Practical Considerations for Enterprise Low-Code

Video topics

• Low-Code Development

• Transcript

  [00:00:00.152] (dramatic music) [00:00:14.040] <v ->Hi, I'm Sheryl Koenigsberg,</v> [00:00:15.740] Director of Product Marketing here at Mendix. [00:00:18.350] And today we'll be talking about the state [00:00:20.890] of the low-code industry. [00:00:22.780] I wish we were all together in Rotterdam, [00:00:24.510] but I am in Boston today in the US. [00:00:28.490] And I'm going to travel virtually across the pond [00:00:31.230] to my colleague Nick Ford in the UK. [00:00:34.170] Nick, would you introduce yourself? [00:00:37.220] <v ->Hi, Sheryl.</v> [00:00:38.053] My name is Nick Ford, [00:00:38.886] and I'm the VP of Product and Community Marketing [00:00:41.438] here at Mendix. [00:00:42.300] And speaking to you from my kitchen in the north of England. [00:00:45.020] It's great to be here. [00:00:46.930] <v ->Wonderful.</v> [00:00:47.763] Well, we have a lot to talk about. [00:00:48.700] Let's get right to it. [00:00:50.330] So Nick, as you and I have spoken in the past, [00:00:52.380] you've been in this industry [00:00:54.260] for pretty much your whole career. [00:00:56.930] As rapid application development and low-code [00:00:59.780] have developed, you've followed that. [00:01:03.330] And yet, we've talked about how low-code seems [00:01:05.700] to be having a moment right now, [00:01:07.880] why is that? [00:01:09.790] <v ->Well, it's a number of factors.</v> [00:01:11.130] I mean at the very highest level, [00:01:12.730] it's about digital transformation. [00:01:14.480] Every company is becoming a software company. [00:01:17.510] But take COVID for example. [00:01:19.550] Extreme as it is, [00:01:20.920] and I hope everybody at home is looking [00:01:23.160] after themselves during this time. [00:01:24.810] But COVID has forced many organizations overnight [00:01:28.070] to move their workforce from working in offices, [00:01:31.600] manufacturing units, retail units, [00:01:34.180] to working from home or not in the case of some. [00:01:37.810] But that puts an enormous pressure on processes, [00:01:41.390] on software and automation. [00:01:43.860] Take Mendix with over 1000 employees, [00:01:46.360] it was difficult enough for us [00:01:47.750] but we were born in the cloud. [00:01:49.410] We have Mendix, most of our processes are automated, [00:01:51.740] but still it's challenging. [00:01:52.950] Imagine those companies that don't have that, [00:01:55.270] that their systems are behind a firewall [00:01:57.320] or running on hardware inside their existing organization. [00:02:01.610] It's difficult, it's been hard. [00:02:03.430] And as a result, many organizations have either accelerated [00:02:06.740] their digital transformation journey, [00:02:08.360] or they've begun to embark on a journey. [00:02:10.840] Which leads to a demand for software development. [00:02:13.930] Actually, in the case of COVID, [00:02:15.760] absolute rapid software development. [00:02:17.730] How can we build those systems almost overnight [00:02:20.610] to support this new remote workforce. [00:02:22.870] That presses an enormous burden on software development [00:02:26.170] and software developers [00:02:27.510] and the IT department a lot of the time. [00:02:30.250] And it's simply a capacity problem for the most part, [00:02:33.280] there just aren't enough software developers to go around. [00:02:36.020] And therefore organizations turn to products [00:02:38.190] like low-code platforms to help them solve those problems. [00:02:42.800] <v ->Okay, so let's talk more about the capacity problem.</v> [00:02:45.320] 'Cause we saw signs of this even before March. [00:02:48.980] <v ->I mean yes, of course.