Citizen Developer

  • Data Source Simplification – ViziApps' most powerful no-code feature?

    Michael Hackney, CTO and VP of Products, ViziApps

    Over the years, I’ve worked with (and developed) a number of rapid application development (RAD) and low-code tools targeting development for desktop, Web browser, embedded device, and mobile device applications. Although these tools simplified developing the “shell” of the application, their required integration with databases and other data sources was complex and time consuming.

    As I continue to dig into ViziApps® Studio to learn its ins-and-outs by developing increasingly complex mobile apps, I’ve come to appreciate how easy it is to create connections to a wide assortment of data sources — from traditional SQL databases (both cloud-based and on-premises) to cloud-based platforms including Quickbase® to Google spreadsheets to IoT data sources like ThingWorx®. Figure 1 shows the ViziApps Studio pull down menu for supported data sources; and within the SQL Database category, there are nine supported SQL databases, as shown in Figure 2.

  • Five requirements for creating effective mobile-first business workflow apps

    You’re on the road, getting ready to make a sales call. In fact, it’s one of several this week. How do you get prepared? How do you get access to the information you need, when you need it? How can you best leverage your company’s data and business workflow applications, securely, all from the touch of your phone? You want those apps in your hands without the need for an extra device like a laptop. You want the apps developed for mobile-first, not as an afterthought.

    You can picture the scenario. You’re at the client’s site. You have access to their profile including the products they currently own and the client’s history with your company. Your client asks you a technical question that you can’t answer, but you know of a subject matter expert (SME) you can call on. Right then and there, within the app, you initiate a video conference call with the SME. Question answered. Problem averted. Client satisfied.

  • Introducing ViziApps® 5 - Powered by LogicBuilder™

    New ; style=Create Mobile First Workflow App Logic with No Coding.
    ViziApps LogicBuilder is the industry’s first platform for creating the essential flow and glue logic for Mobile First workflow apps, with no code. Integrated with ViziApps 5, LogicBuilder provides 70 built-in functions for 9 critical types of mobile app operations, all with no coding:

    • Custom User Experience and App Navigation
    • Field actions
    • Multi-source Data Management
    • Logic operations
    • Math operations
    • Device actions
    • Date and Time operations
    • Loops and Popups
    • User Notifications
    These LogicBuilder Functions enable Citizen Developers, IT Professionals, and Solution Providers to rapidly create robust and even complex Mobile First business process and workflow apps using visual drag ‘n drop techniques, not coding. They replace the otherwise necessary C#, Objective C, Java, and even JavaScript coding required by other so-called Low Code and Mobile App Development coding platforms.

  • No Code Platforms Give Rise to the Mobile Citizen Developer


    Business use of mobile apps is exploding and with good reason. As a result, many mid-market and enterprise companies now need dozens to hundreds of business workflow mobile apps for their workers. These mobile apps can yield big benefits in cost reduction, increased productivity, and worker job satisfaction.

    But many of these organizations can’t keep up with the demand for a high number of custom-coded mobile business apps. It’s simply too costly and takes too long to go the custom-coding development route.

    And in many cases, it’s not necessary to use custom coding, because new Rapid Mobile App Development (RMAD) platforms empower citizen developers who have just modest technical skills to create robust mobile apps for a fraction of the time and cost of custom coding. Gartner Research predicts that by 2022, 70% of software interactions in enterprises will occur on mobile devices and that more than half of all business-to-employee (B2E) mobile apps will be created by enterprise citizen developers using code-less tools.

    Forrester Research projects the market for such citizen developer mobile no code/low code platforms will grow to $15 billion by 2020.

    This is a big deal.