Different platforms suit different projects. So, when you're renovating an application, you’ll need to find the best platform to integrate into legacy environments, merge with existing workflows and business rules, and improve them.
Before we recommend a platform, we thoroughly investigate your needs and goals. By spending time in discovery and working closely with you, we establish the key considerations to build to your requirements.
That being said, we typically employ three platforms when delivering new software – OutSystems, Microsoft Power Platform and custom software builds.
Each offers its own advantages and specialist functions. So, we’ve put together a comparison chart to help you understand which platform could work for your project at a high level.
OutSystems
OutSystems is a low-code platform needing little programming knowledge to build an application yourself. This certainly applies to the development of standard applications. With just a few clicks you can quickly design a screen.
But most applications are not standard. OutSystems offers development professionals an easy way to deliver applications quickly. Because of visual programming, it's easy for development and business to work together for fast delivery of software with added business value.
We generally use OutSystems to add new functionality on top of existing platforms, or to integrate new experiences with legacy environments. Low-code enables rapid development, while its reliability means it can scale massively (users and data) to grow with you, or be changed and adapted easily over time.
Microsoft Power Platform
Power Platform is Microsoft's combined term for Power BI, Power Apps, and Power Automate (previously known as Microsoft Flow). Together, they provide a platform for people to easily access, analyse, act on, and automate data.
The Power Platform was designed to put application development, process automation or data analysis in the hands of business users. Non-technical power users can create simple applications or data visualisations with little to no code. They can build quick and effective point solutions with SharePoint as a data source. This can be a big step forward when it comes to self-service IT empowerment and overall digital transformation.
In our experience, clients with a heavy reliance on Microsoft Office 365 and seeking control over internal application use and development will want Power Platform. Solutions are typically spun up quickly and solve a range of internal uses – such as dashboard reporting, workflow management and more.
Custom software builds
In some cases, a client requires something completely new. In which case, a custom build could be required. The bespoke functionality generally means the platform will need to be built from the ground up. While custom builds offer a completely personalised solution to cover every conceivable need, the trade-off is ongoing maintenance and management of the application lifecycle.
In our experience custom builds are typically for a Greenfield project where no existing development platform is suitable. Significant time needs to be budgeted into the whole project – from discovery to build and User Acceptance Testing. In addition, clients typically rely on Kiandra to provide support and maintenance for the lifecycle of the application.
Platform checklist
If you’re assessing a platform for your next project, the following checklist will be a handy guide. Simply go through each line and see where your project sits to see what platform could work best.
