required to create a form was reduced by 70%
• 85% of the system functionalities were automated, including data retrieval, QA report generation, and data processing.
• By leveraging Auth0 and SSO authentication, the security was enhanced by 80%
• The real-time dashboard in a unified web portal elevated customer satisfaction and improved the user experience

The post Frontend to Backend: How Full Stack Technology Can Help You Build Custom application Development appeared first on Indium.

To create policies and procedures that promote the greatest possible patient outcomes, quality assurance (QA) teams at healthcare facilities work across the system. That entails making sure that a wide range of rules, guidelines, and laws at the federal, state, and local levels are followed, as well as devising internal strategies to promote the provision of high-quality healthcare and the general wellbeing of the community the organization serves.

What is healthcare administration ecosystem?

The management and direction of healthcare organizations, such as hospitals, clinics, and other forms of healthcare institutions, are referred to as healthcare administration. To provide healthcare services to the public, a variety of various organizations and stakeholders collaborate within the healthcare administration ecosystem.

These stakeholders include the administrative employees who manage the daily operations of healthcare institutions as well as healthcare providers like doctors and nurses. The insurance industry, governmental entities, and regulatory bodies are all part of the healthcare administration ecosystem, and they all contribute to the development and smooth operation of the healthcare system.

How do organizations use healthcare administration ecosystem

The healthcare administration ecosystem is used by healthcare organizations to plan and control the provision of healthcare services. This involves overseeing the different divisions and jobs performed by a healthcare facility, including clinical care, accounting, human resources, and information technology. Healthcare administrators also make sure that the facility is meeting the needs of the community and patients, as well as all applicable laws, regulations, and standards.

Additionally, healthcare organizations can work with insurance firms, regulatory bodies, and other healthcare organizations to enhance the effectiveness and quality of care by utilizing the ecosystem for healthcare management. For instance, a hospital might collaborate with an insurance provider to create a patient payment schedule or with a regulatory body to make sure the institution complies with all relevant safety and quality standards.

Overall, the delivery of healthcare services depends heavily on the complex and interrelated healthcare administration environment. Healthcare providers can provide better care to their clients and the public at large by cooperating with one another.

What are the issues with healthcare administration ecosystem based on legacy technologies?

When healthcare companies rely on old technologies inside the healthcare administration ecosystem, several problems may occur.

One problem is that older technologies might not be able to keep up with the healthcare system’s evolving needs and rising demand. For instance, the volume of data and information produced by contemporary healthcare facilities may be too much for older systems to handle, causing bottlenecks and inefficiencies. Additionally, it may be challenging to interact with or exchange data with other businesses within the healthcare administration ecosystem if legacy technologies are incompatible with more modern systems or technology.

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The fact that outdated technologies might not be safe or in compliance with present laws and standards is another problem. Data breaches and cyberattacks are more likely as the healthcare sector grows more digital, endangering patient privacy and endangering the business. Legacy technologies might not be protected against these attacks by the proper security measures, which could result in regulatory penalties and reputational harm.

Finally, maintaining and upgrading legacy technologies can be costly because they may need specialized resources and expertise that are hard to come by. It may be difficult for the companies to invest in more cutting-edge and efficient technologies as a result of this drain on resources.

What are the needs of a modern-day healthcare administration ecosystem using QA and a data segregation framework?

Using a quality assurance (QA) programme with data segregation architecture can help meet several needs of the contemporary healthcare administration ecosystem, including the following:

A QA program can assist healthcare organizations in locating and addressing areas where patient care delivery can be improved. This could entail gathering and examining data on patient outcomes, running audits and reviews, and putting right any problems that are found. Sensitive patient data can be protected by healthcare organizations by being divided into several categories or “segments” according to the level of sensitivity. This can lessen the likelihood of data breaches and help prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Healthcare organizations can comply with the requirements of numerous laws, regulations, and standards, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, by using both QA programmes and data segregation frameworks (HIPAA). These programmes can assist healthcare businesses in operating more effectively and cost-effectively by detecting and correcting inefficiencies and waste. 

Overall, the QA programmes and data segregation frameworks can assist contemporary healthcare administration ecosystems in providing patients with care that is higher-quality, more effective, and more cost-effective while also addressing the needs of all stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem.

The Success Story

The client is a leading global provider of advisory solutions for health plans and a range of value-added services in the healthcare technology sector. Utilizing technology to provide solutions that ease business administration procedures, healthcare partner management, and automated medical care is the key to their services.

What were the issues with our client’s administration ecosystem?