</v> [00:02:49.813] I mean this is a problem we've been chasing for many years. [00:02:52.840] COVID has been a forcing factor for many organizations. [00:02:55.950] But if I look back over my career [00:02:58.080] from the fourth generation languages of the early 90s [00:03:01.050] to the code generators [00:03:02.520] and rapid application development environments [00:03:04.380] of the mid 90s, [00:03:05.510] we've been chasing down building better software faster [00:03:10.070] for many years. [00:03:12.660] Customers, employees require better engagement, [00:03:16.270] better applications, better experiences [00:03:18.410] when they engage with software. [00:03:20.600] They want to work with the technology [00:03:22.500] and tools of their choice. [00:03:23.440] Be it web or mobile or PWA. [00:03:25.820] And we want the data delivered to them [00:03:27.920] in a format of their choice. [00:03:29.850] And they're prepared to move [00:03:31.120] if they don't get the experience they're looking for. [00:03:33.400] So as a result, software is eating the world. [00:03:35.780] And inevitably, I think low-code will eat the world [00:03:38.450] as organizations seek to find the better, faster, [00:03:41.770] more efficient ways of building the applications [00:03:44.750] that they need to support their customers and employees. [00:03:49.310] So they turn to low-code as a as a tool for doing that. [00:03:52.610] A tool for empowering perhaps a different workforce [00:03:54.850] a new workforce. [00:03:56.170] Those that are closest to the business problems [00:03:58.340] and understand those problems well enough. [00:03:59.700] And empowering them with the tools to be able [00:04:01.750] to solve their business problems through software. [00:04:05.320] And broadly, we have a capacity problem. [00:04:07.620] There just aren't enough software developers to go around. [00:04:10.610] So bringing a low-code platform into an organization [00:04:14.650] to facilitate the cross development collaboration [00:04:17.120] between citizen developers for example, [00:04:19.580] and pro developers is something that's on the minds [00:04:23.840] and the agendas of most enterprise organizations today. [00:04:30.630] <v ->So when you talk about it like that,</v> [00:04:32.700] it almost sounds as if low-code is really good [00:04:34.790] for efficiency apps and things that people might be doing, [00:04:38.680] as you say to solve their own problems. [00:04:41.480] Are those generally the types of solutions [00:04:43.480] that you're seeing getting built with low-code? [00:04:46.130] <v ->Yes, we've seen definitely an increase in the demand</v> [00:04:48.740] for workflow solutions, departmental solutions, [00:04:52.780] even personal productivity. [00:04:54.660] But low-code is much more than that. [00:04:58.550] All in one low-code platform experiences [00:05:00.590] should be able to deliver solutions [00:05:02.900] that provide for both the wide and the deep use cases. [00:05:05.920] So strategic mission critical applications [00:05:08.720] deeply integrate into your core systems. [00:05:11.310] And that places a specific set of demands [00:05:13.260] and a need for a specific set of capabilities [00:05:16.000] from a low-code platform. [00:05:17.980] Not just the support from multiple different personas, [00:05:20.670] from citizen developers collaborating [00:05:22.620] with rapid application developers, [00:05:24.070] and pro-developers sharing a common model [00:05:27.100] with common development environments. [00:05:29.280] But also that ability to provide highly available solutions [00:05:32.980] that run in different geographical regions, for example. [00:05:36.230] So when I look at enterprise low-code, [00:05:39.350] I look for a platform that is equally as applicable [00:05:41.650] for those wide use cases as it is for deep. [00:05:45.290] Which means an organization can take one platform [00:05:48.940] to address a whole portfolio of applications. [00:05:52.490] <v ->Are there any Mendix customers</v> [00:05:53.690] in particular you think about when you think about [00:05:57.040] really enterprise and critical applications [00:05:59.820] getting delivered through Mendix. [00:06:01.860] <v ->Well, there are many,</v> [00:06:03.110] from banks to insurance customers. [00:06:04.980] But let me just take one example, [00:06:07.200] the Netherlands Postal Service. [00:06:08.720] They deliver over 7 million letters [00:06:12.100] and one and a half million parcels every day across Europe. [00:06:15.480] They've developed a mission critical order management system [00:06:18.442] that handles the logistics of the movement [00:06:20.600] of those parcels and letters. [00:06:22.640] It comprises something like 70 different microservices, [00:06:25.920] utilizes artificial intelligence [00:06:27.660] and is used by 30 or so sorting offices [00:06:30.800] around the Netherlands. [00:06:31.700] I mean it's deeply integrated into their core business [00:06:35.730] and in that respect very mission critical. [00:06:38.020] Using architectural patterns that can only be achieved [00:06:41.040] with an enterprise low-code platform like Mendix. [00:06:46.040] <v ->So I'd imagine that customer requirements</v> [00:06:48.940] around low-code have evolved as the types of applications [00:06:52.570] that they're delivering are evolving. [00:06:55.330] How have you seen that change? [00:06:57.430] <v ->Well, we've seen it change significantly.