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reviewer1278699 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technology Manager at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Intuitive to use and provides good mobile support
Pros and Cons
  • "I like the mobile features the most, and there are also various features around the portal we created that I enjoy."
  • "Since we first started using OutSystems, they switched their language support from Java and .NET to .NET only, which was a bit of a surprise. Their language support could be better in this sense, although on our resource side it is now a bit more flexible."

What is our primary use case?

We have used OutSystems to develop a simple portal in the cloud. This portal is mainly for internal use and not for actual customers or external users.

It's generally not for daily usage, so there's only a small team that uses OutSystems as their primary tool in their day-to-day work, but because it's open for any and all kinds of developers, there are probably hundreds of users throughout our organization.

What is most valuable?

I like the mobile features the most, and there are also various features around the portal we created that I enjoy.

What needs improvement?

We're still pretty new to OutSystems, though it has become apparent to us that, even though it's a so-called low-code platform, there are still some things that require a programmer. For example, you don't really need a lot of programming skill to work with OutSystems, but if you want to do something that's a bit more 'feature-ish', then you still need some programming experience.

Since we first started using OutSystems, they switched their language support from Java and .NET to .NET only, which was a bit of a surprise. Their language support could be better in this sense, although on our resource side it is now a bit more flexible.

On the whole, most of the features that we've required are all there. But there are some upcoming features that we are looking forward to. For example, the AI modules. They also have third-party vendors that produce different connectors, but I am hoping that OutSystems itself will start to create more innovative connectors or complementary solutions that we will find of use.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using OutSystems in our organization for about one and a half years now.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far there have been no major issues so I would say it's pretty stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We haven't yet reached the level that we need to seriously consider scaling, but from my experience it isn't so easy to scale any kind of closed platform where you start without the source. They may offer you the source later when migrating, but it's generally not so easy to queue up onto another platform or move to another vendor, so I expect that the scalability in this respect might be lower than we would like.

How are customer service and support?

So far, most of our support is coming from internal sectors of our organization. I think it's easy enough to resolve all the issues we come across within the company.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We do use another similar product which isn't very well-known. It's a product from Germany and we use it mainly for internal use in the same way that we use OutSystems.

Comparatively, as a low-code kind of platform, OutSystems is the most intuitive to use, but if you have an experienced programmer in Java and .NET like myself, then the other platform is probably a bit more flexible.

How was the initial setup?

It's basically a simple portal that we developed in-house.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation details really depend on the project and the type of organization. For example, because we are quite a sizeable organization, there are other processes that we need to fulfill in order to maintain compliance before we push our projects to go live. Thus, for us, the full implementation took about six months. Thankfully, the maintenance is pretty low.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I think the pricing for OutSystems is comparable with similar solutions. I would place it somewhere in the middle. We pay for the bundle and don't pay anything extra in terms of licensing and other fees.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend OutSystems, but I would also point out to others that they're not the only product out there that deserves attention.

I would rate OutSystems an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Harikrishnan  Ramamoorthy - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Lead at Netlink Software Group America Inc
Real User
Helps with validation, offers good features, and is reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "We can do the validation before calling the API."
  • "Currently, in mobile applications, we don't have push notifications."

What is our primary use case?

It is kind of used for reactive and web applications. We're also working on the mobile applications as well. I use it in a banking environment. 

I've been onboarded there and then I'm just doing the activities for both internet banking as well as mobile banking, handling both servers as well as the front end.

Currently, this banking application can consist of both mobile as well as internet banking. We have it for eight different countries. For mobile, we have eight different applications, and for internet banking, it is a single application, however, it'll support eight entities in eight countries including Bahrain, the UK, Iraq, et cetera.

What is most valuable?

Normally we use it in a banking setup. Usually, transfer payment and then the benefits pay gateway, are those kinds of integrations we are doing currently for mobile. The onboarding process we do, the login for that process, et cetera, offer good features. 

We have one feature called multiple payments where we're able to select multiple beneficiaries and we're able to create ad hoc beneficiaries. Ad hoc beneficiaries mean there's no need to add the benefits directly. We can enter the beneficiary upon the number and we can do the payment. We can add multiple beneficiaries in a single go and then we will do the validation. 

We have a back office application as well where we can configure based upon the user as well as based upon the segment. We can configure per day.

We're able to do transformations. We can do the validation before calling the API. Once validation is done, we will show the set of validation. Either it can be the OTP validation or it can be a token validation. Once that is done, we can call the final API, which calls the code banking system for doing the payments.

What needs improvement?

