We hope you enjoyed the interview with our Technical Creator, Serhii Kozlov?

We discussed the cores and values by PLATMA and discovered new things to learn about the low/no-code concept. You might have a question: is PLATMA a pioneer who is unique in the branch?

Following the market rules, it is required to state: ‘We are pioneers based on unique experience!”, but….No, we’re not pioneers in the low/no-code approach. And we didn’t invent it from scratch. For sure, we have competitors in the niche. The current article will provide information about some competitors in the niche of applications building for large businesses. We also included one interesting competitor, Corezoid, that utilizes state machines. Our analysis covers only well-known platforms and briefly overviews potential solutions.

Here we go:

1. Appian

2. Mendix

3. SalesForce

4. Zoho

5. Corezoid

Appian 

Appian is a low-code platform enabling companies to develop their applications quickly with reduced code expenditure.

Appian’s intelligent automation platform helps organizations create smart applications that enhance business, customer engagement, and operational efficiency.

Appian is a provider of hpaPaaS (High Productivity Application Platform as a Service) with powerful business process management (BPM) and case management capabilities. Appian has been offering its cloud platform, Appian Cloud, since 2007.

As a hybrid of CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) and RAD (Rapid Application Development), Appian can provide programmers with the ability to quickly create apps for a business.

Appian has a long history of permanent and profitable annual growth, with a significant share of growth coming from clients choosing Appian Cloud over deploying the platform locally. Currently, over 400 clients leverage Appian’s cloud technologies. Appian’s aPaaS (Application Platform as a Service) solution is user-friendly, featuring a reliable metadata model that allows the creation of applications with minimal involvement from professional developers and system administrators. The Appian Cloud metadata model offers a robust set of highly efficient tools for implementing business logic. External application lifecycle management tools can also be used to manage Appian Cloud.

Appian’s aPaaS offering is well-suited for creating multi-channel and complex applications focused on processes and/or data. Appian provides diverse analysis, monitoring, administration, and batch capabilities for managing and governing custom applications. Ease of use and functional completeness were key reasons mentioned by reference clients surveyed by Gartner for choosing the Appian platform.

While Appian is well-known in its traditional core BPM suites and case management markets, it doesn’t have as significant a market share in the hpaPaaS market as leaders in the Magic Quadrant. This is primarily due to direct sales and higher prices, as Appian has focused on the large-sized enterprises in the hpaPaaS segment rather than small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Appian does not offer automated bidirectional scaling for its Appian Cloud platform.

Mendix

Mendix is a well-established and rapidly growing aPaaS provider that operates on a “pure play” principle. While the company initially offered an on-premises RAD platform, most of its business now resides in the cloud. The Mendix Modeler is a model-driven visual development environment that generates metadata interpreted during execution.

Mendix boasts a global presence and increasing brand recognition, with over 600 paying clients, 70 partners in the app stores, and thousands of non-paying users. As a private company, Mendix is well-funded and has experienced robust annual growth (over 75% in revenue in 2016). Support for Cloud Foundry and, more recently, Docker container architecture allows Mendix to offer a multi-cloud presence in AWS (with optimizations like support for Amazon Simple Storage Service [S3]), Microsoft Azure, and through its cloud-native production runtime, IBM Bluemix. Other major cloud providers looking to offer hpaPaaS solutions are considering partnerships with Mendix.

Mendix’s no-code modeling tool supports complex, data-centric, and process-oriented applications. It can generate mobile applications with offline support and client-side “headless” service implementations. Mendix Runtime is event-driven (partially based on Akka), aiding the company in supporting IoT and handling large transaction volumes (hundreds of thousands of concurrent transactions) for some significant financial applications. Recently introduced self-service control, high availability configuration (when deployed on AWS), and the ability to extend metadata models using Java, JavaScript, or Scala are geared toward more advanced corporate deployments. There is also the Mendix App Store, where partners and users can exchange applications, widgets, and services with hundreds of ready-made components and apps.

Mendix supports the development of applications for any device. Deployment options include private cloud, public cloud, and on-premises deployment. Alongside the corporate version, it offers automatic backups and horizontal scaling features.

Different from some other competitors, Mendix does not support C# as a language for server-side extensions, and on the client side, only through JavaScript SD, which may slow down the adoption of some Microsoft products.

While Mendix has a well-established business in aPaaS, it faces growing challenges as mega-vendors like Google, Microsoft, Oracle, and others intensify their efforts in the hpaPaaS layer.

