Do you have an idea for an APP? Then this is the place to learn how to build it yourself.
In 2024 we start with the course for Citizen Developers. In 8 animated lectures, you will build your own application.
Whether you want an APP
for your community on a smartphone,
for your work on a tablet, or
for your customers on a PC screen,
at the end of the hands-on training, you can provide them with your first application.
Pre-register
Register for this unique opportunity with the form below.
How can you do this?
During the last decade, a new technology has come up to build enterprise-grade applications for PC-screens and phones. This technology is called Low-Code Application Development(LCAP).
With these Low-code environments, you don’t have to write programs line by line, but you can simply specify your requirements with easy-to-use checkboxes, drop-down lists and look-ups.
This approach has drastically increased productivity. Where it used to take months or even years to develop a reliable application, it can now be done in days or weeks.
Watch the introduction video below or continue reading below the video.
Affordable
Until now, this technology was only affordable for large enterprises, but Lowcode4all now makes it reachable for everybody to create AND deploy their applications with an enterprise-grade low-code environment.
For 1480 Euro you will get a full-service approach to creating your own application. This price includes:
8 animated lectures where you will learn everything from entering your information to presenting it on a screen.
A run-time environment so that your colleagues, your customers and your friends can immediately see & use your application.
PLUS: personal guidance from our teachers to help you all the way: from design to deployment.
Pre-Registration form.
Do you want to create your own Application (APP)? Then reserve your spot for our 2024 course with 8 animated lectures. – – – – – This pre-registration does not bind you to anything. It only enables us to reserve a spot for you. In the first quarter of 2024, we start and and you will receive an official invitation
Push the registration button to reserve your seat today!
This reservation does not bind you to any obligation, in the first quarter of 2024, you will receive an official invitation.
Thank you for your registration. We will enter a great adventure together, at the end of which, you will have built your own app which your friends, colleagues or customers can immediately use.
In 2024 the training of the Lowcode4all Academy starts and we will introduce our unique Lowcode Course on YouTube.
Your comments and suggestions are WELCOME!
Contrary to our 20-second ads on Facebook and TikTok, YouTube advertisements can be longer. That resulted in a completely different approach and design.
This is an example of one of the advertisements that we intend to use on YouTube.
If you have time, please have a look and let us know if you have any comments or suggestions.
On average, our animated video lectures are 15 to 20 minutes long. Lots of information to not only teach developers how to technically use a low-code application environment but also to let them fully benefit from being able to provide ready-to-change applications to their community.
And yet, you also find Lowcode4all videos on Google Shorts, Instagram Reels and TikTok. What are we doing there? With videos of 20 to 30 seconds?
Grow the Lowcode4all family
The objective of Lowcode4all is to let local communities benefit from the enormous power of low-code development platforms (LCAP). The way we do that is by assisting local developers to learn the ropes of low-code development and to help them set up successful businesses. Businesses that support local companies and organisations with their APPs, their applications, their data processing requirements. Assisting them to increase their competitive advantage.
We do that by providing affordable courses that not only deal with the technical aspects of coding in a low-code environment, but also with the all-encompassing importance of communication with customers and end-users and by helping developers set up a sustainable business model.
Where are the ambitious developers?
In our experience, ambitious developers do not have a lot of free time. They are working on giving the best applications to their customers and end-users.
When they relax, they just do that in between tasks. Every day they move from one task to the another and in between, when they look for distraction, they want something that does not cost too much time. Shorts, Reels and TikToks meet that requirement.
We want to help those developers by becoming 10 to 20 times more productive than they can be with traditional programming languages. To give those developers that message, we have to get them during those short moments when they are not focused on providing solutions for their customers.
And that is where our 20 to 30-second videos come in: short messages to make them aware of Lowcode4all and how we can help them provide amazing results for their customers.
Our Shorts, Reels and TikToks.
Have a look at which of our videos you might run into when you are on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok:
Marot Matosov, vice-president of the reputable IT Service provider Damco Solutions (over 1500 employees), wrote a very worthwhile article about Low-Code and No-Code Platforms: Understanding The Benefits.
