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Magic xpa Application Platform vs Microsoft Azure App Service comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Magic xpa Application Platform
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (8th), Application Infrastructure (15th)
Microsoft Azure App Service
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Magic xpa Application Platform is 3.2%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure App Service is 2.8%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mobile Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

IgorLastric - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 29, 2022
Fast development and user-oriented functionalities, but it needs better .NET integration and a completely different pricing structure
First, in my personal opinion, being a developer myself and working with web and mobile technologies, I think they're trying to cover all the sectors, and that's the problem. They want to be one toolbox for everything, but primarily, we are using xpa to develop desktop applications, and in that area they're lacking functionalities, flexibility, and modern stuff. MSC is marketing xpa as a .NET-based solution, but their .NET integration is lousy. For example, in Visual Studio, you put a control, you right click, and you set everything. In xpa, they're using Visual Studio as a basis of the development tool, but you cannot do what I just described. There's also poor integration of third-party tools because, for example, to put something together using the very popular .NET framework and components framework, it takes me at least three times longer than it should. We started using this solution because it was fairly easy, and 10 years ago, the speed of development was incomparable to any other tools. My employees can develop and deploy something in a matter of hours. My clients buy from me because we can do everything very fast, but the applications we are currently developing with xpa are kind of outdated. Not the functionalities, because we can do almost everything, but the UI and UX and the mechanics of the application are outdated. The problem is that their grid functionalities are very bad in general. For example, in order to have the ribbon bar like the one you have in Word or Excel, we have to do all kinds of gimmicks and purchase external libraries. That's one of the problems, and that's something I would really like to change. I really don't care about the web integration with xpa. I don't need it to be a tool for the API, for the backend, for the frontend, or for mobile applications. I want xpa to be a very powerful tool for desktop applications.
Reema Nandi - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 2, 2022
A solution with great server management and helps improve performance.
We use this product for integration and use a bidirectional approach. Some cases are created in service now, which are pushed to Salesforce. When an item is created in Salesforce, it is also created in ServiceNow which exposes some risk APIs. Those risk APIs are Salesforce, snow and sales group…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The speed of development is the quickest for any tool on the market."
"The ability to use the same development environment for both Windows and Android applications. Magic xpa also supports iOS applications."
"Being able to make changes to existing programs to comply with last minute changes in requirements, and/or being able to fix, test, review, and deploy new code in a manner of hours instead of days, definitely gives us a huge advantage over our competitors and this is only possible thanks to Magic’s speed of programming."
"Magic’s unique approach to development ensures that the programmer stays focused on the objective of the program (i.e. display all customers in California), instead of the repetitive tasks that surround it (i.e. connect to database, open customers table, create the query to retrieve records within the specified criteria, fetch the result of the query, connect it to a data grid, etc.)."
"What I found most valuable in the Magic xpa Application Platform is that it has a client-server and web browser technology that's perfect for company users."
"The solution makes the managing and adapting of the software very easy."
"Speed of development and database connectivity (MS SQL, Oracle, DB2, Btrieve/Pervasive PSQL, ODBC, MySql, and SQLite)."
"xpa gives us a fast development speed."
"The stability of Microsoft Azure App Service is good."
"The solution can scale."
"It's a platform as a service, so we don't have to manage the infrastructure to hold the websites."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure App Service is customization. It provides the building block from its modularity. You can add what you need with the appropriate code."
"Some of the features I found valuable are auto-scaling, SSL integration, cost-effectiveness, and the certificates provided by Microsoft Azure App Service."
"The product's initial setup phase is fast, and creating a new component and starting is easy."
"It is the best because it's easy to use, and there's a plan for every type of workload."
"The most valuable feature is that it's an ideal solution when it comes to lifting and shifting monolithic applications from on-premises to Azure Cloud. It allows for a quick shift into the cloud without having to analyze and design very specific infrastructure and services for monolithic applications hosted primarily on-premises. Let's say that the team does not want to really redesign monoliths in a microservices-based application and that they want to make a quick move towards adopting the cloud tech stack. Then, Microsoft Azure App Service is probably the best option."
 