We've acquired a new bank and would like to integrate e-services into the offering. We'd like to be able to have an option for doing an activation directly from the internet banking area so that there is no need to contact the bank directly. Having e-services capabilities would be ideal. 

There are a lot of enhancements and new features coming.

Currently, in mobile applications, we don't have push notifications. We're hoping that will come in the new release. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for 3.5 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's stable enough. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. If I want to do any changes or anything, it has a one-click publish. There's no need to re-upload anything. We make changes, we expand, and it is a one-click deployment.

Currently, in Bahrain alone, there are 40,000 users on the app. We have the same for other countries as well. We have deployed more production for three entities - Bahrain, Egypt, and the UK. Currently, for the other three entities, it is in progress. We are planning to move those changes at the end of September.

We can add users as necessary. In LifeTime, we're able to handle user management. We're able to create a set of users and we can assign roles. It can be an admin role, like full control where it's able to do publishing, feedbacking, everything. We can receive a set of users and control access to certain areas. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is very good. If there is any production issue or anything, we can raise the ticket and they're immediately helping. If there are any deployment changes that get affected, it means we have control of all directions also. Therefore, we can manage everything properly, without any effect, actually. Everything is completely handed down to OutSystems and it is more stable. If any deployment causes us an issue we can revert back to the older version and it'll work fine.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before that, I used a server platform called Forti. It is similar to the OutSystems Platform. We were able to use mobile and web publications and able to create using that.

I worked on an AD platform as well. 

Comparatively, I'm able to see OutSystems is very easy to maintain and easily fulfills the business requirements. 

How was the initial setup?

The deployment and process depends upon the model we are selecting. Normally consider if we are selecting big models, it'll take around 30 to 40 minutes for making a deployment to set up 15 applications. For example, if it is a mobile application, it means if we can select only the application, it will take a maximum of five to ten minutes for creating the solution and deploying in the UIT of production. For internet banking, we use Windows authentication, ID logins. For mobile banking, we used third-party APIs. We used common plugins for the camera location and everything. We integrated with Apple, Google, and Apple Wallet also.

Everything is completely handled in OutSystems, so we have a LifeTime available in OutSystems. Previously, we don't have LifeTime so we manually exported the solution and we deployed it in the UIT. With the help of LifeTime, we're able to see the versions and the differences. We can select the proper particular application and we can do the deployment. It is easy to maintain and easy to deploy as well.

What about the implementation team?

For doing the deployments, any changes, are completely handled on our side.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I'm not sure how the licensing is set up. I don't handle that aspect.

However, I am able to see it s very costly as compared to other platforms. That said, we see the benefit of paying so much. They provide a lot of options. 

What other advice do I have?

While we use version 11.10.20 for service, the service center for LifeTime is 11.0. Currently, we need to upgrade that. The upgrade plan is in progress. We have had to start recently.

I'd recommend the solution to others. 

I would rate it eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
OutSystems
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about OutSystems. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
Project Leader / IT Architect at Hamburg Port Authority
Real User
It's easy to use, and you can easily set it up in a couple of hours.
Pros and Cons
  • "OutSystems is easy to use."

    What is most valuable?

    OutSystems is easy to use. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using OutSystems for six months.

    How are customer service and support?

    OutSystems support is okay. 

    How was the initial setup?

    Setting up OutSystems is easy. It take one or two hours. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price is okay. OutSystems isn't expensive. It's a mid-range solution.

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate OutSystems nine out of 10. I recommend evaluating it as a POC first. If everything is okay, you can start.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1401765 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Director Technology at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
    Vendor
    You can keep running your applications because it's on .NET and hosted centrally
    Pros and Cons
    • "One thing I like about OutSystems is that there's no lock-in. You can keep running your applications because it's on .NET and hosted centrally. That's one of the advantages I see there in terms of not having an IT strategy that has a dependency on a particular platform."
    • "The integration points need to be increased. People have also started to adopt this solution for their regular needs. That means it's not only the big enterprises that are adopting this solution. There are also small and medium enterprises that are adopting it. I've read that where you have large deployments, OutSystems starts to crumble a bit. That is the idea that no customer would know at the beginning and would also not like to hit the wall there. When it is on the client, there are a lot of applications already on low-code, and then suddenly you realize that you want to do some big applications, and you face hurdles. This is the general feedback for all such platforms."

    What is most valuable?

    One thing I like about OutSystems is that there's no lock-in. You can keep running your applications because it's on .NET and hosted centrally. That's one of the advantages I see there in terms of not having an IT strategy that has a dependency on a particular platform.

    What needs improvement?

    The integration points need to be increased. People have also started to adopt this solution for their regular needs. That means it's not only the big enterprises that are adopting this solution. There are also small and medium enterprises that are adopting it. 