</v> [00:06:59.720] I talked to you earlier about the wide and deep use cases. [00:07:02.330] And that places a specific set of demands [00:07:05.330] on a development environment. [00:07:06.640] Whether that's a low-code development environment or not. [00:07:09.540] Departmental simple workflow solutions [00:07:11.440] or deeply integrated strategic mission critical systems [00:07:14.910] have different needs that go way beyond simple drag and drop [00:07:19.000] for UI, logic and data. [00:07:21.190] <v ->Alright, so this might be a really basic question.</v> [00:07:22.920] But I think maybe you need to help me understand low-code. [00:07:26.540] Because when we talk about low-code, [00:07:29.660] I think about the drag and drop of the UI development. [00:07:33.740] And I think of the visual display of logic. [00:07:37.100] I think that as low-code, [00:07:38.990] 'cause those things usually take code. [00:07:40.980] But you're suggesting it's a bit broader than that. [00:07:43.680] <v ->Absolutely, I'd think you mean like a pyramid</v> [00:07:46.130] with four layers. [00:07:47.050] At the very top of that pyramid, [00:07:48.450] you have this sort of convergence of low-code, [00:07:51.500] drag and drop development and multi-experience. [00:07:53.850] So that's the ability to be able to build those experiences [00:07:56.800] we talked about earlier, [00:07:58.720] to bring together different different personas [00:08:00.960] from citizen developers [00:08:01.880] and pro-developers collaborating through a shared model [00:08:06.700] to build those applications [00:08:08.240] with dedicated IDEs to support their specific needs. [00:08:12.220] You're not going to provide even [00:08:13.760] a rapid development environment relevant [00:08:16.340] for a pro-developer won't work for citizen developer. [00:08:19.000] So you need multiple IDEs that are combined [00:08:22.080] with a single model that share that model [00:08:25.024] and are able to collaborate inside the platform itself, [00:08:29.390] but with very specific technologies. [00:08:33.030] And then you need a huge amount of abstraction [00:08:35.620] and automation to cater for the to and fro-ing [00:08:38.690] between those different skill sets [00:08:41.190] with governance and control and management [00:08:44.260] that goes along with that. [00:08:45.410] So the top of the pyramid is supported by huge amounts [00:08:48.820] of abstraction very much focused as you say, [00:08:51.300] at the drag and drop low-code development [00:08:54.930] you typically associate with these kinds of platforms. [00:09:01.005] <v ->Alright, next.</v> [00:09:01.838] So let's talk a little bit more about multi-experience. [00:09:03.950] What is multi experience exactly? [00:09:05.837] And why are our customers starting to flock to it? [00:09:10.490] <v ->Well, this is my view on multi-experience.</v> [00:09:12.680] It's the next generation of application [00:09:14.680] that moves beyond the simple menu and page interaction [00:09:18.630] that we often see today to an immersive experience [00:09:21.850] that spans multiple channels. [00:09:24.200] From mobile to web to PWA to voice activated device. [00:09:28.760] And multi-experience development is how you build a solution [00:09:32.520] that delivers to the user an experience. [00:09:36.480] The data that they want when they want it, [00:09:38.890] when they need it, [00:09:40.100] and the choice of format that they want. [00:09:43.060] So that places again, [00:09:44.730] significant demands on just [00:09:46.410] a simple drag and drop environment. [00:09:48.430] When you think about catering [00:09:49.910] for not just developing the correct experience [00:09:53.290] to meet the channel, [00:09:54.390] but also ensuring that those experiences [00:09:57.190] span multiple different touchpoints. [00:09:59.200] So dealing with complexities of those environments requires [00:10:04.910] you to create a specific set of tools. [00:10:07.660] So multi-experience is really about moving [00:10:10.270] beyond the traditional application [00:10:12.150] into really delivering and focusing on the needs [00:10:15.540] of the consumer, the employee to give them exactly [00:10:18.270] what they want when they want it [00:10:20.230] in the format and choice of channel that they require. [00:10:23.970] <v ->Okay, and that's because it has additional layers</v> [00:10:26.720] in the pyramid underneath it [00:10:28.322] kind of supporting the development of it. [00:10:30.920] <v ->Yes, that's right.</v> [00:10:32.190] When it talks about the the huge amount of automation [00:10:34.690] and abstraction earlier. [00:10:36.120] There were four layers in the pyramid. [00:10:37.430] The next layer down is is composability. [00:10:39.930] So that's about reuse. [00:10:41.600] Think of a marketplace, an ecosystem of partners, [00:10:44.630] developers, external providers, [00:10:47.310] building reusable components that can be used [00:10:49.960] to assemble applications. [00:10:51.240] So that could be something as simple [00:10:52.800] as just a basic widget [00:10:54.870] or it could be a package business capability. [00:10:57.110] An example might be Twilio is a PVC. [00:11:00.020] Which is a set of headless services delivered as API's [00:11:04.490] for contact center management that can just be embedded [00:11:08.030] into your application and simply integrated and used. [00:11:11.860] So the composability element of building applications [00:11:16.570] accelerates development, [00:11:18.150] allows you to use best practices [00:11:20.910] and to leverage technology from either external sources [00:11:24.240] or packaged capabilities that might be developed internally. [00:11:28.330] So think about a microservices architecture [00:11:31.810] with a set of reusable microservices that are delivered [00:11:34.880] as part of this composability layer. [00:11:37.770] And then below that, [00:11:39.300] it could be anything from a simple template, [00:11:42.310] a building block for a user experience, [00:11:44.640] or a complete application that you assemble [00:11:47.480] into a final solution on behalf of your customer [00:11:51.050] or your employee. [00:11:52.813] So composability is a very important layer [00:11:55.650] in the enterprise low-code platform. [00:11:58.250] <v ->Okay, I'm gonna take that down at reusability on steroids.</v> [00:12:02.760] So that's great, that's great. [00:12:04.440] So next on your pyramid I see we have data virtualization. [00:12:08.290] I think sometimes data is kind of the ignored part [00:12:13.460] of app dev, right. [00:12:14.590] That it's just assumed to be difficult, [00:12:19.560] time consuming, complex and there's just nothing [00:12:21.560] you can do about it. [00:12:22.890] But it seems like [00:12:24.140] we have a different point of view on that. [00:12:26.820] <v ->Yes, we do absolutely.</v> [00:12:29.250] Application development is data integration, [00:12:31.850] you can't build apps without data. [00:12:34.980] And for most low-code platforms provide access [00:12:38.770] into data sources that historically has been through [00:12:41.620] either supporting a native local SQL database [00:12:45.190] or providing access through JDBC, for example. [00:12:48.500] Or ODBC to a data source or even through services. [00:12:52.390] But the low-code platform of the future needs [00:12:54.930] to go beyond that and to automate [00:12:57.300] and abstract the integration of data in the same way [00:13:00.740] as we've done with code. [00:13:02.370] It can't be quick to develop the code [00:13:04.250] and slow to integrate with the core data services. [00:13:07.950] So we're launching a new product [00:13:10.170] just this week called Data Hub. [00:13:12.100] Which is basically broadly a data virtualization platform, [00:13:15.290] which will enable an enterprise organization [00:13:18.220] or any organization for that matter, [00:13:20.340] to surface their data through a carefully curated catalog. [00:13:25.340] And that catalog will allow anybody to search for the data [00:13:28.880] that they