How to Power Smart Low-Code Apps with Plug-In Machine Learning & AI

The continuing surge towards the digital transformation of business has put intense pressure on firms to deliver applications quickly. Combined with the desire to retain competitive advantage through deploying custom apps rather than rigid off-the-shelf solutions, and a shortage of professional technical developers, low-code application platform (LCAP) adoption has boomed. The seamless and simplified techniques offered by the Mendix low-code platform allow citizen developers and business users to develop business applications without relying on heavy IT skills.

Although many such apps could significantly benefit from AI and ML functions, only a fraction of low-code development teams currently succeeds in incorporating them. Such techniques are difficult to master and again demand scarce IT skills from already over-stretched IT departments.

Given the long queue at the door of IT, an easy and cost-effective option for low-code confident firms looking to experiment with and leverage AI and ML is to incorporate UbiOps.

Whereas data scientists can develop AI models locally, running and managing the models at scale requires close collaboration between data scientists and IT, often with contrasting stakes. Data scientists focus on model performance, while the IT department is concerned with stability, reliability, and security. This is where UbiOps comes in. It allows your data scientists to train and deploy their models (and maintain them), without relying on scarce IT skills.

“By combining the technology of UbiOps and Mendix, we are able to offer our joint customers the ability to develop AI-enabled applications with independent Lifecycle and Scaling versus Application lifecycle and scaling,” said Erno Rorive, Director of platform ecosystems at Mendix.

Low code + managing AI at scale

UbiOps takes care of all the IT needed to run code, from simple scripts to complex computer vision models. For example, scalable GPU instances on-demand and pay-per-use, security, API management, advanced roles, and permissions, via a user-friendly UI or access via the CLI (Command-line interface) and client libraries. Connecting UbiOps with your Mendix application allows you to easily and quickly deploy custom-made Python and R code and run this reliably and securely behind your app.

Get started immediately Use the UbiOps plugin from the Mendix marketplace here.

Or follow this guide on creating an age estimation app with Mendix Low code and UbiOps as the hosting layer.

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