    I've read that where you have large deployments, OutSystems starts to crumble a bit. That is the idea that no customer would know at the beginning and would also not like to hit the wall there. When it is on the client, there are a lot of applications already on low-code, and then suddenly you realize that you want to do some big applications, and you face hurdles. This is the general feedback for all such platforms.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been there with OutSystems for two and a half years to three years now. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability could be from multiple perspectives. From an enterprise perspective, it is the stability of the company. For example, most of the enterprise ERPs are SAP, so I don't have to check twice if a product is okay. 

    It's the IT strategy a company is taking, which is effectively what they're going to do for the next five years. They're going to onboard a lot of applications onto this platform. So stability-wise, of course, the scale of the company is not so big, whereas large enterprises could say that it's stable as an organization.

    Coming to the other part of the stability which is at the platform-stability level, I think that the features and the support that they provide are quite good, and because it is horizontally scalable, so it doesn't matter there.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It has good scalability in terms of the target platforms, multi-tenancy, or hosting on multiple clouds.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    My team has been interacting with technical support and their feedback is good. Their training is good. I think OutSystems provides one of the best trainings out of all similar platforms.

    How was the initial setup?

    The development environment is quite easy. You install it out of the box, and it works. It's a one-click install there. I have not been involved with Enterprise setup, so I do not have any comments on that.

    What about the implementation team?

    We primarily suggest the IT and OutSystems work together for the setup.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    If I talk about enterprise-level implementation, we work very closely with Siemens, which is where Mendix comes from. We are partners with Siemens, and that's where it helps us in developing applications on Mendix because we get good community support there. I'm not sure how things are otherwise. 

    For OutSystems, it is more of community support and a kind of library they have, in terms of the reference implementation of libraries, which can be applied.

    For the industrial and enterprise nature of work, that is, for B2B scenarios, Mendix fares well. OutSystems might have a slight advantage for B2C scenarios. I would say that they are equivalent in most of the aspects. There are certain features that Mendix provides which OutSystems does not provide. Similarly, there are areas where OutSystems fares good but Mendix does not. I would rate Mendix and OutSystems the same. 

    The initial adoption of Microsoft PowerApps is a little bit of a hurdle. If that's overcome, then other things would be reliant. When we talk about PowerApps, we talk about the whole Microsoft ecosystem, that is, Microsoft Flow, Microsoft PowerApps, Microsoft Power Automate, which effectively brings a lot of power in terms of an ecosystem. 

    If I have to go with applications related to Microsoft Office 365, I might go for PowerApps. If I need external integrations and things, where they provide premium APIs and things, it becomes a little bit of a challenge. 

    Development-wise, PowerApps could provide a free version. They always have but it's quite restricted. If you download OutSystems or Mendix, you could do anything with the free version. That's where, in terms of acceptance, PowerApps gets a little restrictive because you need a license to evaluate it. If it is not restricted, there'll be more adoption. Of course, you can restrict deployment, the size, and all that, but development capabilities should not be restricted.

    What other advice do I have?

    The value proposition is not clearly visible out of these platforms as yet. Your penetration level will be decided based on if you are able to reach small and medium enterprises. If I compare something like Zoho with OutSystems, Zoho is getting good traction by purely focusing on the small and medium enterprises. These kinds of things could be game-changers in the future. 

    That's where the licensing model becomes a little cryptic. Of course, for enterprise, it makes sense at certain times, and it does not at certain times. The licensing models are one of the things that could be improved there and changed in terms of adaptability.

    OutSystems is quite a mature platform. OutSystems provides a lot of capabilities as such. However, it's not a one-size-fits-all kind of solution. Based on the needs, the platform that would be the most suitable one should be decided. 

    I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
    PeerSpot user
    Outsystems Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
    Real User
    I can make updates on the fly, as requirements change, when meeting customers
    Pros and Cons
    • "For me, the most valuable feature is the flexibility the tools give us to change any customer requirements on the fly, when we are in a meeting. I also like how easy it is to deploy the code between environments and how easy it is to integrate OutSystems with other systems."
    • "The latest version of the app generation tools could be more user-friendly."

    What is our primary use case?

    I use OutSystems' platform to build mobile apps for our customers as well as good old-fashioned web applications.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Before using Outsystems to develop a client's reporting systems, the process would take six months to complete a report. After using Outsystems, and building a custom application, report-building is one click away - and it only took us three months to build the custom application using OutSystems.

    What is most valuable?

    For me, the most valuable feature is the flexibility the tools give us to change as customer requirements change, on the fly, when we are in a meeting. I also like how easy it is to deploy the code between environments and how easy it is to integrate OutSystems with other systems.