need to understand its provenance, [00:13:31.650] its lineage, who created it, [00:13:34.770] the security aspects of it, [00:13:36.100] whether it is a trusted source of master data. [00:13:39.190] And once they've found that data, [00:13:41.130] they can simply drag and drop it into their applications [00:13:44.210] as virtual data entities. [00:13:45.550] So imagine building a data model, [00:13:47.630] where you simply drag and drop a data entity [00:13:50.440] from a third party service onto your canvas [00:13:53.180] and start building applications as if that data were native. [00:13:56.260] So this means that anyone can start to build applications [00:14:00.490] that pull data from multiple disparate data sources [00:14:04.340] without really having to understand [00:14:07.090] the underlying protocols used to access the data. [00:14:10.150] So incredibly important part, [00:14:12.120] I believe of the future of low-code platforms [00:14:16.390] that go beyond just simple services [00:14:18.550] and direct integration into SQL for that matter. [00:14:24.160] <v ->Okay, so what you're saying is,</v> [00:14:27.330] I'm using a Mendix IDE and just like I go in my toolbox, [00:14:32.780] I find say, a ListView and drag it into my application. [00:14:36.930] Now I can go into a catalog of all the data [00:14:40.300] that my organization is making available to me, [00:14:44.970] and I can drag and drop that into my application. [00:14:49.010] <v ->Absolutely right.</v> [00:14:50.088] So a searchable catalog of secure and trusted data sources [00:14:53.880] that you can simply search via browser, [00:14:57.880] find the data source you want. [00:15:00.050] And Inside a browser or actually inside the platform [00:15:03.910] and find a source you want and drag it into application [00:15:06.137] and start using it. [00:15:07.273] It's as simple as that. [00:15:08.340] <v ->Well, that sounds a lot easier for developers.</v> [00:15:10.370] Now, what if as a developer I wanna actually share the data [00:15:14.050] that's being created in my application? [00:15:16.760] <v ->Yes, I mean with data you can both consume data</v> [00:15:20.950] and obviously expose data. [00:15:22.380] So in the same way as you consume data, [00:15:23.970] we've made that super simple [00:15:24.980] from within a Mendix application. [00:15:26.920] I can right click on a data entity or group of data entities [00:15:30.330] or in fact an entire application if I so wish, [00:15:33.150] and expose the data from that application automatically [00:15:36.070] into the data catalog. [00:15:38.070] Where you can obviously augment that [00:15:39.620] with the metadata of your choice. [00:15:41.980] So both simple to consume and to expose. [00:15:45.210] And obviously if we're looking [00:15:46.690] at exposing external services, [00:15:48.310] then there's a way to register those service [00:15:50.080] in the catalog as well. [00:15:51.240] But yeah, both consume and expose. [00:15:53.470] <v ->Alright, so instead of right click, Print to PDF,</v> [00:15:56.110] I right click expose to Data Hub. [00:15:59.800] <v ->Absolutely, we've reduced integration</v> [00:16:01.910] to right click to expose data, [00:16:04.820] and drag and drop to consume data, [00:16:06.710] as simple as that. [00:16:08.200] <v ->Wonderful.</v> [00:16:09.790] All right, let's talk about the foundation [00:16:12.060] of the pyramid here. [00:16:13.210] And that is around platform services and cloud. [00:16:16.500] So take us through that one. [00:16:18.290] <v ->Yes, I mean the bottom of the pyramid is critical</v> [00:16:20.870] as you'd expect. [00:16:21.870] It's the abstraction and automation [00:16:24.920] on which the rest of the low-code platform exists. [00:16:30.160] So incredibly important in that respect. [00:16:31.950] Our customers want to build both tactical wide [00:16:35.350] and deeply integrated solutions [00:16:37.380] or portfolio of applications. [00:16:39.170] Some will be say deeply integrated their core systems, [00:16:42.330] some will potentially be relatively tactical, [00:16:45.210] some may be only live for a small number of months. [00:16:48.910] In order to achieve that, [00:16:50.700] you need a platform that supports a high level [00:16:53.640] of cloud portability. [00:16:57.230] So in turn, that means you need [00:16:59.470] a stateless cloud architecture [00:17:01.510] and a cloud native architecture. [00:17:03.930] Which enables an organization to decide [00:17:06.100] on their target deployment environment [00:17:08.540] at the point of production, [00:17:10.120] and that actually may well change. [00:17:11.890] So the ability to be able to lift and shift [00:17:13.580] your estate of applications from one cloud provider, [00:17:17.210] or one deployment environment to the other, [00:17:19.520] it's critically important. [00:17:20.960] That can only be achieved at scale with a platform [00:17:24.417] that supports true containerization. [00:17:27.677] And enables you to automate the deployment [00:17:31.560] of those applications regardless of the target environment. [00:17:34.510] So a lot of low-code platforms are very capable [00:17:37.500] of deploying applications into [00:17:39.850] their own public cloud for example, [00:17:41.360] and provide complete DevOps capability [00:17:44.220] to abstract that away. [00:17:45.590] But what about deploying applications [00:17:47.370] that will may be in the public cloud [00:17:49.220] and then next in the private cloud. [00:17:51.130] What if you want to deploy your applications [00:17:52.810] into a private cloud running on a Kubernetes cluster. [00:17:56.260] From my mind and enterprise low-code platform needs [00:17:58.430] to go beyond go beyond the support [00:18:00.920] for just simply supporting that on public cloud, [00:18:03.870] but also automating the DevOps and CICD pipeline [00:18:07.250] that allows applications to deploy [00:18:08.680] to any target environment. [00:18:10.710] So that's critically important. [00:18:12.190] And also cloud native, [00:18:14.180] that ability to be able to support a containerization [00:18:16.990] and cloud services as part of the native platform [00:18:20.205] for scalability, high availability. [00:18:23.790] Again, we believe is critically important. [00:18:27.120] So the foundation of this pyramid onto which [00:18:30.640] an enterprise organizations, [00:18:33.120] portfolio applications is deployed needs [00:18:35.870] to offer true flexibility for lift and shift [00:18:40.210] and deployments of all different shapes and sizes. [00:18:45.380] <v ->You know Nick,</v> [00:18:46.213] I think I speak for not just myself but the audience. [00:18:48.950] I could just ask you questions about low-code all day long, [00:18:51.340] and listen to how you think about it. [00:18:53.690] But I am going to just bring up one other topic, [00:18:57.220] one other announcement that we've made [00:18:58.700] at Mendix World around workflow. [00:19:01.340] Because I'm trying to understand where [00:19:03.460] what we've said around workflow fits into [00:19:05.770] this pyramid concept that you have here. [00:19:09.700] <v ->Okay, so workflow is an interesting one.</v> [00:19:12.320] Most low-code platforms or most low-code platforms [00:19:15.920] of any substance really are able to build workflow solutions [00:19:19.160] and Mendix is no exception to that. [00:19:21.580] But I think as the industry progresses, [00:19:24.450] what we're starting to see mainly driven [00:19:26.810] by the sort of wide use cases I talked about earlier, [00:19:30.200] is the need for workflow to become much more embedded [00:19:33.200] into the fabric of the application itself. [00:19:35.870] The demands on workflow now from our customers [00:19:39.630] and often workflow to sit outside [00:19:41.750] a portfolio of applications, [00:19:43.550] but to be deeply integrated into the experience [00:19:46.270] that we talked about earlier. [00:19:47.950] So that demands a new generation [00:19:49.800] of workflow capabilities and solutions. [00:19:52.950] And we're launching workflow offering. [00:19:56.437] So workflow for us is about [00:19:59.570] how we meaningfully provide out [00:20:02.840] of the box workflow capabilities, [00:20:05.300] but also the complete flexibility to be able to embed [00:20:08.681] those solutions deeply into their specific application [00:20:12.490] and have that one application supporting [00:20:15.110] the workflow models of each choice, [00:20:17.550] or how workflow is embedded across multiple applications [00:20:21.380] both in and outside the portfolio. [00:20:24.230] So I think what we're