In several short and very accessible paragraphs, Marot Matosov:
summarizes the Value Proposition of Low-Code No-Code Platforms,
discusses how large corporations can ensure Data Security,
explains that with Low-Code and No-Code Platforms, custom applications are Rapidly Delivered to suit each client’s unique needs.
Although every sentence of his article is worthwhile mentioning here, I will limit myself to quoting this section about how low-code developers become business specialists.
“Low-Code combines the expertise of business analysts and developers as the development cycles become more efficient, bringing developers closer to the business and enhancing efficiency when the same person builds and implements the requirements. Thus, a new developer profile is emerging, promising more efficient application delivery.”*
You can find the full article on the Damco Solutions website with the link* below.
With the sentence above, Marot Matosov describes the ideal professional resulting from Lowcode4all‘s training and support programs:
An application developer who is familiar with all aspects of application design, and who is focused on understanding and meeting the needs of organisations.
We call such a person a:
* Click here to read the full article by Marot Matosov. It just takes 4 minutes and is worthwhile for anybody who wants to know more about the benefits of No-code Low-code Platforms.
In January 2024, we will start with our first developers course. Below you already find a preview of the first animated lecture. During this 8-lecture course, you go through all aspects of low-code application design and you will build your own low-code application.
Topics that will be introduced include:
Interviewing end-users or customers
Analysis
Database design
Designing input screens, validations and look-ups
Making reports & queries
Month-end processes & other business rules
Making graphs & maps
Creating telephone apps
If this sounds a bit overwhelming, then do not worry. In Low-code application development, the most important thing is that you know your business. That you know the purpose of the application that you want to build, and that you know how you, your colleagues, or your customer, intend to use it.
After the 8 animated lectures, you will have built your own application and you will feel familiar with all aspects of low-code development. You will feel confident that you can provide your end-users or customers with applications in weeks or even in just days.
Start the video below to get a preview of the first lecture or scroll down for a unique introduction offer.
Video recommendations 1) Take your time. Our animated video lectures are full of information. We recommend that you take your time to watch the video. It can be worthwhile to pause or stop, so you can rewatch or think about a topic that has been introduced. 2) Press the ‘Watch on YouTube’ button if you want to watch the video on full screen.
Preview of one of the 8 lectures of the low-code developer’s course (version 0.8)
Pre-registration OFFER.
The full low-code developer’s course, with 8 similar animated lectures, will be available in the first quarter of 2024.
Participants who register early, can obtain the complete course for JUST 35€.
That 35 Euro includes the experience of building a complete application by yourself.
You can follow the application and build your own application within one week, or you can take 2 months to do that. That is completely your own choice.
EARLY BIRD BONUS
In addition, the first 300 participants receive our unique Lowcode4all mug.
The mug is made in Europe from European steel and hand- enamelated with our slogan:
Low-code DEVELOPERS are HIGH Achievers
Course options
You can choose from 3 options to follow the Low-code Developer’s course. Each of the options gives you access to:
All animated video lectures
Low-code application platform (LCAP) to develop your application
Lowcode4all community with other students
1 – Do-it-yourself
This month, you can still become a low-code developer for just 35€. Our animated video lectures deal with all aspects of low-code application design. From interviewing the end-user, via full application development to deployment. Ambitious developers and managers will be able to follow the lectures by themselves. And if you have questions, then you have access to the Lowcode4all community with other students.
2 – Class participation (195€)
With our Class option, you participate in a class with access to a teacher. She or he will ensure that any questions that you post in the community, will get a good response. You can still complete the developer’s course within a week or spread it out over 2 months, but with class participation, you are sure your questions get noticed and answered.
3 – Private teacher (595€)
Get your private teacher for just 595€. Your teacher will be familiar with the application that you are building and guide your progress through all the steps of the course. This is the option to choose when you want to study online while benefiting from direct personal guidance.