Despite the rapid growth, Mendix is not yet a profitable company.

Yes, it’s necessary to mention that Mendix is focused mainly on large enterprises and businesses.

Mendix prices are based on the number of app users. The community version is free. Mendix offers three additional plans: Single App (starting from $1875 per month), Pro (starting from $5375 per month), and Enterprise (starting from $7825 per month).

Salesforce

With the Salesforce platform, you can build applications for various purposes, from data collection to marketing automation.

Salesforce Lightning provides a platform for building mobile applications with advanced security. Pro-code tools allow the use of any programming language for application development. It offers features such as AI and IoT embedding and integration with Salesforce data and third-party developers.

Salesforce’s core offering consists of a new combined user experience development platform (Lightning), a highly productive web application development platform (Visualforce), and a fourth-generation language (Apex) for more advanced internal functionality. Execution is entirely based on metadata interpretation. Salesforce has its own data processing centers in several regions.

The robust SaaS ecosystem is a crucial growth factor for any aPaaS proposition. Tailored support for SaaS providers – through sublease programs and AppExchange for partners, startups, and incubators – continues to differentiate the Salesforce Einstein 1 Platform for Application Development and helps attract new SaaS partners. Furthermore, Salesforce’s strategic investments in training and education (demonstrated by Trailhead and the TrailheaDX event) contribute to the growth of the developer community (currently exceeding 3 million) and make customer adoption more straightforward, accessible, and reliable.

The proprietary nature of Salesforce Einstein 1 Platform for Application Development’s architecture intensifies its cloud characteristics, such as shared machine resource usage. However, it also locks in customers, hinders some implementations, complicates integration with acquired technologies, and restricts the expansion of Java or C# during operation.

Almost all surveyed reference clients of Salesforce express concern about the high cost of App Cloud, and this issue is exacerbated by the inflexible tracking model and pricing for each user of Salesforce Einstein 1 Platform for Application Development.

Zoho

Zoho is best known for its suite of SaaS business tools designed for small and medium-sized businesses. The fastest-growing product line is Zoho Creator, a highly productive, database-oriented aPaaS business offering. The platform utilizes a directly executable metadata-based model to describe all aspects of a program.

Zoho Creator offers some scripting capabilities through a model-driven visual scripting environment for coding using its proprietary language called Deluge (Data-Enriched Language for the Universal Grid Environment).

Zoho Creator boasts 15,000 Deluge developers and 950 apps on the market. It can be used to leverage Zoho Office Suite, incorporating corporate SaaS applications to boost productivity, such as Zoho CRM. Zoho Creator is available only as a PaaS offering hosted in the public cloud, but Zoho plans to add partial support for on-premises deployment. Zoho Creator is a user-friendly platform offering a metadata model configuration for app creation through drag-and-drop. Referenced clients of Zoho, surveyed by Gartner, mentioned that ease of use was a primary reason for choosing Zoho Creator. Zoho Creator apps run in a scalable, multi-tenant environment with shared access to everything, and private dedicated databases can be created.

Zoho Creator’s metadata model is modest. It lacks abstract metadata models for automating processes, integration, and more complex business logic. Instead, these parts of the program logic must be created using Zoho’s Deluge language. Although its ease of use makes it suitable for prototyping applications, a strong dependence on scripts may slow the development and maintenance of more complex corporate applications. Zoho Creator does not offer a choice of infrastructure providers and currently does not cater to clients looking to deploy hybrid cloud solutions. It does not support industry standards (e.g., OData access) or standard metadata models. It cannot host mini-services or microservices, offers few analytical services, and does not integrate with platforms with a high level of control. Among all vendors assessed in the Magic Quadrant, Zoho received the lowest scores from surveyed reference clients for the quality of relationship with the provider, technical support, professional services, and overall experience.

Corezoid

We also decided to consider a completely different approach: state machines. 

A state machine consists of a finite number of states connected in a graph by the transitions between them. An entity starts with an initial state and then looks for the events and rules that will trigger a transition to another state. An entity can only be in exactly one state at any given time.

State machines are a powerful tool for modeling and managing complex business processes. The states of objects are stored in a flow.

Corezoid provides tools for monitoring business processes, analyzing data, and tracking performance. It enables the rapid creation, improvement, and automation of business processes without deep programming.

This is a PaaS tool for creating IT solutions using automata-based programming with explicit state selection. It’s a platform for building agile processes triggered by real-time events.