• The client’s business-admin management portal was updated from the legacy systems, which had problems with data operations in siloed databases for distinct healthcare partners and their associated members.
• The system was upgraded with a multi-tenancy structure and segregated databases that demonstrate efficient querying and analysis.
• The Data Integrity and Security were in jeopardy during the system upgrade process and necessitated extensive Validations.

What are the business requirements?

• To confirm that the Data Segregation Framework is suitable for mapping access privileges and possible data breach escalations.
• Verify the data integrity of all aspects of the business flow, including on boarding, profiles, health plans, and the business rules that govern them.

How we did it

• To make sure there are no gaps in test coverage, a strong test strategy was defined and then carried out in accordance with the business flow.
• Developed a reliable test design requires in-depth knowledge of the Data Segregation Framework at the functional and database levels.
• In-depth business rules were included in the workflow’s on boarding process and customizations based on plan choices, including setting up benefit amounts and caps, restricting shipments, activating emergency plans, etc.
• Logical QA checks on the application of “security filters” for Partner group access. This QA criteria was fulfilled by performing user hierarchy-based tests; only the right partners and their members shall have access to information that is relevant to them.
• Information Look-up Integrity has been confirmed for the correct fetch from the data tables for all information request permutations.
• Conducted responsiveness and data-manipulation tests.

What are the results we have delivered?

• Since data segregation is a process-intensive exercise, knowing the data orchestration in and the numerous business rules in the end-to-end workflow were part of Indium’s test strategy.
• Beyond just data validations, Indium’s CoE evaluation of the entire project resulted in functional improvements that the client effectively adopted and applied.
• Demonstrated domain expertise and infused the right flavor of data security into the design of test cases.

If you are unable to find the perfect solution, we are happy to assist you in utilizing technology in your company. Contact us at (888) 207 5969 or (800) 123 1191 for more information or send an email to info@www.indiumsoftware.com.

The post How to Enhance Healthcare Applications with QA in Data Segregation Frameworks: Indiums’ Expertise appeared first on Indium.

Another reason for modernization is that we continue to develop the same monolithic application, which becomes legacy day by day, and maintaining the app becomes a nightmare, forcing us to redevelop the applications.

Related: Using Mendix to Modernize your Legacy App

Once you’ve decided to redevelop the application and created the logic, the time comes to migrate the data from the legacy system to the new app.

In Third scenario, when changing the domain model in an existing Mendix application or refactoring your app, there will be changes in the domain model or entities and associations, and you will need to migrate from the old form to the new structure.

So, before migrating these data to Mendix, you must consider and examine several factors. Analyse the existing data and determine how it will be transformed for use in the Mendix app.

The legacy system may contain data in the form of:

• RDBMS
• NO SQL Data

The data migration process is divided into three steps. Data extraction, transformation, and loading in Mendix App

Here are a few use cases for data migration from RDBMS to Mendix

• Assume you have an application with data stored in RDBMS such as Oracle or MySQL, and you need to replicate that data into the Mendix app.
• Another use case is when we have master data in the Mendix application that comes from another application and needs to be kept up to always date.

Solution for First Use Case

When we are migrating the Data from NO SQL to Mendix

Use Case – Assume you have one application with data in MongoDB, and you have redeveloped the application in Mendix low-code platform, and you now need to migrate the data into Mendix.

Let us see how we can respond to this

• Which of the following collections will be transformed into which entity?
• How is data related in MongoDB that must be mapped to an association?
• How are you going to read data from an existing database?
• Can you use the connectors, or do you need to customize them?

Once you’ve answered all the questions, you can proceed with the migration in three simple steps.

• Gather the data.
• Convert or transform the data to Mendix entities.
• Load the data and then
  • a. Extract the data.

You might be interested in: What Exactly Is a Low Code Developer, and How Do You Become One?

When we migrate the data from Same Mendix App?

When the domain model in the existing app is changed, you will need to migrate to avoid losing data. Because you can’t remove the old associations or attributes from the entities because they contain data, you can rename them as old and then perform the migration, after which this can be deleted.

• You can achieve the same result by writing Conversion Microflows. You must write the logic to transform the data to the new structure, read the data from the old structure and change the association to the new structure, and map the attribute to new entities. You can include this microflow in the After Start-up microflow or manually trigger it once.
• You can also do the same thing with the Database migration Marketplace module. This module employs the Liquibase database solution, in which the microflow will be executed once during the deployment for one database, and it will retain the state of the migration and will not be executed again.