Recommendation
The proof of the pudding is in the eating and therefore, to graduate from the course, you will have to make an application for a customer or end-user. In the first lecture (see the video above) we tell you more about that.
We advise you to find a customer before you start our developer’s course and we do that for 2 reasons:
Efficient use of time. It enables you to make their application already while following the course. But, of course, you can also build our training application first and then build the application for your customer or end-user.
Cover your course expenses. If your developer’s course is not paid for by your employer, finding a customer before you start the course, can help you cover the expenses for the course.
Universities & other educational institutes.
Introducing low-code application developments to students is part of our mission. Starting in January 2024, our lectures are therefore not only available in video format, but also in PDF form with PowerPoint presentations.
We also provide you with a program with which you can monitor the progress of your students, get access to their applications, and grade them on the aspects that you find important.
Contact me @paulschoe@mastodon.world, or use the pre-registration form to get more information on how we support educational institutions.
.
Registration form.
Do you also want to become a low-code professional? Then join the course at Lowcode4all Register now and soon you will build applications faster than ever before.
Lowcode4all is all about empowering local software developers so that they can help organisations in their communities provide the best service to customers and be(come) the most competitive in their market.
We do that by providing training in low-code application platforms (LCAP). With low-code development, you can develop applications faster than ever. What used to take months or years, can now often be done in days or weeks.
But more importantly than building applications in a short period of time, it is that applications can easily be modified to meet changing business needs. It is this aspect that enables local companies to be competitive in a worldwide marketplace. The ability to change functionality enables organisations to adequately meet the changing demands of their community and to stay ahead in their industry.
Not reinventing the wheel
Even though we teach you at Lowcode4all how to build applications quickly and how to get and retain customers, we do not feel that it is the best use of your time to build every solution from scratch. We believe in supporting each other, and we believe that together we can create and deploy better solutions than each of us can do by ourselves.
For this reason, once you are a member of the Lowcode4allfamily, you get access to a growing library of vertical market solutions.
Solutions that are Ready-to-Go and that can quickly be adapted to any specific requirements from your customers.
Lowcode4all family
When you have successfully completed the developer’s course, you can become part of the Lowcode4allfamily. Our family is formed by professional low-code developers who are all focused on creating the best solutions for their customers. The family is a great place to exchange best practices and build a network of professional friends.
If you have also completed the Entrepreneurs Path, then you get access to our Application Collection. In this collection, you find contributions and applications from other family members.
Some of them are free. Free contributions are often sub-routines that can help other developers. For example, the code to place custom location pins on a map.
Other applications require a fee. Often these are applications that have been developed for a specific vertical market.
You come in direct contact with the developers of the application and together you decide on three plans:
A commercial plan to expand the reach of their application.
A technical plan that describes the knowledge and steps to understand the application.
An implementation plan to ensure that all parties: your customer, the original developer and you, will be satisfied with the end result.
Complex applications
Most applications are ready for you to implement and modify. Other applications, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) require specialised knowledge that can only be provided by the author of the application. In that case, you can apply to become their representative where you work with your local customer and the author provides the knowledge, the training and, sometimes, for very large systems, the implementation.
Publishing your own applications
The Lowcode4allfamily can also expand the reach of your own application or applications.
Once you have an application that addresses the needs of a vertical market, you can apply to have the application become part of the Application Collection.
In general, there are 5 conditions for an application to become part of the Application Collection:
The application has been used to satisfaction by at least 2 different customers.
The application has been used by end-users for at least 6 months.
The application meets the VINYL development and naming standards.
Ample information has to be posted in the Application Collection. Including screenshots and a description of the target market and of the competitive benefits for end-users.
User documentation has to be up-to-date for all fields and functions.
We always advise having 2 versions of your application:
An easy-to-implement basic version that can quickly be deployed.
A comprehensive version with additional functionality that can be activated with parameters.
Together with your implementation partner, you decide whether they will customize and maintain the application for their market, or whether you will remain responsible for ongoing development.
