One of the most significant barriers to creating your own specialized business software is coding. Writing code is notoriously difficult and time-consuming, requiring specialist knowledge that can significantly increase your IT salary expenditure. This process has been simplified with the introduction of tools like Visual Studio, which automatically scans code and identifies issues at the compile or run-time stage. The same applies to DevOps, where software development and operations are converging to adhere to the Agile software development methodology.
While both simplify software development, there is still a barrier to entry for those without specialist coding knowledge. This is where tools like AWS Honeycode come in. Honeycode is designed with simplicity in mind, allowing non-developer audiences to easily construct applications through a graphical user interface (GUI). Honeycode allows anyone with basic computer knowledge to design and compile business applications through a single web application dashboard rather than manually typing code.
Manual Coding vs. AWS Honeycode
With AWS Honeycode, Amazon is aiming to reduce the barrier of entry to business software development. The platform has a similar GUI to Microsoft Excel, whereby you can define variables and operating parameters across different cells in a spreadsheet. This modular approach means that both developers and non-technical staff can have access to the same functionality, with the added benefit of better code consistency using templates.
As an example, one of the included templates allows you to perform ‘Inventory Management.’ This template contains a list of devices that can be sorted in alphabetical order, manufacturer and device category type.
On top of this, you then have the quantities of items available in the inventory. Here, AWS Honeycode demonstrates how you can track the total number of hardware assets, and whether they are in-use, pending, or available to be assigned. The spreadsheet interface allows you to click on cells and expand information, with the ‘device total’ tab unveiling who hardware devices are assigned to, and any pending requests for access to said hardware. This functionality can integrate with the native identity access management user (IAM) tools on AWS, simplifying both development and the ongoing management of your services.
When you consider how expensive specialist asset management tools can be, Honeycode can deliver similar functionality at lower prices than competing ISVs, which is great for enterprises.
How Does this Benefit Development Teams?
In the following YouTube video announcing Honeycode, Larry Augustin explains that “Customers have told us that the need for custom applications far outstrips the capacity of developers to create them.” This corresponds with an article by CIO, which discusses the most in-demand tech jobs of 2020 so far, including web/software/mobile developers, DevOps engineers and cloud architects.
As previously mentioned, Honeycode allows for more applications to be developed by non-developer staff, helping enterprises to meet this growing demand for custom applications. This is in direct competition with Microsoft’s development platforms - PowerBI, Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Virtual Agents.
This is an essential development for AWS, as the IT research firm Gartner predicts that low-code and no-code will represent more than 65% of application development work in the enterprise by 2024.
No-Code with AWS and Trianz
Custom application development has become a lot easier with the introduction of AWS Honeycode. Trianz experts agree that the software development process is incredibly convoluted, and we welcome these developments from the AWS team. Our experts can consult with you to determine your business requirements and navigate these new and emerging no-code technologies.
Software development has never been more accessible! Start building your first custom application through the Honeycode free tier on AWS, or get in touch with our experts to find out more about our custom application development consulting services.
