In app development, achieving a Lego-like simplicity has long been an elusive goal. Traditional methods often resemble a puzzle rather than a set of blocks, as pieces don’t quite fit as they should.

Unqork, emerging in 2017, has boldly reimagined this landscape. The Unqork Enterprise Application Cloud brings the intuitive, accessible spirit of Lego to app creation. By eliminating complex coding, Unqork empowers both IT and business users to collaborate and innovate, transforming app development into a playground where ideas take shape more quickly and efficiently.

The Lego blocks of traditional app development

When we think about traditional app development, it’s tempting to compare it to building with Lego blocks, where both involve assembling pieces to create something greater. However, this analogy requires some creative stretching when applied to the complexities of traditional coding:

• Custom code challenges: Unlike the straightforward snapping together of colorful blocks, traditional app development often involves reshaping and forcing pieces to fit. Developers deal with custom code in data centers, leverage various cloud infrastructures, and tap into generative AI, leading to solutions that are, at best, wobbly and makeshift.
• Complex integrations: Traditional coding is like building with mismatched Lego sets from different eras. Each code block serves a purpose, but integrating them is often complex and laborious, with no clear instructions.
• Time-consuming troubleshooting: Developers find themselves spending more time figuring out how to make these disparate blocks work together than on building innovative solutions.
• Fragility and technical debt: As code gets more complex, applications become like fragile Lego structures, prone to breaking. They evolve into patchworks of fixes, leading to fragmentation and accumulating technical debt.
• High cost of maintenance: Maintaining these complex systems is not only complicated but also expensive. They require significant resources for upkeep, security, and compliance, in addition to specialized expertise.

The low-code illusion: The myth of effortless app building

Low-code platforms can be likened to a Lego kit that comes with a pre-designed blueprint and specialized pieces. The idea is appealing: simplify the building process by providing partially assembled blocks that users can easily configure to their needs. This approach promises to reduce the complexity and technical expertise required in traditional coding.

However, behind this promising curtain of simplicity, low-code platforms harbor the very same complexities as traditional coding: an unmanageably large set of manual code requiring costly and ongoing maintenance and updates over the lifetime of your applications. Here are just some of the challenges low-code platforms leave you struggling with: 

• Limited customization and flexibility: While low-code platforms allow some creativity, they often confine builders to predefined structures, offering speed at the cost of flexibility.
• Need for custom-coded integration: To achieve comprehensive solutions, developers frequently need to integrate custom-coded pieces, bridging gaps left by low-code’s pre-built components.
• Hybrid development complexity: The necessity for additional coding creates a hybrid environment, merging low-code’s simplicity with traditional coding’s complexity, which can dilute the primary goal of low-code: simplifying development.
• Flexibility limits: Low-code platforms are great for following set patterns but less adaptable for unique creations, often requiring extra coding for customization.
• Integration challenges with legacy systems: Mixing legacy code with low-code platforms can lead to functional and aesthetic mismatches, necessitating workarounds or additional coding.
• Scalability and creativity constraints: Low-code platforms can be limiting as your needs grow. This often leads to applications that are quick to build but challenging to maintain, upgrade, or adapt over time without major changes or rebuilding from scratch.
• Hidden long-term costs: Despite initial ease, low-code platforms may reveal constraints over time, especially regarding customization and system integration, leading to ongoing adjustments and additional expenses.

The Unqork way: No code, no limits

Unqork’s Enterprise App Cloud embodies the philosophy of creating an environment free of code, in which every block contains not a single line of code. Every block is a final version, ready to integrate seamlessly with others, mirroring the intuitive and straightforward nature of assembling Lego pieces. This approach not only simplifies the development process by making the creation of complex applications as simple and intuitive as snapping together blocks, but also opens up new possibilities for innovation, creativity, and collaboration in software development.

Advantages of Unqork’s solution

Unqork has been designed to address the most challenging hurdles encountered in traditional and even low-code app development, from technical complexities to prolonged development timelines. The advantages of Unqork’s Enterprise App Cloud are manifold:

Fast-track approach to app development

Unqork dramatically accelerates app development, much like swiftly assembling a Lego model. Its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface and ready-to-use components streamline the building process.  Unqork’s ‘build once, use many times’ philosophy further enhances this efficiency, allowing for the reuse of components across various projects.

This focus on rapid development benefits a wide range of professionals, from IT experts to business analysts. Unqork facilitates more collaborative and efficient workflows, speeding up the entire development cycle from idea to deployment. This results in quicker delivery of applications that adeptly meet changing business requirements.

High-level security and compliance

Security is a paramount concern in app development, especially for industries like banking, insurance, and the public sector. In every block, Unqork provides a level of security and compliance that is on par with the standards of top global enterprises in these sectors. Every time a potential threat is detected in one customer’s application, Unqork can swiftly implement a patch or update, which is then automatically available to all customers. 

Furthermore, we take on the responsibility of managing security, compliance, and upgrades for our customers. This proactive approach means that clients don’t have to worry about these critical aspects. As a result, every application built on Unqork remains as secure and compliant as the next, benefiting from continuous, shared advancements in security, regardless of its complexity or the expertise of the developer.

Shifting focus from maintenance to innovation

With Unqork, there is no code to maintain, which translates into zero technical debt. This aspect is a game-changer for businesses, as it significantly reduces the long-term costs and resources typically associated with application maintenance and upgrades. In the traditional development lifecycle, maintaining and updating code can be a costly and never-ending task. Unqork’s Enterprise App Cloud, however, handles these aspects automatically, allowing businesses to focus on innovation and strategy rather than upkeep.

Conclusion

At Unqork, we’ve reshaped the world of app development with our innovative approach. Emphasizing collaboration between IT and business teams, we’ve shifted focus from complex coding to efficient and creative app creation. Our approach minimizes technical debt, boosts innovation, and integrates top-tier security measures, ensuring applications are not just agile but also secure.

In the Unqork era, app development transcends coding – it’s a canvas for creativity and strategic innovation. We’re paving the way for businesses to thrive digitally, turning visionary ideas into robust digital realities. As we continue to redefine app development, we invite you to join us on this transformative journey!

In this video, Amanda Anderson, Principal Financial Services Advisor at AWS, joins Unqork’s Matthew Linakis, Director of Alliances, ESG & Financial Services at Unqork, to discuss how the two companies’ transformative technologies are helping businesses create a strong—but also highly flexible—infrastructure for meeting ESG goals over the long term.  

As Anderson points out, companies can lower their carbon footprint significantly simply by relying on AWS’s cloud services, which are engineered to maximize energy efficiency.