With the growing importance of remote work, our ubiquitous smartphones have become an essential tool to stay in touch with colleagues and customers. The same is happening for our business applications.
A good business application helps you to stay on top of what is happening in your organisation and enables you to take effective action whenever needed. Many people want to have that ability also when they are on the move. This is not so much a matter of being available 24/7 for their work, but more that it allows them to pick up their child from school at 4 o’clock in the afternoon without having to be afraid that they miss something important.
Having access to applications while being on the move is becoming more and more of a requirement. Not only for customers, who you want to act when they have an urge, but also for staff who want to work efficiently. Enabling these groups to act on their smartphone is the obvious solution.
To demonstrate the power and reliability of low-code environments, Lowcode4all has chosen for VINYL. VINYL is mostly known as a productive Low-Code Application Platform (LCAP) for enterprise-grade applications. Since enterprise-grade applications and smartphone apps seem to be on opposite sides of the spectrum, I am sometimes asked whether low-code platforms can also build apps for smartphones.
It is a legitimate question because, although functionality and data-security requirements are the same, apps for smartphones have very different requirements for the design of screens and reports.
The smaller screen and the other ways to interact with a phone app (no mouse or trackpad but touchscreen and swipes) have different demands for the user interface than applications that run on large monitors and that can present everything at a glance.
Being able to build phone apps was therefore one of the criteria that we used during the selection of our preferred design environment. And in this, VINYL excelled in two areas:
Every developed application, screen and report is automatically available for different devices and screen sizes, whether they are large monitors or small smartphones.
The low-code, object-driven, approach of VINYL includes an extensive library of HTML-widgets that can be fully customized so that your smartphone applications can fully benefit from features in a mobile environment including, integration with third-party apps.
Did you know that VINYL is built in itself? That means not only that everything that you see in the VINYL application development environment, you can also do in your own applications, but it also means that VINYL can be accessed from your mobile phone. Obviously, for a system as expansive as VINYL, you benefit from having a large monitor where you can see everything at a glance, but if you wish, you can maintain your VINYL apps from your mobile phone.
A low-code phone app
Offering access via mobile phone also becomes important, if not essential, for your customer support. Have a look at one of the phone apps that we have built. In this case, the phone app completely replaced the desktop application that they were aiming for.
In 2024, the Adventures APP will be launched. The Adventures APP is an application for Android and iPhones with which teenagers can learn scouting skills and that supports scouting leaders with the preparation of their weekly gatherings.
The Adventures APP has been built in VINYL and at this moment they are recording the hundreds of adventures that together form the training program that is released at the end of 2023.
Below you see a preview of the application. This provides one example of how low-code can be used to build apps for smartphones while keeping all the security and functionality in place for enterprise environments.
Preview will be posted in August. Please return to try the app yourself
The Adventures APP includes the following functionality:
Membership management
Adventures management (courses)
Social community
Chats
Postings with different privacy settings
Class & course management
Individual club courses & events
Newsletters per club
Student grading
Progress monitoring
Moderation of member posts
E-commerce
Commission distribution
Phone apps are a reason to choose low-code
Offering convenience is key to the retention and satisfaction of both customers and employees. At Lowcode4all we believe that demands emerge locally and that meeting the ever-increasing demands of your customers and your staff enables you to thrive and survive in the upcoming decade where service will be key.
In many cases, the demand to offer mobile services might be the best reason to start with low-code development now.
Secure app development in a solid framework on a high-speed track.
Offering the most convenient service usually means that people can take action at the moment that they have a demand. And nowadays those moments often occur when people are on their mobile phone. In 2023, more than 50% of internet traffic took place on mobile devices (source: broadband search). Marketing specialists constantly talk about ‘funnels’ with which they describe the journey that a customer has to go through from experiencing a wish to placing the order.
But that funnel towards the order is only half the story. Imagine the benefits when customers can get their information, place their orders, or book their appointment, on their mobile phone, directly connected to your system.