Cons

"Magic has a tradition, when it adds new technologies/features to the Magic development tool, to provide either no documentation or documentation that does not provide an organized approach for bringing this new technology/feature to experienced Magic programmers."
"The configuration of the xpa RIA mobile environment is complex and a discouragement to new developers. Also, Magic's documentation can be less than complete at times which leads to frustration for new developers. (I encourage new Magic developers to join the Magic Users Group)."
"There is room for improvement in Magic's marketing and licensing. I would like to see more integration of web functionality."
"They want to be one toolbox for everything, but primarily, we are using xpa to develop desktop applications, and in that area they're lacking functionalities, flexibility, and modern stuff."
"The user interface could be improved to be more friendly for developers."
"The ability to display page up, page down, top and bottom buttons along the scroll bar would make my mouse-reliant customers happy."
"The Android environment is missing a number of functions for file/folder manipulation, sending receiving text messages (SMS) and the menuing options are limited. For now, it is left to the developer to write his/her own Java functions to include in the APK."
"Throughout my career, I've encountered difficulties when integrating new technologies with Magic xpa Application Platform. In particular, when attempting to incorporate features from other development languages into earlier versions of the solution called uniPaaS. I struggled to integrate .NET components due to the limited options available. This made the process more challenging and complicated. I find it challenging to create a more user-friendly experience for users who may be comparing the system to other systems they have used outside or within the company on different platforms."
"The setup is complex if you have no experience."
"Microsoft Azure App Service has a lot of complexity because there are a lot of options and functionality. It is simple to become confused, there are many technical elements to learn before you can utilize the solution. If they could make the solution easier to use it would be a benefit."
"When trying to scale up, it has a limitation, specifically an upper limitation. In general, scalability should be improved."
"Having a surplus of tutorials from Microsoft, rather than relying solely on documentation or features from other sources like YouTube, can be beneficial."
"The tool's UI is an area of concern that needs improvements."
"I would like to see some improvement in the UI/UX design, to make navigation of this solution more user friendly. For example, it could contain more explicit information on each of the features."
"It would be fantastic if Microsoft morphed after my exit service, removing it from subscriptions and moving it to different regions, especially for that service."
"There is always room for improvement price-wise."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My clients have to purchase additional licenses in order to use what I built. It's not a fair approach."
"The licensing cost varies because nowadays Magic has tailor-made offerings for clients. I think the solution is worth the money."
"The main problem with the Magic xpa Application Platform is pricing. You have to pay a lot of money for development, and you also have to pay a lot for the deployments and runtime, while in most competitors, you have to pay a lot for one of the two and not both."
"There are different licenses, we have the application and the online application. There are two different licenses for two different program sites for the Magic xpa Application Platform."
"The cost for developers is high because you have to pay for licenses as well as runtime."
"It's not cheap. The licenses are not cheap. Not at all. They cost much money. There are other tools with free licenses but Magic asks for a lot of money."
"The licensing is too costly."
"Magic is not the cheapest IDE out there. If you are considering Magic xpa, you should do a cost-benefit analysis to feel comfortable with your decision. The Magic sales staff is very helpful in providing pricing."
"The price of the support could improve. It is expensive."
"The cost depends on the App Service plan that you choose. There are a number of tiers available."
"The cost of the solution is based on usage. It is less expensive than other solutions."
"Less than USD $100 per month."
"Where there are different customer sizes, some customers consume $5,000 US dollars per month. I have some customers who pay and consume more than $20,000 US dollars per month, for example. It is determined by customer sizes and requirements, which vary from month to month."
"I rate Microsoft Azure App Service a seven out of ten for pricing."
"We have no complaints about the pricing."
"I would rate the product's pricing a five out of ten and is subscription based."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Insurance Company
11%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Magic xpa Application Platform?
The Magic xpa Application Platform is very suitable for production since it is easy to update. The program is simple to upgrade and deploy. The solution is convenient in production. You need to adj...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Magic xpa Application Platform?
There are different licenses, we have the application and the online application. There are two different licenses for two different program sites for the Magic xpa Application Platform.
What needs improvement with Magic xpa Application Platform?
Throughout my career, I've encountered difficulties when integrating new technologies with Magic xpa Application Platform. In particular, when attempting to incorporate features from other developm...
Would you choose Microsoft Azure App Service or PowerApps?
Microsoft Azure App Service is helpful if you need to set up temporary servers for customers to run their programs in locations that other cloud providers do not cater to. When servers are closer t...
Do you recommend Microsoft Azure App Service?
I highly recommend Microsoft Azure. We have been using it for nearly four years. We mostly use it for creating and maintaining websites, such as content management systems like WordPress sites, whi...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure App Service?
One valuable feature of Azure App Service for us is its integration with Azure DevOps, which we heavily rely on in our development process.
 

Also Known As

uniPaaS
Azure App Service, MS Azure App Service
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ADD, Cape plc, Adecco, Kuno Kinzoku Industry Co., GE Capital, Dove Tree, CBS Outdoor, Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, Allstate Life Insurance Company, Titan Software Systems
Real Madrid, Absolut, AccuWeather, Heineken, NBC News, Paramount
Find out what your peers are saying about Magic xpa Application Platform vs. Microsoft Azure App Service and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.