What Is Mendix? Explore Its Features, How It Works, and Real-World Use Cases

The global low-code market is projected to reach $65 billion by 2027. Businesses are using Mendix as an enterprise-grade low-code platform to transform their operations quickly and with minimal effort. This platform encourages team collaboration and provides a range of collaborative development features such as version control and agility in development processes. It also helps businesses to stay nimble as per evolving market trends since its intuitive interface can be adapted as per customer requirements.

In this blog you will learn how businesses are using Mendix in different industries, how businesses can benefit from this platform and how to get started with its implementation for real-world use cases.

What is Mendix? 

Mendix is a low-code application development platform used by businesses to build mobile and web apps. Technical leaders want their non-technical C-suite to understand the benefits of low-code. It has been found in a survey that 80% of enterprises agree that low-code improves team productivity. Instead of a technical coding environment, low-code is more accessible to all types of users, uses a model-driven approach, and operates with an easy drag and drop interface.

Since businesses are experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI), product owners, software engineers, and managers are taking efforts to identify opportunities and challenges in the business and address it using AI. CEO of Mendix, Raymond Kok says, “The real opportunity is to identify where artificial intelligence will be most business relevant and convert that into a real business outcome.”

Mendix is a leading low-code platform and digital product lifecycle management tool that allows businesses to use existing talent to develop and deliver applications faster. This platform engages reusable components to fast-track development with efficiency. It provides collaboration tools to break down silos and establish better business and IT partnership.

In industries like manufacturing, Mendix helps to build custom solutions and cloud-based applications for monitoring machine performance and tracking inventory levels. In other industries like finance, this platform helps companies to develop solutions that offer personalized digital experiences.

Understanding the Power of Low-Code Development with Mendix

Mendix is a robust low-code platform that addresses modern-day software development challenges. With the help of Mendix Marketplace, developers can use AWS connectors and create extensions for third-party tools. Here’s where our team of developers and engineers at AIT Global India play an instrumental role in simplifying complex mendix development and providing tailored solutions for your business.

With the help of drag-and-drop features and a pre-built interface, Mendix helps non-developers and developers reduce operational costs. 73% of the enterprises agree that low-code improves the time to market for launching new apps.

Some of the core capabilities of Mendix are: 

1. Drag and Drop UI: This feature allows developers to create an application in the visual environment of Mendix. This helps non-technical users to alleviate the need to understand coding and rather focus on user experience and business logic. The latest update for the drag and drop widget supports Mendix developers to decide the flow of implementation and keep it customizable to accommodate further development.
    
2. AI-assisted Development: AI-assisted development (AIAD) in Mendix is different from traditional software development. Developers use machine learning to get real-time recommendations and implement best development practices. This artificial intelligence offers guidance throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and helps users to build application logic faster.
    
3. Multi-device Compatibility: The Mendix platform is compatible with mobile, tablet, and other responsive profiles. Users can create interactive front-end experiences for both web & mobile apps and also customize the look and feel of applications. By using the Mendix Atlas UI framework, developers can build beautiful interfaces with the help of Mendix UX resources.

How Does Mendix Work? 

According to a study by Gartner, by the end of 2025, approximately 70 percent of the new applications created by enterprises will be using low-code-no-code technologies. Thus, it is crucial to understand how Mendix can help organizations to enhance their development experience and offer their customers with tailored solutions.

1. Mendix Studio and Mendix Studio Pro: Mendix Studio is created for developers and non-technical users to collaborate for Mendix application development with beneficial features like its drag-and-drop interface and a suite of templates for task tracking & budgeting amongst others. Whereas Mendix Studio Pro is designed for professional developers who can create advanced customizations in apps and help them explore the nuances of app logic & integrations.

2. Microflows and Nanoflows: Both these components play an important role in enterprise application development. Microflows are server-side logic flows that help developers to automate complex operations and processes. While nanoflows are client-side logic flows, used for creating quick and responsive operations. By understanding their differences, developers can create secure, efficient, and responsive applications.

3. Mendix Cloud, On-Premises, and Hybrid Deployment options: Cloud deployment using Mendix implies hosting the application on third-party cloud providers like Microsoft Azure to deploy apps faster. Whereas, the on-premises deployment provides 100% control over the app and related data. Hybrid deployment combines cloud with on-premises deployment to provide the flexibility to run specific apps while ensuring compliance requirements.

Key Features of Mendix 

The low-code-no-code (LCNC) approach in Mendix helps seasoned developers and non-developers to foster collaboration between business and IT. This makes it easy to follow the logic and create the programming. Like in this image below, features like monitoring and reporting provide real-time insights into application performance, user behavior, and system health for proactive management.

1. Visual Development: With the help of model-driven development, developers are able to grasp the logic behind the app to get the desired results. The visual development language accelerates app development by almost 90 percent as compared to traditional development due to tools like the reusable components, drag-and-drop functionality, and one-click cloud deployment amongst others.
2. Reusable Components: Using the Mendix platform, you can leverage their reusable components marketplace that has a repository of connectors, widgets, modules, and the likes. These components are used to build multiple applications and digital solutions.

2. Multi-Cloud Deployment: Mendix supports AWS, Azure, hybrid, and on-premises cloud deployment, making it one of the most cost-efficient low-code solutions. After assessing business requirements, developers can choose a deployment option with the most benefits and the least limitations.
3. Integration Capabilities: Mendix facilitates connections with SAP, Salesforce, and third-party API requests. This helps to ensure that new applications consume and expose data & services in heterogeneous environments.

Who Should Use Mendix?