To achieve this, you have 2 requirements:
an enterprise-grade environment so that you are sure that your and their data is safe and that the transaction processing is reliable.
an environment that can quickly be adapted to changing business needs, such as a change in opening times, changes in stock, special holidays or events.
We chose VINYL because VINYL offers you both: enterprise-grade security and the no-code/low-code speed of application development.
It might very well be that the demand and the opportunities of mobile convenience are the best reason to make your first steps into low-code application development. IT solutions make the market more competitive. To get ahead, and even thrive, we advise every company to benefit from low-code now.
Services that you can offer on mobile environments
In general, all functionality that you can offer on a desktop environment, you can also make available for mobile devices. Here are a few functions that are specifically useful to offer customers and employees on their mobile phones:
Be where your customers are.
Examples of mobile convenience for customers:
getting up-to-date product information
buying products (for pickup, delivery or shipment)
making appointments (doctors, hairdressers)
reservations and check-ins
inquiring about their customer status
paying bills
account management
access to chatboxes that are connected to your database (reducing call centre times)
last minute bookings (travel insurance)
processing insurance claims
incident reporting
managing return shipments
Examples of mobile convenience for staff:
access to their work schedule
access to customer requests
updating status information
approving return shipments
real-time incident support
asking for leave (holidays, health)
Did you know that customers do not need to download an app to have access to your mobile functionality? You can present a link, or button, on any internet page, Facebook or Instagram story, LinkedIn post or Tiktok description, to have the above-mentioned functions appear in a phone screen format without needing your own APP.
The no-code/low-code revolution will empower local companies and local developers to benefit from advanced IT solutions.
Gone are the days when companies and organisations could become competitive by buying an off-the-shelf solution from large organisations.
To be competitive now, to meet the demands of current customers and citizens, you need to accommodate and, preferably, even pre-empt their requests.
Low-code environments enable you to do that. Build applications fast and be able to customize them in days to any changing customer needs or to accommodate new opportunities.
Who will benefit from this?
Local companies and organisations.
First of all, it are the local companies and organisations that benefit from this. Suddenly they can use IT to effectively service their customers and to compete with companies that have large IT teams at their disposal.
Local software companies.
The demands of customers and citizens can often no longer be met by standard applications. To meet these challenges effectively, applications have to be flexible so that they can be adapted to changing business needs quickly. This opens the market for local software developers. Software developers who know the demands in their community and who can help local companies and organisations to offer the service that they want.
And we at Lowcode4all want to help with that. We want to help software developers and students become professional no-code/low-code developers. One way we do that is by providing programs to universities to have their students gain real low-code/no-code experience.
Once developers have become certified developers, we want to teach them the skills to attract customers and build long-term relationships so that they can create stable software companies to service their local community.
Low-code rules
We believe that over the next decade, low-code applications will be implemented in all organizations that want to improve customer service. More and more regulations, working times, and customer demands vary on a local level. Staff wants to have flexible working hours, new marketing channels will come up, customers expect a personal service, and all this needs to be managed.
The only environments that can deal effectively with such ever-changing demands are low-code environments. Only low-code environments benefit from both the productivity of no-code ànd the flexibility of being able to meet local requirements.
VINYL: development time changes from months and years to days and weeks.
Empowering developers
Application developers need to provide solutions. They are always under time pressure. For decades there was a large discrepancy between the moment that there was a need for data processing and the moment that developers could meet that need. Enterprise-grade software development was expensive and costs time.
Low-code development environments drastically change that situation. Once a system has been set up, taking data security and user roles into account, developers can implement changes quickly with an agile, prototype-based, development approach.
Lowcode4all teaches software developers and students how to benefit from this. How to develop business-grade solutions in less time than ever before, and how to maintain them.
Creating Entrepreneurs
We believe that due to low-code environments, software development will become localized. That local developers, who have personal connections with their community, will help local companies and organisations to reach their ambitions.