Indium’s Mendix experts collaborate closely with our customers to analyse existing infrastructure and identify mission-critical apps that need to be updated, replaced, repurposed, or reused. This simplifies migration, allowing businesses to modernise quickly to minimise disruption and maximise resources.

Indium in short

Mendix has been in practice for over 6 years.

Over 50 active customers

Nearly 350 customized applications were created.

Indium is an end-to-end solution provider with one of the most certified low-code communities in the world. We also have a dedicated low-code academy where our team is constantly trained and retrained to meet the needs of our customers.

The post All About Data Migration Considerations appeared first on Indium.

The latter would, in fact, necessitate additional spending on purchasing software tools to develop, test, and deploy the code, with constant upgrades needed to meet the growing needs of the company. It would require documentation to ensure business continuity even if the developers leave and new ones take their place.

Today, though, the answer may not be so straightforward. Some of the advantages of COTS – Commercial Off-the-Shelf software continue to hold true, but the tools for custom development have undergone a massive change. Some of the earlier limitations no longer exist or have become negligible. Advantages have gone up, pushing businesses to consider custom development with low code.

Cases in Point

One of Indium Software’s clients is a pioneer in precision healthcare with progressive research and development. To facilitate interactions between physicians and patients from across hospitals, research centers, universities, and advanced community sites, and to meet its specialized business requirements, the client wanted to develop proprietary technology for diagnosis. It partnered with Indium to turn its business requirements into live functionality.

Indium adopted Robust Application Development (RAD) to improve the reach of R&D in precision medicine. The Agile POD team focused on quality checks on the features developed for every sprint by an integrated quality assurance. This resulted in reduced technical debt and higher quality output on each build. Integrating the performance monitoring and testing throughout the project ensured efficiency,consistent and better database retrieval performance as part of the project.

In another use case, Indium Software proposed Mendix for the end-to-end development of a platform for a real estate aggregator. It allowed agent onboarding, messaging, chatting, and email communication. It also enabled property listing with pictures and customization of each search function for faster and more accurate discovery. Around 20,000 agents were quickly onboarded to deliver a strong digital experience for the users. The complete ecosystem was built on a microservice architecture to enable better scalability and reliability of software.

Why Opt for Low-Code Instead of COTS

COTS software is advantageous to businesses for several reasons.

• It is easily available.
• The costs are predictable. It is typically taken as annual licensing as there is very little customization possible, and this is a long-term cost after the implementation.
• It is ideal for businesses that need a simple, straightforward solution that fits their needs.
• Complex systems can be deployed quickly, and the solution could be up and running in a few days.
• The vendor takes care of support, updates, and patches. The update takes place in the background, with minimal or no disruption to the business.

However, one size does not fit all. For businesses requiring specific functionality or objectives, it may not be the best solution. Moreover, since the COTS software is developed for a wide range of applications, it may have features that are redundant for specific purposes. This can add to the costs and make it unwieldy. As the business grows and expands, its needs will also evolve, making this investment incompatible, difficult to integrate with new tools, and noncompliant.

Low-code development helps overcome many of these challenges and bestows many advantages. Some of these include:

• Low-code platforms such as Mendix enable adopting a visual approach to development. Its intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows even technically unskilled business users to quickly develop features and applications that meet their needs better.
• It incorporates reusable components that shorten the development time. There is a large community of developers contributing to the component’s library (Marketplace), which is available for reuse. Indium’s marketplace components are prefixed with IndiuMX.
• The communication tools integrated with the development platform facilitate collaboration.
• These features also lower the cost of development, providing businesses with greater control over their product.
• It enables the creation of highly customized software that will help solve specific business problems.
• Low code integrates with the IT infrastructure easily. Its microservices approach also makes it flexible and scalable, allowing software to evolve along with the business.
• Mendix provides tools for the application development lifecycle, enabling streamlining of requirements management, project management, version control, testing, and deployment, amongst others.
• Developers can also use agile development practices and DevOps tools to shorten the development cycle and speed up the time to market.

For More Info, Kindly Check out Our Success Story

Indium Software for Low Code Development

Indium Software provides low-code development for facilitating innovation, experimentation, and faster delivery of enterprise-grade apps. Indium has built a team of Mendix experts who have more than 5 years of experience developing low-code solutions for businesses to achieve in months which earlier took years.