But it is also necessary to understand the following about state machines.

Usually, state machines demand precise synchronization between states and transitions to avoid unwanted transitions or blocks. Achieving this can be challenging, especially in distributed or asynchronous systems. Older versions of business processes are expected to exist until all objects have completed their lifecycle (reach final states). Building and programming state machines can be a rather complex task, especially for very intricate processes. Handling exceptions and edges is also challenging. Some complex scenarios may result in improper transitions or state blocks.

For complex state machines, process descriptions can become hard to understand, especially for individuals not involved in their development. This can lead to increased time for comprehension and development of changes.

Visual programming allows for rapid prototyping of processes but does not facilitate quick version changes.
Nodes at state machines are modular and reusable, but users cannot independently create their modules.

All the mentioned above might be helpful in the formation of a balanced view about low/no-code solutions.

And now, let’s consider PLATMA’s features below:

• Visual means should not be the original method, but only a form of visual understanding of the final result. In our case, we have UI Builder connected to workflows builder and data sources.
  To describe the process, PLATMA uses the NODE-RED graphical component. NODE-RED is an open-source platform from IBM. Their open-source license applies to various industries. It organizes the API into a microservices infrastructure that engages complex business logic and enables users to modify and adapt rules. The platform is visual and based on Node.js, so all solutions are translated into pure JS code that can be deployed and scaled like normal Node.js code.

• Nodes are modular and reusable in PLATMA. Users can create or request node libraries from PLATMA for use in various programs.

• Visual programming and UI Builder enable faster prototyping of programs since you can easily drag and connect nodes to experiment with different program variations.

• In PLATMA, it is possible to visually observe the data workflow. This allows tracking and analyzing data on the fly.

• PLATMA aims to lower the barrier to entry and instead allow business analysts and similar non-tech specialists, as well as managers to develop business management features by using a Domain Specific Language (simplified code that looks like business terminology) to describe their business processes.

• Flowcharts in PLATMA are usually much easier to understand than traditional textual code, especially for those who are not programmers. This allows a broader range of people to collaborate and participate in program development.

• PLATMA uses all the capabilities of modern version control systems and automated integration and customization.

Hope, this overview was helpful.

For sure we didn’t include all the competitors in the niche for large businesses and enterprises, but we performed a short overview of the most well-known and popular.

Our next article will be dedicated to competitors, who have solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Our last article overviewed low/no-code solutions for large businesses and enterprises. This article is dedicated to application builders for individual use. Application builders for individual use cover the main share of application development in the small and medium-sized business segments.

To be fair and align with the previous article, we’ll also consider our main five competitors in this segment, and the differences will be provided at the end of this article.

• Retool

• Bubble

• Webflow

• AppSmith

• ToolJet

Retool

Retool is a low-code platform where builder components using “drag-and-drop” functionality allow the creation of internal web tools by connecting them to your databases and APIs. The fundamental principle is using data-driven internal tools with the possibility of connecting them to external databases or APIs (except Salesforce). Users have an editing mode that enables the creation of queries and user interface actions. Users can also code using JavaScript to make applications more tailored or to design sophisticated workflows.

The main target group of Retool is developers and organizations in need of advanced internal tools to handle complex data and integrations. This platform is helpful in developing applications that use existing databases, data sources, and APIs. Retool is designed for users who need control over every aspect of the application.

The platform’s internal tools may not suit some devices perfectly, and users may need coding knowledge to get the most out of the platform. The price depends on the features users request and varies from enterprise to developer group.

The Retool platform has many attractive options to offer:

• It has a wide range of seamless integration opportunities to connect to many databases, APIs, and services.

• A robust set of pre-built UI components and templates helps develop applications quickly.

• SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) and audit logs for maximum data security.

• The Builder interface operates on the “drag-and-drop” concept.

• This platform has an active community and reference materials to enable support, help, and collaboration.

• Retool provides capabilities for professional developers or well-trained users to build customized applications with control over workflows in the short term.

Among explicit disadvantages, it’s worth mentioning:

• It has a high entry level. Simply put, it’s hard for non-technical users to build an application or template on the fly. 

• It can’t be used to build mobile applications due to its primary focus on web applications.

• Retool relies only on internet connectivity as a cloud-based solution, so offline development is not foreseen.

• Its pricing policy is not suitable for small or medium-sized businesses.

