Mendix, a leading provider of enterprise-class platform as a service (PaaS), has announced the release highlights for Mendix 5 during the Mendix World 2012 keynote. Mendix 5 is the latest iteration of its app platform for the enterprise. The new release will make it easier and faster for business-side developers and power users to build and deploy multiple web and mobile apps while providing enterprise security and control for IT in one centralised place.

“With open platform services, Mendix 5 will enhance the way companies keep up with business change,” says Hardy Jonck, who heads the Mendix business unit and model-driven development at DVT, a Mendix partner in South Africa. “It’s an app platform that offers an exceptional user experience while enabling users to maintain IT control. Most significantly however, it’s the only platform that unifies desktop and mobile enterprise applications in a secure platform for which Forrester created a new category of development tools called Productivity Platforms.”

“Mendix enables quick time-to-market for new mobile web applications. We chose Mendix to partner in innovation, support our customers, and stay ahead of the competition,” says Craig Neill, CTO of DVT.

A major feature is the new App Launchpad which, combined with multi-tenant platform services, will provide end users with the apps they need, the way they need them. “At the same time, they will get apps that suit the needs of their users more quickly and efficiently than ever,” says Jonck. “Apps can be customised and branded, and there’s a widget that can access a social activity stream and see all notifications for all those apps.”

Other highlights include:

  •  Multi-tenant platform services which make multi-app deployments efficient and enable social productivity across apps. Shared platform services will be available across all apps running on the Mendix App Platform. Platform services include messaging, notifications, workflow, chat, and user management. This makes development and deployment of multiple apps with a company much easier and more efficient.
  •  New Enterprise Administration features which allow administrators to better manage large user communities manage multiple apps and app environments across the entire organisation.
  •  Layouts from the App Store that are smartphone ready, HTM5-based and flexible for all screen sizes, and can connect to a specific device profile and reuse particular UI patterns
  •  Several enhancements which focus on better component integration. Apps can contain multiple components and have explicit interfaces that can share data and logic components. The emphasis here is on reusable pieces that make it easier to maintain your apps.
  •  Multi-tenant app services, which is what’s behind the integrated UI as part of the Launchpad. These services can be used as part of the component interface. There is also improved single sign-on and authentication via OpenID.
  •  Enterprise admin features enable users to view the status of all their apps and keep track of user rights and other parameters.