Why the SMART Digital Factory

Software development has changed enormously in recent years thanks mainly to the rise of agile development methodologies and best DevOps practices such as continuous delivery. The issue organizations face now is that while it’s getting simpler to build and deploy applications, accomplishing that goal consistently at scale remains a significant challenge.

Low code development platforms have already proven themselves indispensable. More companies than ever are relying on low code development platforms to build robust applications that drive critical business processes spanning everything from emerging uses cases at the network edge to advanced cognitive computing services enabled by artificial intelligence (AI).

The one attribute all these projects share is there is an acute need to increase the rate at which these applications are developed without compromising the quality of the user experience.

Low-code platforms have proven themselves

Organizations that have embraced low-code platforms over the years have found themselves on a similar journey. There may have been a lot of initial doubt concerning just how much business value could be derived from an application built using a low-code platform.

When low code platforms first came into vogue, the assumption was they could only be relied on to build lightweight applications. But now it’s apparent organizations of all sizes are seeing tremendous benefits in terms of the speed at which robust applications can be simply built.

As a result, it’s not surprising to now see more organizations than ever embracing low-code platforms.

SDF proven

SDF Challenges

But there will be some challenges

But as organizations rely on low-code platforms to build and deploy complex applications there are inevitable challenges. For example, the amount of data that needs to be processed is increasing, especially as the number of links with backend systems and front-end devices starts to multiply.

At the same time, those complex applications also need to be regularly updated as business processes evolve and mature.

The danger now is that as more complex applications get developed, it’s easy for a “syrupy” development process to result in an increase in application development backlog. We all know application development backlogs quickly become intolerable for any organization looking to embrace digital business transformation.

In fact, the whole reason many organizations embraced low code platforms in the first place was to foster innovation by eliminating much of the application development backlog that inevitably arises when organizations rely on legacy development tools.

Fortunately, there is a straight-forward way to save organizations that have embraced modern low-code development platforms from falling into that very same trap.

Rise of low code application development platforms creates need for modern approach to automatic processes.

Automation of the development process

To consistently achieve speed, quality, and high availability, it is clearly necessary to automate as many parts of the development process as possible. Various studies show, however, that when the number of “sprints” increase during the application development process, the overall speed of development decreases.

This is mainly caused by the increased number of moving parts, which in turn results in a higher percentage of errors being made. Worse yet, the development and operations teams become increasingly less capable of structurally testing all the element of the application. To add further insult to injury, fixing all the issues that winds up getting eventually discovered consumes even more precious time.

To avoid these problems, organizations need to clearly map all the processes associated with building, testing and supporting an application. Once that’s determined, they should also consider imposing a new organization structure on top of those processes.

In short, the organization needs to think long and hard about how to put the right teams together and then make sure those teams have the tools and processes in place to ensure success.

SDF automation

Hans Voorthuijzen

Manager Informatie Management, Architecture and Analyse at Zilveren Kruis

“The content of Mansystems, the knowledge they have, and the type of people who work there ensure that business applications are delivered not only quickly, but also robustly.”

SDF Digital Factory

The SMART Digital Factory

Obviously, technology and architecture are only one part of that equation. Being able to consistently deliver quality applications quickly requires organizations to automated development, test, acceptance, and production (OTAP) processes that span everything from integration with continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) platforms and automatic testing to load balancing and monitoring.

At Mansystems, we’ve captured years of professional application development expertise in a way that is simple for organizations to not only comprehend, but also to operationalize their low code challenge easily . We call this framework the SMART Digital Factory. It’s a new chapter in the world of low code development that provides organizations with a framework for automating application development and deployment in a way that is specifically optimized for a low-code platform.

The SMART Digital Factory makes it possible:

academy_select To monitor and analyze the entire development and deployment process

academy_select To analyze the process on an end-to-end basis within the context of a set of defined business goals

academy_select Any change that needs to be made to those processes is simple to make

academy_select A flexible framework for consistently building applications quickly

academy_select Provides a proven set processes based on well-defined best practices

academy_select Enables teams to take low-code development to a whole other level

Questions about how we can help your business?

Digital transformation involves many aspects. Good guidance and advice are, therefore, essential. Can we help you on your way?

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“A new chapter in the world of low-code development,” a framework optimized explicitly for Mendix.

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Why the SMART Digital Factory?