We enable the following:

• Empower businesses by setting up Mendix architecture and design to establish a robust architectural foundation
• Handpicked Mendix App Development experts assist in the development of web, mobile (hybrid & native), UI/UX solutions
• Our Mendix QA team assists in end-to-end testing using the Mendix test suite and shift-up QA model
• We are a Mendix Reseller Partner who can help with your licensing needs

We have more than two decades of experience in the development of cutting-edge software, application modernization, and data analytics. Our formidable strength in software development, DevOps, and low-code development is a winning combination aimed to launch you on your next trajectory of growth. To know more, visit Click Here

FAQ

The post Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Software vs. Low-Code Development appeared first on Indium.

Various factors are driving the need for application modernization, with COVID-19 limitations remaining one of the most important. Organizations are struggling to maintain a smooth workflow as a result of COVID-19 regulations forcing their employees to work from home. Under the great burden of rising app-based digital business transactions, businesses’ old programmes and software have given up, compelling businesses all around the world to update their legacy apps.

Read More about: Application Modernization with AWS

In a very dynamic market, companies should have an application modernization strategy in place to maintain business continuity and growth. The greatest strategy to exploit current capital and minimise unnecessary technological investments is to modernise your existing apps or systems.

Modernizing legacy applications might help to avoid accruing technical debts and business immobility. This article explains how application modernization enables businesses to digitally shift and scale up during a pandemic.

What is application modernization?

Application modernization entails rewriting existing software to accommodate new computing methods. New languages, frameworks, and infrastructure platforms are among the updates. In this digital world, data becomes the primary business driven force to study and analyse the in-depth business dynamics in terms of sales, revenue, expenditure and proftis etc. The IT industry matured a lot in recent years and the latest technology advancements have made the giga bytes of data processing possible quicker which helps to forecast the business well in advance. Modernization process takes care of application security in greater width by enabling / enforcing multifactor authentication process which was not possible with older technologies.

Some businesses are ready to phase out older applications in favour of the most up-to-date. However, both financially and operationally, this can be expensive. As a result, “the most reasonable strategy to exploit newer platforms, technologies, and frameworks is to modernise applications.”

Benefits of Application Modernization

Cost reduction: Because of the pandemic’s limited resources, “cost” has been the most crucial motivator for application modernisation. For example, the more data you collect, the more you’ll have to pay for your on-premise data centre, requiring businesses to replace storage systems more frequently. It is costly to own and maintain infrastructure since additional costs for cooling, space, and electricity are incurred. Besides these costs, maintaining a large data center would necessitate a specialised IT team to manage the same. As a result, investing in timely application modernization is both reasonable and advantageous, as it helps to avoid all of the costs listed above. The recent cloud platforms (PaaS) offer zero dev-ops it means no manpower is required to maintain and manage the application with respect to deployment. Keeping all these factors like machine, manpower and other infra resources taking into account, enterprises would reduce the recurring expenses significantly.

Improves customer experience: The market has become a battleground for enterprises that cater to similar products and services. At a time like this, it is the customer experience that will give a company the needed competitive edge. Customers preferred with minimal clicks to get things done. Using an obsolete technology will be difficult attain this client experience. Legacy software has an impact on productivity and the time taken to complete the integration.

Furthermore, outdated software’s security flaws can easily jeopardise your business and consumer data, harming your brand. By altering the end-user interface, automating laborious procedures, and adding new features, application modernization can improve your customers’ experience. Essentially, more stable systems, faster updates, and improved security will make your business operations more efficient. All of this, taken together, distinguishes your company and ensures that it flourishes. Without investing extensively in all new technology, your company may get up to speed via application modernisation. In the long term, application modernization will increase revenue, efficiency and security of the applications.

Application modernization strategies

An effective application modernization strategy can minimise the resources needed to run an application, increase the frequency and dependability of deployments, and improve uptime and resiliency. As a result, a plan for application modernization is a standard component of a company’s overall digital transformation strategy.

Legacy application support is difficult for a variety of reasons. These old and difficult-to-maintain systems are becoming progressively obsolete making it less effective at fulfilling their intended goal as they age, also posing a cybersecurity risk. While application modernization is not without its difficulties, the advantages are substantial. Here are five best practises to keep in mind when you create your approach:

Rehost: This strategy, often known as the ‘lift and shift’ concept, entails migrating your application’s fundamental resources from an on-premise data centre to the cloud in their current state. The application codebase is kept the same, but the infrastructure, which includes cloud-based storage, compute, and network resources, is transferred to cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). Attempting to migrate current systems, particularly monolithic legacy apps, to a cloud architecture will prevent them from taking advantage of key cloud-native capabilities such as PaaS, multi-cloud, microservices, agile methodology, containers, CI/CD, and DevOps processes. However, this approach is good if you re trying to utilize the cloud benefits to save cost and as a disaster recovery option.

