The benefits of Mendix, and when it might be less suitable

Is Mendix the right choice for your organisation or project? We are happy to help you answer that question. Mendix very often offers big advantages, but sometimes you are better off with another option. We will give you the honest story, so you can make a well-considered choice.

When does Mendix offer you the biggest benefits?

When you want to develop something process-driven

Mendix is mainly aimed at digitising and automating processes. It is therefore very well suited to building a back office, portal, form or workflow, for example. Take a look at our case about Erfrechtplan. After meetings with clients, the advisers at Erfrechtplan still had to carry out a lot of steps manually and then processed the information in three different places. Now they use a Mendix application to enter the information during the meeting, after which everything is processed automatically. Mendix is very well suited to this sort of thing. Or take a look at what we did for TeamGrow. They previously used an Excel file to ask their team members questions periodically about how their team was functioning. In Mendix we automated this process completely.

When you want to develop and further develop many apps efficiently

Do you want to develop and further develop a lot of apps? Then Mendix is probably a good choice for you. Developing apps becomes a good deal more efficient with Mendix, thanks in part to the use of building blocks and workflows. Managing apps is also straightforward in Mendix. Take a look at our case for Gemeente Rotterdam. They have now built more than 100 apps. Without Mendix, building, further developing and managing these apps would be a great deal more complex and time-consuming.

When you want to build both a web application and a mobile application

If you want to build both a web application and a mobile application, that normally means doing the work twice. Because these types of apps often use different programming languages and logic, you also need different knowledge (and sometimes different suppliers). With Mendix that is not the case. You can build both your web app and your mobile app in Mendix, which means you can use the same programming languages and logic. On top of that, you can use the same data sources for all applications. That saves a lot of time and money. It also makes you less dependent on external parties.

When security matters

Is security important to you? Mendix is a very secure platform and is used by banks, local authorities and the justice system, among others. The platform is continuously checked for security vulnerabilities and updated. It is also ISO certified. Are you having your application developed in the traditional way? Then you have to arrange these things yourself, and that almost never happens as thoroughly as with a platform like Mendix.

When you want to keep up with new trends quickly

Mendix is updated continuously and new features are added regularly. For instance, AI applications have been built into Mendix for a while now. We recently wrote an article about that. By working with a platform like Mendix you essentially keep up with trends in app development automatically, without having to do much for it yourself.

When you do not want to be dependent on a technical partner

Are you having an application developed in the traditional way? Then the technical supplier will probably choose which programming languages, frameworks and libraries they use. That sometimes makes it hard for another supplier to take over maintenance of the application. With Mendix you do not have that problem. You build according to the Mendix standards, which means any supplier familiar with Mendix can easily take over maintenance.

When is Mendix not the best choice?

We specialise in Mendix, but we do not see it as the holy grail. Sometimes Mendix is not the right choice. For example in these cases:

When you opt for a one-off app with no further development

Mendix mainly offers benefits when you want to build and further develop applications quickly. In Mendix you can reuse building blocks, create workflows quickly and make changes without any knowledge of code. Do you want to build an app once and not develop it much further after that? Mendix can still be a good choice, but you will notice these benefits less.

When you want to extend an existing system

Do you want to extend an existing system (one that was not built in Mendix) and really integrate it into your system? Then it is not sensible to use Mendix for that. But do you want a standalone part of a process to be handled by Mendix? Then Mendix is a good fit. Mendix can be connected to a great many systems, which means you can exchange data between Mendix and your existing system easily.

When you want to develop a website, webshop, social platform or game

As mentioned, Mendix is mainly suited to process-driven applications. Do you want to develop a website, webshop, social platform or game? Then Mendix is less suitable for that. These kinds of applications are not supported by Mendix out of the box. You could still add it yourself with traditional code, but then, as far as we are concerned, Mendix gets in your way more than it helps. What does work: combining Mendix with something else. Build your website in WordPress, for example, but build your customer portal in Mendix and then connect the two.

Curious whether Mendix is the best choice for you?

We would be glad to think it through with you.