To do that with a viable business approach, every certified VINYL developer can participate in our Entrepreneurs Academy. During these courses, we will teach you how to attract customers and how to build long-term relationships with them. So that you can create a stable software company, building IT solutions for your community.
Are you interested?
Watch the video at the top for more information about our vision.
We are now preparing the training programs and Lowcode4all starts in 2024.
Do you want to become a professional no-code/low-code developer?
Are you an ambitious developer who wants to offer customizable business solutions to your community?
Or do you teach at a university and are you looking for an attractive course to have your students gain real no-code/low-code experience?
Then contact us with the form below and we will keep you informed.
Thanks for your time and we look forward to helping you or your students on the exciting path of bringing practical solutions to local communities.
If you service APPX applications, then I have to start by congratulating you on your good choice for an application development environment.
APPX was a productive low-code environment avant la lettre. Then called a 4th Generation language (4GL), APPX already provided the benefits of
coding by entering specifications,
a consistent user interface throughout all applications, and
built-in security and documentation.
For more than 20 years, you have benefited from one of the most productive design environments that there is.
Future
But at the same time, your users reach a moment where they want their applications to be ready for the future. A future where they can make use of all the benefits offered by graphical user interfaces and mobile platforms. A future where their applications can be easily integrated with the many specialised apps that are now available. A future where there is access to young developers who enjoy providing effective solutions for upcoming business needs.
You can now offer your users that future.
History
As you might know, APPX was already the 3rd generation of a 4GL. This development of the 4GL originated with Speed 1, which was followed up by Speed II, the development environment of choice for hundreds and hundreds of companies worldwide that made use of Wang mini-computers in the nineties. From banking to retail, from manufacturing to hospitals. From large multinational organisations with dozens of locations to small and medium-sized organisations with only one location.
Then, APPX was developed. A platform that brought the productive Speed II low-code design environment to open platforms such as Unix and Windows. This already happened more than 25 years ago.
The same team that originally developed the APPX development environment decided to develop a new platform that would be able to provide an advanced graphical user interface, create applications that can be used on different operating systems, databases and even devices (PC, tablets, phones) and that provides an enterprise-grade environment for even the most demanding industries.
VINYL
In 2018, they launched VINYL. A comprehensive, all encompassing, no-code/low-code development environment that shows that the designers had more than 30-year experience with making low-code design environments.
Now in its third release, VINYL keeps getting the highest scores of user satisfaction from companies that use low-code application platforms (LCAP) to develop applications for their prime business activities.
Annually, you already see VINYLamong the award winners of low-code/no-code design environments.
Now part of the famous worldwide-operating integration company Jitterbit, VINYL is quickly becoming the tool of choice among many companies that see Rapid Application Development as the path to meet ever-changing business requirements and to increase their competitive edge.
Future for APPX applications
If you are looking for a state-of-the-art future for your APPX applications then VINYL will exceed your expectations.
VINYL will offer everything that you were already used to in APPX and much more:
No-code application design for maximum productivity.
Low-code solutions to accommodate specific requests varying from customized user interfaces to integration with other Apps or even with other databases.
Integration modules for third-party connections towards Google Apps, Quickbooks, Salesforce and many others.
Freedom of choice of database(s).
Graphical User Interface (GUI) with widgets that allow for full customization, including code from 3rd parties.
Chart panels provide numerous charts and graphs, both during data entry and on reports.
Map panels for easy display of geographical locations.
Integrated security on user-level, on data-level and on function-level.
Integrated auditing from showing when records were added or modified and by whom, to Full Audit storing all data modifications into a separate logging table.
Integrated documentation on function and field level.
Reusable business rules that are specified in a low-code environment (see below).
Integrated Multi-Lingual facilities
Version control and Release Management.
Consistent user interface (UI) for end-users resulting in short learning curves for new users and high productivity for their daily operations.
VINYL: a new approach towards application development.
At the same time, the design environment has not remained the same. Besides the benefits of being designed for current operating systems, user interfaces, databases and business requirements, the designers have benefited from the fact that VINYL is their 4th generation of a low-code design environment.