Refactor: The applications are expected to be on cloud nature in digital era. It includes modification of the application itself and part of code to avail all the benefits of a public cloud. Developers can take advantage of the organization’s strategic code by repurposing investments in languages, frameworks, and containers. It is a time and resource intensive, but the advantages that it brings outweighs the earlier said issues. Organizations take advantage of developing independent services for some of the functional features and make it useable for both internal and external users.

Re-architect: The legacy monolithic application is re-architected using the microservices model, containerized, and current DevOps processes in this option. This involves breaking down or dividing your monolithic application into a set of services that can be written, deployed, and managed separately. Rather than a complete rebuild, it entails fundamentally modifying or deconstructing the application into services. This divide-and-conquer approach to design gives you more control and offers advantages like business agility, faster time to market, lower costs, and the ability to reimagine the customer experience. Cloud-based PaaS (if desired), microservices, serverless, containerization, and current DevOps approaches are among the technologies used.

Rebuild: It’s comparable to a re-architecture, only that instead of remodelling, you’re flattening it and beginning again. And, as with a home, starting from scratch can be more cost effective and usually results in a much better outcome than a renovating effort. The programme is redesigned as a cloud-native application during the rebuild, which helps to speed up innovation, release value sooner, and lower overall operational expenses. Given advancements in technology, languages, frameworks, and other efficiencies, the effort necessary to construct the old programme in the first place could be far greater than the effort required to replace it today. Lower-level programming is now frequently abstracted.

Replace: You can sometimes replace a legacy programme with a more flexible cloud-based solution if it offers certain functionality that is still relevant. Replacing an on-premise version of Microsoft Exchange Server with the cloud-based Office 365 is a simple example. These services are now available as a pay-as-you-go subscription rather than a purchased licence.

The advantages of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions include always running the most recent version without the need for updates, significant cost savings, perhaps greater security, and moving the support responsibility outside of the business.

The post Application Modernization Strategies: A step-to-step guide appeared first on Indium.

● 75% of ERP projects and 60% of Data Analytics projects fail to meet the original objectives according to a study conducted by Gartner

● When it comes to new product innovation using next-generation technologies, the failure rate is even higher at 95%

● According a study conducted by McKinsey, almost 70% of digital transformation efforts don’t meet all the original business objectives

To add to this, according to a Standish Group study reported in Project Smart UK, 31% of IT projects were canceled outright and the performance of 53% was challenged due to various reasons including lack of proper resources, poor definition of project scope, lack of accountability and bad project management.

Of course, this is not to say that these technology projects completely failed. Rather, it points to the fact that they do not perform as expected.

The question is: what is the solution? How can IT leaders and CIOs ensure that a project is truly successful and delivers the necessary business outcome?

In this blog, we restrict our focus to getting this right in the case of Mendix project, wherein an application is being developed or upgraded in the Mendix low-code platform.

Crucial Factors Contributing to Technology Project Success

A quick evaluation of the reasons for the failure of technology projects reveals poor project management to be the key culprit in causing delays, cost overruns, and failures

Broadly, we can say that the following are some of the most important factors to assure the success of your project and enjoy a good ROI:

● Resource planning: Resource management should be a key consideration in any project planning along with structures, themes, and interfaces. This includes human, financial, and even infrastructural resource planning.

● Goals and objectives: Having a clear goal with all the stakeholders aligned to it, is crucial for the success of an IT project. But often, there is a lack of clarity and, more importantly, lack of ongoing monitoring to ensure the project is progressing towards achieving the goals and objectives.

● Project visibility: Collaboration, communication and transparency are essential to keep all team members aligned and aware of progress, be up to date with the status of tasks and manage documents efficiently.

● Shifting goals: We are all familiar with new requests being added here and there. Though it may seem small, it can affect the overall progress of the project due to the impact on the resources and the outcome unless there is a tight reign on the project lifecycle.

● Unrealistic expectations: Be it the end goal, timelines, or capabilities of the team, a project manager needs a clear understanding and be realistic when setting the goals to improve the chances of success of the project.

Improved Project Management in the case of a Low-Code Development Effort using Mendix

Mendix development services facilitates a Scrum-based development approach allowing developers and other stakeholders to facilitate intuitive project management and rapid deployment to different environments by supporting the development process.

At Indium Software, we have seen tremendous success rates using the Mendix Project Management Solution. For instance, we undertook a full-stack development of end-to-end services for an aggregator of real estate agents running a cloud-based digital platform offering brokerage services. It had to be scalable and provide features such as analytics for business workflows and role-based functions as well as value-added features to improve the application experience.