    What needs improvement?

    The latest version of the app generation tools could be more user-friendly.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    More than five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    You can have your solution on the cloud or on-premise, it all depends how you develop your code. But from my 11 years experience, well-developed solutions don't have stability issues.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    All platforms and languages have their limitations. If the solution is designed, from the beginning, to scale properly, there will be no problem at all with OutSystems. The way OutSytems works, it is not too hard to scale.

    How is customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is good, always able to help.

    How was the initial setup?

    Setup is not complex at all.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    You should contact OutSystems for more details but my opinion is that it is not for small business budgets.

    What other advice do I have?

    The conventional coding rules don't apply here. You need to have an open mind and let the platform take control from you at times.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1191759 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Director of Web Solutions at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees
    MSP
    Easy to set up, low maintenance, good support, and it integrates well
    Pros and Cons
    • "The technical support is perfect."
    • "The prices should be lower. It is a little bit too high for a small market."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are a reseller and OutSystems is one of the products that we provide to our customers.

    What is most valuable?

    OutSystems allows you to do things really quickly.

    This product requires very little maintenance, and it is easy to do as compared to traditional programming solutions.

    What needs improvement?

    The prices should be lower. It is a little bit too high for a small market.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I began working with OutSystems in 2014.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability of this product has been incredible. I would rate it a ten out of ten in this aspect.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We are in a small country and although this is a scalable product, that is not usually an issue for us.

    How are customer service and support?

    The technical support is perfect.

    I would rate the technical support a ten out of ten.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The pricing is an area that needs to be improved.

    The subscription is billed on a yearly basis.

    What other advice do I have?

    This is a product that I recommend for anybody who is digitalizing things. It's an incredible tool and you can do things very quickly. Certainly, you should look into it if you are going to implement any kind of application. Whether it is field service, internal applications, external websites, or something else that is related to the digitalization of processes, and where you have to interact with many systems for integration purposes, this is a good tool.

    I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Ricardo Gondim - PeerSpot reviewer
    COO/CTO at .add
    Real User
    Top 20
    Scalable solution helping us with timely delivery of projects
    Pros and Cons
    • "It is a stable solution."
    • "Its ability to create and run automated tasks could be better."

    How has it helped my organization?

    The solution has helped our organization with the timely delivery of projects. We have seen more than a 100% increase in productivity across all the teams.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution's most valuable feature is its ability to organize the entire project view on one platform, including data, development, and processes.

    What needs improvement?

    The solution's ability to create and run automated tasks could be better. They should include data extracting and handling tools in the next release.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using the solution for six years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I rate the solution's stability a nine out of ten.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I rate the solution's scalability a ten out of ten.

    How was the initial setup?

    The solution's initial setup process is easy for the cloud version. However, it is complicated for the on-premises version.

    What was our ROI?

    Our clients have seen a return on investment for the solution.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The solution is too expensive for small companies. Whereas, for large companies, it is worth the investment.

    What other advice do I have?

    I advise others to ensure they have a long-term strategy for multiple projects while opting for the solution. Otherwise, it would be challenging to receive a return on investment.

    The solution is good. I rate it a nine out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer2014344 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Product Specialist Intern at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User
    Simple initial setup, stable, and useful drag and drop options
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable feature of OutSystems is the drag and drop and toolchains in the small AI developing environment. Additionally, the documentation is helpful."
    • "The dashboards in OutSystems could improve. There are a lot of tabs in the service center that can be confusing."

    What is our primary use case?

    I was only testing OutSystems.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature of OutSystems is the drag and drop and toolchains in the small AI developing environment. Additionally, the documentation is helpful.

    What needs improvement?

    The dashboards in OutSystems could improve. There are a lot of tabs in the service center that can be confusing.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using OutSystems for approximately one month.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    OutSystems is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability of OutSystems is good.

    I am the only one using this solution. I am a student at a university.

    How are customer service and support?

    The support from OutSystems is good.

    I rate the support from OutSystems a five out of five.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup of OutSystems is easy. You only need to sign up. It takes approximately 15 minutes.

    What about the implementation team?

    I did the implementation of the solution by myself.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    There is a free trial to use this solution and other options available, such as enterprise. There are different subscription plans.

    The enterprise version of the solution is approximately $1,500 annually.

    What other advice do I have?

    The maintenance of the solution can be done by one person.

    I would recommend this solution to others. There is a portable version available for them to try.

    I rate OutSystems a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Private Cloud
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free OutSystems Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: November 2024
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free OutSystems Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.