In a research mentioned by Gartner, the low-code application platform (LCAP) market is projected to reach $16.5 billion by 2027 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.3% between 2022-2027. Let us look at the key users who are capitalizing on Mendix benefits to enhance app development.

1. Enterprises: Organizations are using Mendix to turn ideas into outcomes by developing sophisticated applications and fully native mobile applications faster. Since stakeholders in different industries need transparency during team collaboration, Mendix plays a vital role in creating value-driving applications.
    
2. Small and Medium-Sized Business (SMBs): Since digital innovation has become a necessity to maintain a competitive edge, SMBs are using Mendix to design unique and innovative business applications. Traditional software development is time and cost intensive. Hence, stakeholders are using Mendix to develop feature-rich apps rapidly. Moreover, this low-code platform provides scalability with automated testing and deployment across mobile, tablet, and desktop.
    
3. Developers & IT Teams: Mendix encourages collaborative development where teams, developers, and stakeholders join forces through an intuitive and easy web portal for cross-functional communication. This platform allows version control to automatically reconcile the work of multiple teams into a single, unified revision.

Who Can Benefit from Mendix? 

According to a survey by KPMG, 81 percent of the companies consider low-code development to be of strategic importance in their organization. Let’s find out who can benefit from Mendix for building responsive web applications and cloud native solutions with minimal coding.

1. Startups & SMEs: These firms are launching MVPs (Minimum Viable Products) faster without heavy investment. Mendix supports lean teams to develop, test, and deploy MVPs rapidly, without large upfront development costs. 
    
2. Enterprises: Robust scalability and seamless integration with enterprise systems like SAP and Salesforce make it ideal for enterprises to accelerate digital transformation, without overhauling their tech stack.
    
3. Developers & IT Teams: Mendix empowers tech teams to focus on innovation by automating repetitive tasks and minimizing manual coding. This platform enables cross-functional collaboration, speeding up delivery cycles and improving quality.
    
4. Is Mendix the right tool for your business? Our experts at AIT Global India help organizations to innovate quickly without compromising on quality. We consider factors like budget, use case, team size, and scalability needs to develop Mendix-powered digital solutions that align with your business goals. Our consulting team brings deep domain expertise, agile execution, and end-to-end support to help you realize your digital vision faster and smarter.

Real-World Examples of Mendix Applications 

Mendix helps to improve efficiency and collaboration across the complex and fragmented IT landscape. Even in industries, this platform is versatile and applicable to different tasks like analytics, automation, and in building AI-driven solutions amongst others.

1. BFSI: Mendix helps to speed up the development of BFSI apps due to its cross-functional approach. This platform also meets the rigorous demands of enterprise apps, owing to its advanced scalability options.
    
2. Healthcare: Since digitalization is growing prominent in healthcare, stakeholders in this industry are developing apps that connect multiple systems and deliver solutions that match day-to-day operations. Developers and engineers are innovating in activity monitoring applications using Mendix to design dashboards that track the daily activities of individuals in the form of visual graphs.
    
3. Manufacturing: The integration of Mendix apps with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and IoT devices enables data collection & analysis from shop floors to identify production bottlenecks and operational inefficiencies.
    
4. Real Estate: Software developers are using Mendix to build property management systems that manage processes like tenant move-in to move-out. This system also provides robust reporting and charting features that present insights into defect management performance & metrics.
    
5. Supply Chain Management & Logistics: For efficient and agile supply chain management, Mendix helps in developing solutions that serves as a real-time platform to track the end-to-end flow of materials from point of origin to point of consumption.

What is the Cost of Mendix Low-Code Platform? 

According to a survey by KPMG, approximately 47 percent of the respondents indicate having or planning to establish low-code guidelines and defined governance, reflecting a trend observed across all regions. Moreover, with low-code applications, enterprises can leverage their data to build personalized apps as per client requirements.
Mendix is available in Free, Standard, and Premium pricing. Let us look at the factors that influence its cost:

1. Licensing: For standard and premium pricing, Mendix provides two modes. First is the one app licenses which is budget-friendly but limits users to the development of only one application. Whereas the unlimited apps licenses are slightly higher in price but allow users to build and deploy multiple applications.
    
2. Integrations and Add-on Tools: It has been found that Mendix provides some optional components, but in many cases users have had to pay for the widgets and connectors created by partners in the Mendix Marketplace.
    

Cloud Usage: As part of the free plan, Mendix provides the Mendix Cloud which is hosted on AWS where apps can run out of the box. Whereas the standard and premium plans help to unlock more deployment options like building a private cloud or establish special environments such as the SAP Business Technology Platform.

How to Get Started with Mendix 

To begin implementing Mendix for rapid application development, it is necessary to have team discussions about the options and tools available in the platform that align with your organization’s digital transformation goals. Also training, documentation, and support resources help both seasoned developer and non-technical business users to add real value to development projects

Additionally, the Mendix Community and Partner Ecosystem help users and learners to gain expertise in designing more complex application features. Users can also try Mendix for free and collaborate with their teams to learn hands-on. Stay tuned to learn more about Mendix in our next blog ‘Why Mendix? Understanding Its Role in Digital Transformation’.

Ready To Unlock Mendix’s Full Potential?

In this blog we learnt that with each passing year, LCNC development is growing more and more relevant in different industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and the BFSI industry amongst others. Also Mendix plays an instrumental role in delivering sophisticated applications and forms an important part of an organization’s digital transformation journey.

Partner with AIT Global India to accelerate your app development journey. From MVPs to enterprise-scale solutions, our consulting expertise ensures your Mendix implementation is tailored, scalable, and future-ready. Connect with our experts today to build what’s next.