Developing on Mendix and leveraging the best functional delivery practices not only enabled onboarding 20,000 agents on the site but also delivered a strong digital experience.

One of the key highlights was rapid deployment with 100% delivery success.

Indium was able to achieve this by leveraging the Mendix platforms Project Management capabilities in the following 5 key areas:

● In-Built Storyboarding: One of the best features the Mendix platform offers is storyboarding, so essential for agile development. Normally, third-party storyboards

need to be integrated into the development process but with Mendix, it is possible to create and modify storyboards on the fly.

● Requirements Management: The success of a project is further assured by a closed-house, official forum that allows solutions to be accessed and fetched easily. Collaboration is made possible with other developers within the platform.

● Component Reusability: One of the greatest delaying factors in rapid deployments is component development that then needs to be stored in a JAR. But with Mendix, artifacts can be convened and stored in a forum or a community that is public or private and reused. Across applications, these components can be leveraged as a widget or an API. The artifacts also make third-party integrations very easy and fast.

● Sizing the Application: Sizing an application is a crucial and difficult task in any project. Mendix makes it simple by offering a containerized stack which is determined automatically based on the number of licenses requested. This enables automating and simplifying the deployment process, thereby improving the chances of a timely release.

● Low-Code: And, of course, the last but not the least — the fact that Mendix is low-code, and allows even non-technical users to leverage the prebuilt apps to manage assets, events, expenses, etc. — providing a guided, step-by-step app creation experience helps in rapid deployment boosts the team strength. Tutorials are available to help the users learn how to build complex app templates very easily.

In addition to the above, the Mendix platform is designed for easy management of requirements. Specifically, it is really simple to do the following

1. Backlog Management is a breeze

2. The Mendix Feedback Widget makes it easy to gather feedback from end-users

3. It is easy to integrate Mendix with third-party project management tools like Jira

4. The Mendix Developer Portal is a central hub for requirements management, task management and ensuring that all “user stories” get converted into features

5. With Mendix, it is easy to get access to Sprint Status and ongoing Progress

6. Last but not the least, it is easy to track and audit any changes made to the original project scope/requirements

Why Indium Software for Mendix Implementation

At Indium Software, we’ve established a strategic partnership with Mendix, the world leader in low-code development services. Over the last few years, we’ve serviced 30+ customers across the globe with a wide range of Mendix development services. We picked Mendix after careful evaluation of many different LCDPs.

Today, we employ 150+ Mendix developers and currently have 3 developers in the Top 10 of the global Mendix leaderboard. Over the years, Indium Software has built deep expertise in using Mendix to deliver enterprise-grade applications for clients in various sectors including healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing, banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI), consumer packaged goods (CPG), and retail.

Recently, we were a Platinum Sponsor at Mendix World 2021, and it was a wonderful experience for us to share the stage with some of the pioneers of the low-code revolution.

If you’re looking to build a new application or modernize a legacy application, in most cases low-code development is a good option to consider. It makes it easy for business teams to collaborate with developers as applications get built. Low-code Development Platforms like Mendix are also designed for speed, user experience, multi-cloud support, security, and scalability.

The post The Art and Science of Managing a Mendix Project appeared first on Indium.

Some of the world’s best products in terms of functionality and features have failed because end-users of the app didn’t get to experience the full capabilities of the product. In short, the grand vision of the product didn’t translate well into the end-user experience.

At a very basic level, product management leaders are building collaborative teams with developers, UI/UX designers, customer success professionals, and product managers to offer a product that truly solves a problem for end-users and customers. It is not only about aesthetics and look and feel, but also about ease of use, efficiency, effectiveness, and easy flow of information.

UI/UX can sometimes be the deciding factor that determines which of the competing products a customer will choose. According to a Forrester Research report published in European Business Review, the conversion to sales in a website can increase by 200% because of a great UI, and by 400% because of a great UX. The report further lists some of the other benefits of amazing UI/UX:

• Willingness to pay Increases their by 14.4%
• Reluctance to switch brands reduces their by 15.8%
• Likelihood to recommend a product boosts by 16.6%

Therefore, whether it is a product, a website, or an application, it is essential to focus on the UI//UX development along with the functionalities and the features.

The 10 Key Elements of UI/UX

Jakob Nielsen and Rolf Molich, two usability experts, provide Ten User Interface Guidelines that have been used by the likes of Apple, Google, and Adobe to create designs that improve usability, utility, and desirability.

