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Caspio, which was providing low-code development platforms for database app developers before the term even existed, has released a new edition that automates application logic through a visual drag-and-drop interface.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Caspio enables non-technical business professionals to build custom web applications for capturing data, sharing information and automating business processes—quickly and at a fraction of the cost of conventional development methods.
The new Triggered Actions feature, which is a key new functionality inside Caspio v9.9, includes a set of visual interlocking blocks used to define application logic, data manipulations and complex calculations that execute on specified data events. It adds some automation where it was really needed.
For example, an inventory application could utilize Triggered Actions to automatically reconcile inventory on hand as new orders come in. This one simple operation can save admins hours of time.
Citizen Development Now a Clear Trend
Citizen development—or low- or no-code development—is a clear trend as 2018 begins, and a specialized new IT business sector is springing up around it. Please note that nobody is saying the conventional—and, in many ways, unconventional—software development communities of skilled and experienced professionals are going to become irrelevant anytime soon.
However, since the turn of this century, a growing number of enterprise and consumer applications intentionally have been designed to be configured for specific use cases by line-of-business professionals who wouldn’t know a line of code from a verse in a Shakespearean play.
But they do know how to follow a wizard, use a drop-down menu and follow directions. A lot has changed from the days of write code, test, debug, test again, debug, beta test, release GA—wash, rinse, repeat.
Other companies that are competing in this space include Appian, Webalo, Dell Boomi, Pegasystems, Google, Telerik, QuickBase, K2, Appery.io, Kony, Mendix, OutSystems, Salesforce and several others.
Way Ahead of the Curve
Caspio, however, was way ahead of the curve, coming out in 2001. The company has recently been recognized by Forrester Rresearch as a leader in low-code development platforms for business developers.
“Business transformation strategies are demanding increasingly-sophisticated application functionality,” Caspio Founder and CEO Frank Zamani told eWEEK. “Caspio’s 9.9 release meets these requirements while retaining the intuitive interface that has made our platform so popular with business users.”
Caspio’s platform frees its users from complex programming tasks and long project backlogs. The all-in-one platform provides everything needed to capture data, share information and automate business processes, Zamani said.
The platform includes an online database, rapid application development tools and scalable cloud infrastructure that the company claims reduces cost and time to market by up to a factor of 10. Caspio powers more than 1 million applications for businesses of all sizes in more than 100 countries, ranging from global corporations and government agencies to universities, nonprofits and small businesses.
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