This extensive experience enabled them to further shorten the time you need for application development. VINYL is therefore even more productive than what you are already used to in the APPX 4GL. They achieved this by creating a very strict separation of application design into 3 areas: the Data Layer, the Business Layer and the UI Layer(screens & reports).
Each of these layers is conveniently available from the VINYL Workbench and, to further improve productivity, you can have multiple layers open at the same time on different tabsheets.
VINYL Workbench
Data Layer
The Data Layer forms the core of your system. This is where the relationships between the tables are defined. VINYL‘s patented universal translator allows you to mix and match different databases inside one application.
The rules defined in the Data Layer do not only include the relationships between keys and alternate keys, but they also include dependencies and even the connection to business rules to enable automatic processing whenever a value in a table is added, deleted or changed.
Business Layer
In the Business Layer, you can define your customized low-code.
VINYL enables you to build complete no-code applications by only using the Data Layer and the UI Layer, but it gives you the flexibility to define any business rules which then can be called upon from each of the other 2 layers.
The benefit of this approach is that these business rules can be invoked as components from any of the other two layers. This prevents the same coding from having to take place multiple times and assures consistency throughout the application.
The Business Layer makes use of a graphical user interface to define the relationship between tables that are addressed in a business rule. This simplifies coding and gives developers a quick impression of used relationships.
VINYL Business Rules
UI Layer
Menu’s, data entry screens and reports are defined in the UI Layer(User Interface). Pages here are defined in panels where each panel addresses a table, including data lookups. You can place multiple panels on one page and for each panel you can define the type of presentation of the underlying data: text, radio buttons and dropdown listings, graphs, maps, images, etc.
Sample of a VINYL Application User Interface for end-users.
Calculations on data-entry screens and reports are done by calling up the relevant business rule thus ensuring that the same calculation, taking place on different input screens or reports, always results in the same outcome.
Graphical representations of applications
In VINYL, graphical representations are not only used to improve the productivity of developers but they are also available to present and explain the applications to customers and to provide security managers with quick overviews of who has access to which menus, functions and data.
Application Overview
Per menu, data entry screen and report, the relationships can easily be shown in a diagram.
Relationships as provided from this Application menu
Security Roles
Security managers can use this representation to define and see what access is given to users who have the same role within an organisation.
Tables and menus that the Superuser has access to.
Migration Cooperation
At Lowcode4all we can help you with your migration process. We are deeply familiar with both APPX and VINYL and can create a smooth migration path for your applications.
Depending on your preferences, you can choose one of the three options with which we support migrations:
1) Your own VINYL installation.
We can provide you with your own VINYL installation, help you to set up the environment and to start with the development and you can do all the remaining work within your own organisation.
However, for a smooth migration, we recommend option 2 or 3.
2) Migration Support Program
With migration support, your own developers still do (most of) the work in VINYL, but you can start quickly and we provide hands-on support at every step of the way.
With Migration Support you make use of our VINYL installation and we provide training for your application developers on our system.
The benefit of the Migration Support Program is that your application and data are installed in a secure environment and together we make sure that you meet your migration objectives.
We can actually look at your application in case you run into problems, assist with the development, show ‘how it is done‘ and make sure that your developers don’t get stuck.
Once the migration is completed, you can decide to continue to make use of our convenient hosting and support, or you can decide to purchase a VINYL license yourself, set up your own server and move your application there.
3) Full Migration Service
With our Full Migration Service, you provide us with a copy of, or access to, your APPX application and we perform the complete development in VINYL for you. If you wish, your developers get trained in VINYLduring this process.
In general, our objective is to keep the structure of the menus and the screens as similar as possible to your current application. We choose for this approach to minimize the disruption for your end-users when they step over to their new environment. They already know where to find their tasks and how to carry them out.
But if you wish, we can also immediately create a workflow and screens that benefit from the many features of VINYL that are not available within APPX.