1. Visible System Status: Display easy-to-understand and highly visible elements about the status of system operations.
2. Mirror the Real World: Match your design to user experience in the real world to improve cognition and enhance the ease of use of your product
3. Provide Users with Control and Freedom: Enable undoing and redoing of previous actions with ease
4. Be Consistent and Comply with Standards: The graphic elements and terminology should be uniform across similar platforms
5. Prevent Errors: Minimize potential errors by eliminating or flagging actions
6. Recognition Rather than Recall: Display task-relevant information when users are exploring the interface instead of making them recall information such as using multiple-choice questions instead of writing short answers
7. Flexible and Efficient Use: Facilitate customization of interfaces to enable frequent actions to be performed quickly with the use of abbreviations, function keys, hidden commands, and macro facilities
8. Aesthetic and Minimalist Design: The ‘Keep it Simple Stupid’ thought process applies here too. Avoid cluttering the interface with too many elements and display only the important components
9. Make Recognizing, Diagnosing, and Recovering from Errors Easy: Make error messages lucid and use plain language so that people understand them easily and without ambiguity
10. Help and Documentation: Though the interface should be intuitive and not need documentation it may still be necessary based on the type of product and its use. The product should therefore have a “help” section that is easily accessible.

Are we ready to use AI, ML, and NLP to deliver user experience?

Though still in its nascent stages, algorithm-driven AI and machine learning are helping improve UI/UX and create wonderful customer experiences to enable :

Personalization

Providing personalized experience in design goes beyond aesthetics and is based on the personal information of the user such as date of birth, marital status, preferences, etc. It enhances customer experiences and helps end-users get tasks done with efficiency. This can improve conversion rates and accelerate growth. Recommended movies on Netflix or Youtube are a few such examples of great UX where past viewing helps the recommendation engine suggest similar content and improve viewer loyalty.

Touchless interaction

Voice user interfaces and air gesture controls are becoming very popular and can improve interaction with customers. Delivering an Alexa or Google Assistant-like experience with enterprise apps may not be far away.

3D and Immersive Experiences

Due to higher computing power and the use of cloud computing, interest in 3D elements has increased and is enabling the use of larger and more detailed 3D objects. This is especially important in providing VR and immersive experiences in gaming and modeling applications, among others.

Animation

Animations are appealing and creates an immediate emotional connect with users. Judicious use of animations can make for engaging user experiences.

The possibilities are many and only restricted by the availability of talent and financial resources. Of course, some of these must be used carefully and you may shoot yourself in the foot if you use technology for the sake of it.

Best Practices in UI/UX Trends in these times of Digitalization

While the fundamental principles of design as laid down by Neilsen and Molich continue to form the foundation for good designs, in these times of digital transformation, the UI focus is informed more by UX or user experience. It is created by keeping user expectations in mind and integrating concepts of interaction design, visual design, and information architecture.

Understanding your users forms the basis of developing great UI/UX. Knowing their objectives, capabilities, preferences and tendencies will further influence the style of your UI/UX and should have the following features:

Simplicity

A great design is one that is understated but effective by the use of clear labels and messaging that is easily visible and navigable. Simplicity and responsiveness should be the two mantras you follow for easy navigation

Purpose-Driven

The page layout should establish spatial relationships between the different components based on their importance. This can be further enhanced with the use of color and texture to highlight important elements for easy scanning and readability and also create an emotional connection.

Establishing Hierarchy

The judicious use of different typefaces can help establish the importance of the different components.

Doing it all on your own can be challenging as the design process requires specialized skills. Partnering with an expert like Indium Software can provide businesses with access to experience and expertise that can help them deliver an optimal UI/UX experience that drives user adoption, growth, and conversation rates. Amazing UI/UX can certainly deliver competitive advantages.

To know more about Indium’s capabilities in UI/UX and how you can leverage our capabilities, contact us now:

The post Getting Your UI/UX Right: Think Usability, Utility & Desirability appeared first on Indium.

Some of the considerations on deciding would be the cost and the time for implementation and development, as the case may be. Often, COTS wins because there are many industry-standard software available that reduce the burden on the IT teams and allow businesses to go live quickly, enabling them to focus on their core business areas.

However, if the effort to tailor the COTS product to suit your need seems too much, then some businesses may opt for custom development. This will require a lot of coordination with the development teams right from the requirements gathering stage to testing and deployment, but it may well seem worth the effort.