doing with workflow, [00:20:26.170] and what you'll see as we start to roll out [00:20:28.390] our workflow offering is very unique. [00:20:31.350] I think it's what the industry is and has been looking for. [00:20:35.180] So intelligent process automation, [00:20:38.090] deeply integrated with the ability to be able to craft [00:20:41.420] an experience around the workflow, [00:20:44.600] but also to have the capabilities to be able to deal [00:20:46.790] with the traditional kinds of tools that you would expect [00:20:50.200] inbox and notifications and all that come with that. [00:20:53.980] So we're very excited about the combination [00:20:57.010] of our industry leading low-code platform, [00:21:01.010] now the new data virtualization layer [00:21:03.500] which allows it very simply to get data, [00:21:06.240] and then an extension [00:21:07.800] to a highly agile, integrated workflow experience, [00:21:12.770] I think sets the benchmark for others [00:21:15.470] to follow in that respect. [00:21:17.670] <v ->Alright, so Nick to close,</v> [00:21:20.050] it's been a great discussion today. [00:21:21.550] And we have talked about a lot of our customers. [00:21:23.860] But is there just one more customer in mind, [00:21:26.650] we haven't had a chance to talk about [00:21:28.030] that's doing something special, or slick, [00:21:30.930] or really solving an important problem. [00:21:33.710] <v ->Good question.</v> [00:21:34.760] There are so many. [00:21:35.623] But I'm gonna take two [00:21:37.530] that are very recent COVID related use cases, [00:21:42.650] because it's just incredible how quickly organizations [00:21:45.960] can build solutions using Mendix to solve problems. [00:21:49.830] The first is the Alaska Maritime Physicians. [00:21:53.610] Imagine boats hundreds of miles offshore in the Bering Sea [00:21:58.468] and somebody becomes ill on that boat. [00:22:01.090] Now this company have been providing solutions [00:22:03.950] to solve those problems for many years. [00:22:06.860] Remote diagnosis and so on. [00:22:08.430] And even having the Coast Guard evacuate individuals [00:22:14.300] from those boats. [00:22:15.133] But here's an organization that we're able to build [00:22:17.560] an application to support COVID in just five weeks. [00:22:21.620] Deployed as a portal, which allows them [00:22:25.940] to assess remotely whether or not individuals [00:22:30.170] on those boats are suffering from COVID-19, [00:22:33.417] and to react and support them appropriately. [00:22:36.310] I think that's both a very interesting and unusual use case [00:22:40.440] in a very short period of time. [00:22:42.160] Imagining that boats are very remote. [00:22:45.890] Accessibility and the connectivity [00:22:49.420] to those remote vessels is obviously also very challenging. [00:22:53.380] So imagine the sort of native mobile, [00:22:55.260] I'm guessing capabilities that go in with that. [00:22:57.320] The other one is look a bit more sedate, [00:22:58.610] but much more close to home. [00:23:00.500] Very, very important nonetheless. [00:23:02.300] Which is Knowsley council up in the north of England. [00:23:05.120] Here's a council that has suffered very severely [00:23:08.240] under austerity measures in recent years. [00:23:11.180] But through COVID, were able to build in just 24 hours [00:23:15.210] an application to support voluntary support [00:23:19.320] in the community. [00:23:20.153] So mapping individuals who have need for maybe shopping [00:23:24.250] or for movement, or just general support [00:23:28.005] with those who are able and willing to provide it. [00:23:30.900] So again, a mobile solution, [00:23:32.610] a portal that allowed them to map those individuals. [00:23:37.130] So two very different but I think two very interesting uses [00:23:40.540] of the Mendix platform in an environment [00:23:43.577] that's highly pressured. [00:23:46.070] So they'll be the ones I'd use. [00:23:49.450] <v ->Yeah, that's great.</v> [00:23:50.800] It's always nice to see some impact close to home. [00:23:54.440] That's wonderful. [00:23:55.600] So Nick, thanks for your time today. [00:23:57.180] Great, I thought this was a really great discussion. [00:23:59.650] I look forward to reprising it next year [00:24:01.880] with you in person in Rotterdam. [00:24:04.025] (upbeat music)