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Plant an App
What Is Plant an App?
Plant an App is a low-code development platform that lets you rapidly build & deploy web applications. Differentiating itself from other platforms, Plant an App
offers the speed & flexibility of no-code & low-code combined. Developer input is also promoted from Day 1, with a multitude of programming languages & API tools
being supported. Four layers of application development provide the scope to create robust solutions
with real business value.
Who Uses Plant an App?
Business Users & Technical Leaders looking to achieve accelerated & sophisticated web applications including; ERPs, Contract Management, Portals, Support Centres, Learning Platforms & many more.
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Reviews of Plant an App
Low Code Development of Medical Communication Solution
Comments: Plant an App has been the first development team we have worked with. The team provided to us has been excellent to work with despite the time zone differences. The regular weekly online meetings and introduction to a task platform has allowed regular communication, often allowing answers to be made to questions from the developers as they are posted. The development team has provided a transparency to the build process, giving us the confidence of being able to complete the brief even with the changes in the scope of the application.
Pros:
The Low Code Plant an App platform has allowed the rapid and flexible development of a medical communication solution leveraging on the underlying DotNetNuke platform. It has allowed our company to work closely with the Plant an App development team, being able to see the program development in real time. The ability to be able to use the platform as development is progressing allows rapid application testing and ability to change direction of development without the need to large changes to base code such as in traditional programming. The ongoing development of the Plant an App platform as well as the Low Code Café sessions is constantly adding new features and solutions every week. Our small company started with limited programming knowledge. In 3 months of working with the developers we have been able to learn to develop our own components, entities, SQL, workflows and razorscript code to add to the application development.
Cons:
The main issue I have faced is trying to implement a different skin into the application that makes use of the current bootstrap features. This can limit some UI design features, but does not take away the underlying power of the platform. As with any software tool, upgrades to underlying components can always cause issues with past projects. But with the regular updates from the Plant an App development team we are confident that this design feature will be available in the not too distant future.
Alternatives Considered:
Game changer. We are in a great spot, now.
Comments: From business perspective: our development speed has increased 6 times. And maintenance of a lot of code is basically out sourced as it is leveraged by the platform. Hard to quantify what that saves per year but it is a lot.Projects run smoother as we are able to iterate faster.
Pros:
The first encounter was very pleasant. The UI feels intuitive and creates a feel of certainty. As agile software development means a lot of new insights (customers often redefine specs when they see what they got) and iterations, Plant an App allows this flexibility. After a few days you really understand the concept and how all features are connected and available. Tons of actions that you can use for not only forms but also ini workflows, automations and API's.
Cons:
Would be great to have more hands on documentation.
Great No-Code Low-Code Option
Comments: DNN Sharp and Plant an App have allowed us to quickly deploy a new comprehensive app for one of our key functions in our organization.
Pros:
We've used DNN Sharp for years and as Plant an App was developed we were intrigued by the responsiveness of the developers to user input on functionality. It takes the flexibility of the original tools and brings them into a much more user friendly environment. I'm looking forward to transitioning many of our existing tools to the new platform.
Cons:
The only challenge we face is knowing which context we are working in as well as which pattern of code is needed for various functions. Do we use C#, java or SQL logic?
Plant an App Response
3 years ago
Your insights are much appreciated, Jeff! The programming languages used for the low-code part are in most cases interchangeable and depend on user preference. However, in some cases some would perform better than others - for example, using SQL if the need is to operate on data or Javascript if the need is to manipulate some JSON objects. I will take this subject to the team to prepare resources that would assist with this decision. Might be a very good subject for a Low-Code Cafe or a course on the Low-Code Academy.
Low Code speed with the flexibility of custom development, a winning combination
Comments: I have automated many business processes, decreasing the labor-intensiveness dramatically, and providing a cleaner, more integrated solution than the disparate processes that were in place before. It allows for building much more complete solutions than other no/low code platforms (like caspio), while providing flexibility to NOT having a licensing model that is per user and penalizes success (like most of the other low code platforms we looked at).
Pros:
the flexibility of the product, the ability to rapidly build custom solutions, the wealth of existing options for building a complete solution, including the useful plugins to provide an end-to-end solution for the business. it is also a very cost-effective solution compared to the per-user licensing most other products in this space use.
Cons:
since it is right now more of a niche tool, not a lot of resources (other than the plant-an-app website itself and their seminars) out there for trouble-shooting or learning excercises, but plant-an-app does have a responsive community to help resolve issues
Low Code Rapid Application Development
Comments: My overall experience with Plant an App has been extremely positive. It puts rapid development within my reach, there are multiple opportunities to learn and grow, there is interaction with the company and a community around the product. The biggest thing is creating successful solutions on time for clients.