But after the initial euphoria of going live quickly with COTS or with a solution that seems like an ideal fit, you may start seeing the limitations of these options that start curtailing your growth. Especially in today’s world of digital transformation, being stuck with a bulky solution that impedes agility and keeping pace with the competition is difficult and may well result in loss of revenues and deceleration.

Low-code is a viable and fast-becoming-popular solution that overcomes many of the limitations of COTS and custom-building. Just read on to find out how.

COTS – The Hurdles

COTS offers businesses many advantages such as cost-efficiency, high reliability, good customer support and documentation, incorporating best practices, and is highly customizable.

However, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages in today’s dynamic world of constant change and globalization. These include:

Rigidity: Businesses need an agile solution where features can be added quickly and modularly. COTS makes this difficult due to the complex architecture that makes it rigid. This makes adding features a slow process, delaying transformation and innovation.

Niche Skill Requirement: Customization also requires developers with technical knowledge. There is not only a dearth of skills but there is also a cost attached that can be a deterrent.

Complex Integration: Integrating COTS applications can be challenging due to their coming with separate databases with complex data models and customized Application Programming Interface (API) sets.

Low Differentiation: Since customization is an arduous task in COTS, differentiating from the competition becomes difficult and challenging. Upgrading the product with a customized feature may also not be possible in the future.

Not Agile at Scale: Due to the absence of a mature continuous delivery capability of most COTS products, you will find delivering agile projects to scale difficult.

Custom Development – The Limitations

Custom development may sound like the best alternative to COTS as it provides you with the choice to build what is best for your businesses, whenever you need it. However, it has its own flip side, which includes:

High Cost of Development: Allocation of funds is critical for the success of a custom development project as it requires a dedicated team, continuous delivery pipelines, scalable application architecture, etc. It requires an equally steep operational budget too, which can be a drain on your resources. If there are any errors or bottlenecks in the architecture that require rectification, this can add to the costs.

Time to Develop: From requirements gathering to build, test and deployment can be a long journey that not only requires time but also the involvement of your key resources to ensure you get what you need.

Documentation Challenges: Often, documentation gets a go by in custom-built projects due to a lack of resources. This leads to what is called a “developer lock-in” where some of the developers become irreplaceable.

Low Code That Delivers

Low-code is getting adopted by businesses for application development due to rapid development and a configuration-first approach. According to one market research report,  the global low-code development platform is expected to grow rapidly at 31.1% CAGR between 2020 and 2030, its revenues going up from $10.3 billion in 2019 to $187.0 billion by 2030.

According to one Deloitte blog, low-code is no longer only an “interesting” technology but a “must-have” technology for businesses that want to retain their competitive advantage.

The advantages that low-code provides include:

Building Blocks: As the name of this development approach suggests, it does not need code development but instead allows users access to graphical models and pre-built application components that they can utilize to create functional applications. As a result, business users can rapidly develop even complex applications without the need for proficient coders.

Prototyping: With prototyping of fully functional applications, developers can leverage the rapid Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development model well suited for agile development, delivering business value iteratively and quickly using a risk-based approach to deliver customer value.

Simple Architecture: As the functionality forms the basis of the code, it uses a simple architecture to develop applications that are easy and cost-effective to maintain. Being microservices oriented, they are easier to scale, rework and enable fast visual API modeling.

Low-Code PaaS: As it is available as Platform as a Service (PaaS), it reduces operational costs.

Responsive Multi-Channel Applications: The applications developed in low-code can be used/accessed from different devices such as computers, mobiles, and tablets seamlessly, thereby reducing the customization effort for each.

Pre-Canned Functionality: The applications store offers several free and priced vendor and 3rd party “pre-canned” functionality that low code developers can use by dragging and dropping for their projects.

Dashboards and Analytics: Users can also assess the health of the platform and the applications by viewing the operations dashboards.

Mature Continuous Delivery: One of the key requirements today is a continuous delivery pipeline, which is possible with low-code development, enabling agile development in the truest sense.

These features enable you to develop differentiated offerings to retain and strengthen the competitive advantage. Furthermore, low-code also provides flexibility, scalability, facilitates business-IT collaboration, and lowers the total cost of ownership.

So, really, whatever your context, low-code development can fit in very well giving you a cost, time, and resource-effective solution.

Indium is a Mendix low-code development partner that can help you become agile and responsive to the market trends by developing solutions best suited to your needs quickly. Our team of technology and domain experts works in close collaboration with our customers to maximize their development efforts to accelerate growth.

To know more, contact us now:

The post Low-code vs. COTS: What works better in your context? appeared first on Indium.