• Less focus on no-code or visually intuitive components turns usage of the platform by citizen developers or no-coders into a tricky task.

 

Bubble

The Bubble platform has really impressive coverage. It is already well-known and has a strong market presence. It found praise and honor among millions of followers all around the world. 

Bubble chose to make application development available to a broader audience of non-technical users. It is suitable for designing form submissions, data management, interactive UIs, etc., and building applications intuitively and fast.

Bubble accepts a different approach to low-code development. It offers a no-code platform focused on visual programming. Here, users can create web applications by combining designing the user interface visually and defining the application’s workflows. 

The users of Bubble can benefit from the following:

• Bubble is accessible to non-technical users because it utilizes the “no-code development” principle.

• It has a visual interface with “drag-and-drop” functionality to prototype and launch web applications fast.

• Also, this platform has a marketplace with plugins, so users can reach these plugins and integrations to tailor the application’s functionality or to integrate with external services and databases.

• Bubble’s responsive design ensures an application’s adaptation to different screens and layouts.

• Low entry level for non-coders, but….here we transit to cons.

Cons

• Although the platform has been declared for “non-coders,” it has a learning curve for complex logic. Yes, Bubble facilitates development processes, but complex logic and workflow adjustments still require a deep and clear understanding of the platform and its power. So, the learning curve exists. It’s hard to assess if it is a benefit or disadvantage. It rather depends on personal experience, but it is worth mentioning.

• Bubble also has some performance limitations in terms of complex or data-intensive applications. This might happen based on the common nature of no-code platforms.

• Bubble restricts users and ties them to its ecosystem, so users must rely on the platform’s availability, releases, and updates while scheduling application maintenance.

• Bubble provides hosting for the applications created on the platform, but scalability is the issue to highlight. Managing and scaling applications with high loads and heavy traffic might be problematic and require extra resources.

 

Webflow

 Webflow is a popular platform among users who want to build and manage appealing websites but don’t have extensive coding skills or a budget to hire professional developers. This tool can be used as a website designer or a CMS (Content Management System). Webflow can be used for prototyping, creating mockups for MVP (Minimum Viable Product), and designing functional websites.

Thanks to CMS, users can create blog posts, team member pages, portfolios, and landing pages to be monitored and A or B tested. Users are free to operate any type of content and HTML elements to provide accessibility. At the same time, they can also add other essential elements such as meta titles, meta descriptions, images, and markups for static and dynamic CMS pages.

Talking about the pros, it’s reasonable to outline the following:

• Webflow also offers impressive capabilities for smooth integrations with side tools like chatbots and CRM software. Users can benefit from these integrations and find competitive business solutions to meet their needs.

• Webflow allows exporting code to other E-commerce platforms or CMS, so users can integrate developed products into different ecosystems and expand their online presence.

• Design functionalities help users create fast-loading websites with unique designs based on low/no-code concepts.

And what are the cons of Webflow?

• The platform provides limited SEO (Search Engine Optimization) control. Users can’t perform code fine-tuning, such as modifying the HTML of a blog post. This can influence the SEO of their sites.

• Webflow is a good choice for newcomers, but trained users need more certain options, like filters and rich text styling in the CMS.

• The restricted e-commerce functionality of Webflow is also mentioned to be very basic and with limited scalability. 

• The platform has no native support for subscriptions and memberships.

 

Appsmith

The other popular platform is Appsmith. It’s an excellent choice for coders requiring more control over the application’s development process. The platform possesses a comprehensive set of useful features to add complex, sophisticated functionality to your apps. You can find API integration, triggers, and scripts here to customize your app according to your needs or market trends. Moreover, Appsmith also has an intuitive code editor, so you can write custom code for projects.

The simple drag-and-drop interface allows the creation of tailored UI components and management of projects with outstanding project management capabilities.

Appsmith can also swagger about its advanced security. It provides role-based access control, ensuring access to sensitive information only to authorized personnel. Additionally, Appsmith can integrate with third-party services; it supports webhooks, API integration, and custom code.

Let’s consider the pros of Appsmith:​

• The platform has many customizable features, allowing developers to add complex application functionality.

• You can write custom code for your applications due to the intuitive code editor.

• Appsmith supports JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3, TypeScript, etc.

• Users can connect various services in one application quickly and securely.

• A palette of ready templates and components facilitates the creation of new applications from scratch.

