Oracle APEX is one of Oracle’s best kept secrets but part of the reason for this is because many at Oracle don’t seem to understand the benefits of their own product.
If your look at Oracle’s website, you’ll get a great description if you focus on text that we’ve highlighted below:
Oracle Application Express (APEX) is a low-code development platform that enables you to build scalable, secure enterprise apps, with world-class features, that can be deployed anywhere.
Using APEX, developers can quickly develop and deploy compelling apps that solve real problems and provide immediate value. You won’t need to be an expert in a vast array of technologies to deliver sophisticated solutions. Focus on solving the problem and let APEX take care of the rest.
“Build scalable, secure enterprise apps”
“You won’t need to be an expert in a vast array of technologies to deliver sophisticated solutions”
Bang on! We’ve built CRM systems, billing systems, inventory management systems, and more using Oracle APEX. We’ve re-built sophisticated Oracle Forms based systems key to an organization using Oracle APEX.
APEX is a full-blown, enterprise grade, development tool. Period.
Here’s the problem: It’s free.
Why is “free” a problem? It’s a problem because Oracle Sales Training is focused in ensuring that the sales team are able to properly position and promote products that generate revenue. They are trained to know the ins-and-outs of the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Oracle RAC, Exadata, Golden Gate, etc. APEX is relegated to an “included feature” of the Oracle database. For this reason, most people who own Oracle products have no idea that they are sitting on one of the most powerful, easy to learn, rapid application development frameworks.
What APEX is NOT:
- APEX is not an alternative to Excel
- APEX is not meant for Business Users to build custom mini-apps
- APEX is not for small work groups or use cases
- APEX is not a toy
What APEX really is:
- APEX is an alternative to .NET, JAVA, etc for building browser based applications
- APEX is meant to be used by professional developers to build sophisticated, enterprise grade applications.
- APEX is meant to be used to build applications for any use case
- APEX is definitely a professional grade product
APEX Value Proposition
- Rapid Application Development
- Build modern applications rapidly with a rich, intuitive interface.
- Build data entry/query screens, charts, reports that work seamlessly across different browsers and screen resolution
- Utilize PL/SQL, Stored Procedures, and Functions to take full advantage of the features of programming on top of an Oracle database
- Future-proof Apps
- APEX supports all datatypes including relations, JSON, spatial, etc.
- If you move your database to the Oracle Cloud, your APEX application can move with it
- Lower Cost
- No need for WebLogic or other expensive middleware components
- Very quick learning curve for your development team. No need for any knowledge of HTML, CSS, or JavaScript.
- Easy to maintain.
Most organizations are looking to develop new applications quickly and accurately while also providing a robust interface to satisfy the demands of end users. Combine this with the simplicity of deployment and the ability to run applications from any device makes Oracle APEX a compelling option for your organization.
