Rapid App Development
Nolan Ramsey
Outdated Technology: When to Build New vs ...

All IT leaders face challenges of outdated technology. Sometimes it’s time to build or buy a new application. But nowadays, it might make more sense to refresh the new old one. I explore those challenges and provide real client examples where I’ve used low code to help in both cases.

Outdated Technology: When to Build New vs Refresh the Old
Rapid App Development
Nolan Ramsey
Does SAP's acquisition of No-Code Developer ...

I share my thoughts on the recent acquisition of AppGyver by SAP and how that does or doesn’t relate to their SOLEX partner, Mendix.

Does SAP's acquisition of No-Code Developer AppGyver hurt their SOLEX partner Siemens Mendix?
Rapid App Development
Nolan Ramsey
Is Rapid App Development essential in the ...

The world is battling a war on two fronts: our health is threatened by COVID-19 and our economies have slowed and even stopped in certain sectors. As an App Developer, does my work really matter in such times?

Is Rapid App Development essential in the current climate?
Rapid App Development
Nolan Ramsey
What makes a Great Rapid App Developer?

After years of delivering, leading, and coaching leaders in Rapid App Development, I give you my perspective on what skills and profile it takes to be a ‘Great’ RAD Maker.

What makes a Great Rapid App Developer?
Mendix
Nolan Ramsey
Extending SAP: Fiori or Mendix Revisited

It’s been 1 year since I first wrote the post, “Extending SAP: Fiori or Mendix?” and a lot has changed. Because of the changes, this older post has gotten a lot of renewed interest so I thought I would take a look at my opinions from a year ago and see if they differ. If you haven’t already, please refer to the original article to have context for this one.

IT should be an expert “SWAT” team with precise skills to tackle the toughest app challenges, not a bottleneck to solving business problems.

Extending SAP: Fiori or Mendix Revisited

Extending SAP: Fiori or Mendix Revisited

Extending SAP: Fiori or Mendix Revisited

It’s been 1 year since I first wrote the post, “Extending SAP: Fiori or Mendix?” and a lot has changed. Because of the changes, this older post has gotten a lot of renewed interest so I thought I would take a look at my opinions from a year ago and see if they differ. If you haven’t already, please refer to the original article to have context for this one.

IT should be an expert “SWAT” team with precise skills to tackle the toughest app challenges, not a bottleneck to solving business problems.

Digital Transformation Roadshow

Digital Transformation Roadshow

I haven't used my blog to promote events in the past so this is a bit unique for me, but since I also have been struggling to find the time to write blogs lately I wanted to kill two birds with one stone. I've been working with SAP and Mendix for the past few months preparing a Digital Transformation Roadshow here in North America with other partners to showcase the tools and capabilities of the SAP Cloud Platform. We want to showcase real examples using the tools of how we can solve business problems together. We've been able to get some amazing speakers at our first stop in Chicago next week on April 18th:

  • Brenna Berman - Former CIO of the City of Chicago and current Executive Director of he City Tech Collaborative
  • Victoria Farnsworth - Executive Director, Enterprise Solutions at Purdue University
  • Mark Bonchek - Founder of Shift Thinking and frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review
  • Andrew Moore - Intel GM, Digital Transformation Office

I'll be one of four presenters on the show floor demonstrating as well as an additional demonstration that is part of a larger simulation taking place on the main stage during the lunch hour. If you or colleagues are going to be in the area, or potentially one of the other scheduled stops in the coming months which are currently Boston July 18th, Oklahoma July 24th, or Atlanta August 22nd, I'd love to see you there!

 

Here is the link to the event for registration.

Rethinking the Consultant Developer because of the Web Modeler

Rethinking the Consultant Developer because of the Web Modeler

Recently I was onsite with a potential customer and a few folks from Mendix to describe the value proposition of their platform combined with our service delivery model. Often, I will perform the demos, but in this instance, we collectively decided to give that responsibility over to Michael Schiraldi, Solutions Architect @Mendix. Like the client, I, too, learned things that I didn’t know! I’ve been at this for quite a while, and the learnings I had centered on Mendix’s Web Modeler and the roles of my team and how we train. If this interests you, please read on!

Extending SAP: Fiori or Mendix?

Extending SAP: Fiori or Mendix?

“With SAP tools like Fiori and UI5, why would I need Mendix?”

As a practitioner who directs our architecture and development of Mendix applications alongside SAP developers, I get asked this question a lot. Rapid Application Development (RAD) tools like Mendix are on the rise because as businesses begin their journey into digital transformation, they realize that the agility necessary to respond to rapidly changing competition and value perceptions require focused teams that combine business leadership and IT to design and deploy solutions just as rapidly. Waiting for a waterfall, stack-developed project to get scoped and developed will typically miss the mark, come out behind the curve of the transformation, and be dead in the water by the time it hits the market or the business.

EPI-USE CAB and Mendix Hackathon

EPI-USE CAB and Mendix Hackathon

This past week I had the pleasure of sponsoring some of our Mendix clients at our annual Client Advisory Board (CAB) in Scottsdale, AZ. We bring key members of our client teams to this event as a “Thank You” for the opportunity to service them over the previous year, allow them a chance to relax and unwind a bit in the beautiful venue at Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, and attend some general and breakout sessions geared at equipping them with information we have gathered that we think might benefit them. This was the first year where we really explained how we use the Mendix platform to help solve business problems as well as how we have learned to establish and equip our teams for success, as well as a Hackathon competition between two small groups made up of our US Mendix practice.