Let’s observe the other side of Appsmith:​

• As mentioned, the platform is not intended for newcomers due to a lack of beginner-friendly UI and functionality compared to other low-code platforms. This experience might be useless or much more complicated for particular users.

• Every code change, even light adjustments, is tricky and should be performed manually.

• This solution is expensive, so some clients in the SMB segment might need more affordable options to meet their budgets.

 

ToolJet

Similar to Appsmith, the ToolJet platform is also an extremely powerful software development tool that developers can use to create applications connected to data sources quickly and efficiently. Both platforms have intuitive drag-and-drop elements, code tools, connectors, and a visual development process.

Referring to Tooljet, it’s necessary to emphasize its user-friendly UI designed for users who prefer working with visual builder elements and drag-and-drop functionality. ToolJet has a design canvas where you can drag and drop elements to build your application from scratch quickly and easily. Also, ToolJet allows users to collaborate on the same projects, and it has share and preview options to share versions and perform test runs of applications before release. This platform also provides project management capabilities and version control. 

Tooljet supports various coding languages, including Java, JavaScript, Python, and Ruby. 

Moreover, Tooljet has a comprehensive documentation library for users seeking extra support and help while working on projects. The reference materials include articles, videos, help options, and FAQs.

ToolJet is equipped with tools both for the front and back end to allow the creation of complex custom apps. And as with every platform, it has pros and cons.

Pros of Tooljet:​

• Intuitive and easy-to-use user interface that makes it simple to create applications quickly with drag-and-drop tools

• Due to impressive management features, users can collaborate and control project progress in real-time. Versioning allows rolling back to any suitable version or making changes to a particular version to perform a test run.

• The platform also has built-in tools for analytics and reporting, so you can assess and analyze the following application metrics: performance, usage, and reliability.

• The platform supports webhooks. You can write a custom code on the platform or use connectors for API integration.

• It has multiple environments for development, staging, and production.

Cons of Tooljet:​

• Although the platform is declared low/no-code, it requires understanding the coding basis to use all capabilities. You need to know how queries, variables, and underlying code act.

• The platform doesn’t have a marketplace or bundle of ready-to-use templates.

• The platform doesn’t have a community to share ideas, ask for advice, or find mind-mates.

• The reference documentation and tutorials are for experienced users rather than citizen developers and newcomers.

• Lack of support for third-party integrations can be a barrier for specific application scenarios.

 

Both Tooljet and Appsmith are potent tools for application development. While ToolJet is focused more on UI and a “drag-and-drop” approach, Appsmith is designed mainly for advanced users with solid coding experience or for professional developers. Both platforms can be a treasure for curious minds and trained hands.

And what about PLATMA? 

Can we offer something beyond the competitor’s coverage?

In the analysis and data collection stage, we found that our highlight is not in difference from competitors but in a combination of all their helpful and demanded features.

• PLATMA concept is low/no-code development. We have an intuitive UI builder with “drag-and-drop” elements on the front end to facilitate development for no-coders and citizen developers.

• We also have a robust back end. Our users can visually build workflows using the open-source tool Node-RED to meet application business requirements. The main feature is the capability to build processes visually, like combining puzzle pieces.

• We also have inbuilt data sources, and connecting third-party data sources is possible. 

• Integration? No problem, choose.

• We have a set of ready-to-use applications (we call them “templates”), and this set is supplemented by our developers or citizen developers from our community.

• We have a library of helpful reference materials and video tutorials.

• We attract non-technical users in Ukraine, giving them opportunities to try themselves in development.

• We also have an AI feature implemented on the platform. It allows development in “natural people language.” Just speak to our AL tool and describe what you need. For sure, it will not create your app from A to Z, but it will assist you in making 70-75% of the work for you. The rest you should fine-tune yourself.

• We also have a learning resource, PLATMA Academy. The students study domains of their choice and learn to work on the PLATMA platform. They can become citizen developers (if non-technical) and start contributing to the community and monetizing their skills.

• Yes, and we have a monetization opportunity for those who develop templates and upload them to our marketplace.

 

Considering the lightweight analysis from the two articles, it’s worth mentioning that many factors and aspects could influence the development platform choice. Primarily, in every particular case, you should evaluate your team’s technical expertise and needs to determine which platform meets your tooling requirements better.

We put all our efforts and skills not only to stay in the niche with our competitors and offer a commercially viable solution but also to go beyond the niche. Read our next article, “Major players in the niche of low/no-code? Can we go beyond this niche?” to learn more.