Operational cooperation
If you are a provider of IT solutions, you become part of the Lowcode4allfamily. Professionals worldwide who work together to get the best VINYL applications to existing and new customers and who can reach out to each other for knowledge, for applications, for servicing international customers, and during busier periods.
Migration Process
Do you want to know more about moving the applications of your customers to the productive VINYL environment?
Then enter your name and contact details in the form below and we will be in touch with you soon.
As every IT manager knows, legacy systems have both benefits and drawbacks.
Benefits
The large benefit of legacy systems is that, in general, they work. They have stood the test of time and that helps your organisation to run smoothly. Nothing beats that.
Drawbacks.
The drawbacks are also known and can be split into three areas:
It becomes more and more difficult to incorporate upcoming business needs into the system. Your company or organisation falls behind others.
The costs of maintaining your system become higher and higher while the costs of software development only reduce for organisations with modern development environments.
Eventually, you will be arriving at a brick wall. New hardware or operating systems can not be supported or there are simply no developers available anymore that know your systems or that are proficient in your programming language.
Low-code offers a fast solution.
No-code development has often been frowned upon by professional IT specialists. And quite rightly so. There is a reason why your organisation uses legacy systems: over time, they have adapted to ever-changing business needs. And no-code systems are simply not flexible enough to deal with that.
Low-code forms the solution for that. With low-code application platforms (LCAP) you can still achieve the impressive productivity of a no-code development, but it is easy to add or integrate customized code to meet your objectives. Often you can even integrate existing specialised algorithms while the new environment enables you to meet the demands of the future.
Using your own specialists.
When replacing legacy systems, our advice is always to not let a new system be developed by an outside organisation but to benefit from people who are familiar with your applications and train them in a modern development platform.
Outside developers who are already proficient in the new environment can then help them to set up a system that makes use of your existing datasets (or a copy thereof) and that already includes most user interfaces and the standard data processing.
But, as mentioned, there is a reason why you are still using your legacy systems, and that is because they work. And only your existing developers know why and how they work. Therefore, once the base system is set up, we advise that your existing developers participate or take over.
When getting a legacy system ready for the future, we prefer to minimize the disruption for the users. And the best people to do that, are the people that are familiar with your current system.
Knowing both worlds
As mentioned, the first step is to set up the new environment. To define the user screens with modern tools, ensure that the databases can be addressed, that all basic data processing is working and that the data security is set up.
The next step is ensuring that the specific functionality of your legacy system becomes available in the new system. Preferably this involves developers who are familiar with both the original coding language and the new development environment.
By copying and porting code, or by reprogramming functionality, they can ensure that the new system follows the same algorithms, procedures and calculations as your legacy systems.
And because these developers enjoy the benefits of a low-code environment, they can do this in much less time than you are used to.
Example: APPX towards VINYL
At Lowcode4all we specialise in migrating applications that were developed in the 4th generation language APPX. We move them to the award-winning VINYL no-code/low-code environment. The procedures we use for that can act as a blue-print for migrating from other legacy systems.
We follow the following steps:
Connect VINYL to (a copy of) the existing database of the APPX applications.
Copy or re-build the existing menus, the data-entry screens and the basic data processing in VINYL. This is done to provide current end-users with a familiar system so that they experience a smooth transfer to the new environment. Because of VINYL’s approach towards application development, this step can be completed in an impressively short period of time.
Setup data-security for the testers. Integrity and access to data should at all times meet the standards and regulations of the organisation.
Compare and ensure, side-by-side, the functionality of each action on both the legacy system and the new system. Preferably this is done by specialists that are familiar with both languages and should in its final phase include end-users who are familiar with the daily operation of the legacy system.
Training
To ensure minimum disruption when the new system replaces the legacy system, Lowcode4all can train your existing developers in VINYL application development and provide them guidance throughout the complete project.
That way, your existing people will also be able to benefit from the productivity of your new environment in:
implementing new functionality
reducing your costs of operation
benefiting from new devices and operating systems and