Pros:
This software allows me to create online applications rapidly. It does so by packaging actions that would ordinarily require a programmer to develop into prebuilt building blocks with changeable settings. Plant an App simplifies the creation of database interactions, workflows, scheduled procedures, API's and more to the act of filling in the right settings. It still allows me to extend functionality with code if desired. It enables me as an integrator to create applications and deliverables that otherwise would have been out of my reach.
Cons:
Like most software in this genre, this product is relatively new and some change in features and organization and licensing are to be expected short term. That said, there is direct contact available with company reps and opportunities to contribute to the success of the product.
The foundation for our rapid application development
Comments: We have used Plant an App as the basis for a range applications directed at students, staff and the wider public. These include large scale solutions used by most students and staff. Plant an App allows us to spin up applications rapidly while maintaining a visual identity that is consistent with the rest of the web presence. The applications are straightforward to maintain and extend over time.
Pros:
Very quick onboarding of new team members. Scales from the simplest registration forms to full line of business applications. Can be seamlessly integrated into existing branded websites. A range of options for extensibility and customisation. Active product development and responsive customer support.
Cons:
Self-hosting requires some experience of Windows Server, SQL Server and the DNN CMS platform. The pace of product development can be challenging when managing a large self-hosted estate.
Low Code for Software Engineering - The only limit is the sky
Comments:
I have been a customer of the modules that form the basis of PlantAnApp for many years and switching to PAA was the natural evolution, being able to leverage the experience already gained.
The product is evolving very quickly and overall I find it an excellent platform for a developer who wants to drastically reduce development time.
Pros:
Very features rich framework and application builder Unlike other platforms born in the "period of lowcode", the components of which PlantAnApp AppBuilder is composed come from over 10 years of use in critical business applications and have a maturity and flexibility that allow to realize any kind of application. Many "simplified" platforms soon show their limits when confronted with complex cases, while I have not yet found things "that can not be done" with PlantAnApp.
Cons:
The learning curve may be a bit steep but it is the price to pay for extreme flexibility.
Plant-An-App is simply the best way to begin a new project!!!
Comments: Simply Amazing.
Pros:
As a programmer, time is money. I am at a point where I no longer need to validate my programming skills by doing it the hard way. Plant-An-App allows me to use my in depth knowledge of programming to steer a system to success instead of coding to success. I am out racing my dirt bike even faster then before... Also, I am training my 17 year old son right now. I am skipping the years of computer science that I had to have and taking him straight to job site. Amazing that I can even consider that. Thank you Plant-An-App.
Cons:
Like any programming language or system design, it must evolve. This product will be better tomorrow than it was yesterday. Get on the ride with us.
Plant an App Response
3 years ago
Jerry, your feedback is much appreciated and thank you for being our no 1 fan!
Great platform for building low code
Comments: First experience using low code and am pleasantly surprised with how easy it is to bootstrap applications using Plant an App.
Pros:
Low code has been gaining more and more traction in the market. Plant an App is a good example of a platform that is feature-rich and provides lots of training and support. This is important from two standpoints - technical and non-technical folks. The example that is provided is a great way to get started with low-code with videos and in-depth tutorials provided. This helps to lower the overall learning curve. From the beginning you can setup an app and move quickly into configuring the various components (pages, entities, connectors, etc.). You can even design and setup API endpoints. There aren't many connectors available but GitHub and Slack cover the basics.
Cons:
While there is a lot of supporting documentation, it would be nice to have more context within the wizards. There's still a learning curve and having experience with DNN is useful. There are a decent amount of tool tips within the platform itself, which is nice. It would be great to have more gamification features built into the platform. Would like more documentation and capabilities in the Automation section.
Plant an App
Comments: Absolutely awesome. Easy to use product and very powerful
Pros:
As a pseudo coder I am able to develop in depth applications with relative ease. The plant an App product allows me to use their helpers to develop what is needed.
Cons:
Customizing tokens - would love more training topics around customizations - such as My Tokens creating and talking with DNN.
Plant an App is excellent for building custom enterprise solutions
Comments: Numerous.
Pros:
All of the tools available with Plant an App allow individuals or small teams to build enterprise level web-based software solutions with nearly unlimited possibilities. The platform is outstanding.
Cons:
The learning curve can be steep at first but Plant An App does an excellent job of onboarding to get a user up to speed quickly. They also always provide excellent training videos and use case examples.
Low code for DNN
Comments: Can develop fast solution for out customer
Pros:
Easy to use Lots of updates Fast development
Cons:
Good for custom solution but hard to scale at the Moment
