Ionic vs Mendix vs OutSystems comparison

Ionic and Mendix are both solutions in the Mobile Development Platforms category. Ionic is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.0, while Mendix is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3. Ionic holds a 7.5% mindshare in MDP, compared to Mendix’s 21.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Ionic users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Mendix users who would recommend it.

Ionic

Read 14 Ionic reviews

829 Views
579 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Mendix

Read 53 Mendix reviews

2,494 Views
1,620 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

OutSystems

Read 52 OutSystems reviews

2,743 Views
1,628 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Ionic

Mendix

OutSystems

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Ionic, Mendix, and OutSystems based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about OutSystems, Mendix, Salesforce and others in Mobile Development Platforms.

To learn more, read our detailed Mobile Development Platforms Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Mobile Development Platforms

April 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 850,760 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Ionic is 7.5%, up from 7.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Mendix is 21.3%, down from 21.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OutSystems is 20.5%, down from 22.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Mobile Development Platforms

Featured Reviews

Roche De Kock

Senior Developer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Allows us to create cross-platform mobile apps from a single code base, but should have a complete set of libraries for Capacitor

When they jumped from version 3 to version 4, 5, and 6, they introduced something called Capacitor, which is basically the tool that you use to convert your code to Xcode, etc. They have a few plugins that are still using, for instance, PhoneGap. So, you have to jump between Capacitor and PhoneGap. Their documentation is good, but there are some versioning control issues. For example, if you want to bring up a phone dial-up or a map, you have to decide whether to use Capacitor, PhoneGap, or Cordova. They started writing Capacitor to get rid of PhoneGap and Cordova, but they haven't yet got all the libraries and all the functionalities. They want you to start using Capacitor, but they don't have all the libraries there. They're developing them as they go. So, currently, you have to mix and match the three. When it comes to mobile applications, I would only like to use Capacitor. I don't want to jump between Cordova and Capacitor or have both of them. That's the main thing for me, but they have been working on it. They have started to bring them closer and closer so that you don't have to use two different sets of libraries. They're close to where you don't have to use Cordova or PhoneGap, and you can only use Capacitor. In versions 5 and 6, they have improved it a lot. They can also improve it in terms of publishing to different stores. For instance, I'm using Firebase to make my Ionic app web compatible. If I don't have a Node.js server to host on, I have to host it on Firebase or something like that. Currently, if I need to publish to different stores, such as the Microsoft store or the Huawei store, the only way I can publish to, for instance, the Huawei store is by creating the APK and uploading it. If they can start adding a little bit more integration to publish to different stores, such as the Samsung store, Huawei store, or Microsoft store, it would be good. Currently, there are no problems with iOS and Google Play Store, but for the other stores, you have to do a little bit of a workaround to get things done. Its stability could be better. For me, jumping between versions 3, 4, and 5 was a big problem because it wasn't seamless. Jumping from version 5 to 6 is more seamless. Jumping from version 3 to 5 has been a nightmare because I had to recode quite a lot to be compatible with version 5. I totally skipped version 4 because it was just too quick. Jumping between versions has definitely been a problem for me. If I have to do a lot of plugins and redo a lot of my coding because they're jumping versions, I'm going to look for something else.

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Sameer Verma

Consulting Manager at Deloitte

Low-code, helpful support, and great native mobile capability

There is always a layer of custom code required. There is a misconception of low-code, or Mendix, or the industry in general. They are perceived as more of a dashboarding tool, and as a visualization platform only, rather than building a complete enterprise solution. That's more of an awareness marketing challenge they have, or the industry has. In general, AI needs to be better. The team and the company is running ahead with this a bit more. AI area is something which companies have started to pick up on, low-code wise, and they should invest in it more. I would like to see their data hub module become a little bit more mature. They need to expand their base as the concept is amazing. We just need to see more use cases and learn more capabilities there, and then definitely they need to fill in the AI piece of it.

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Bireswar Das

Business Unit Head - Government Business at YASH Technologies

A low-code platform for the development of mobile and web enterprise applications

To illustrate a case, the customer initially had a private cloud, essentially a data center hosted within it. They needed a disaster recovery solution, which would involve using a public cloud. This situation led to some deployment challenges due to the hybrid nature of their setup. However, once we implemented the solution for them, they were extremely satisfied. The process was not only effective but also quite speedy. To be more precise, we completed it in around 100 days, even though they initially requested it to be done in four months. They were very pleased with the efficiency of the implementation.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is secure, reliable, and packed with features so we can easily implement apps even in the most complex situations."

"What I like the most about Ionic is live reloading, which enables us to develop new features without having to build the application again and re-check the functionality."

"Ionic's best feature is that it's not necessary to write your own custom codes as all the hybrid is provided by Angular."

"Being able to have one set of code is valuable. I don't have to recode for different platforms. I don't have to recode for Xcode, Angular, or Android. So, the biggest feature for me is that it's a hybrid system, and I can have one set of code, and then the tool sets that are in there convert my code for Xcode or Play Store. It makes work a lot easier."

"With the Capacitor feature, you have access to the native attributes of your phone such as your camera. This makes work a lot easier."

"Ionic's best features are its hybrid app development, design, and tags."

"Because it's a hybrid mobile app framework, it is easy for us to develop iOS as well as Android apps for our customers with the same resource skills. We didn't have to have separate iOS teams and Android teams to build the apps. We still have to use the Apple Xcode for iOS, but the main development happens with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. We don't have to write separate code bases in scripts for iOS and Android. We create apps using web-based technology."

"I like that I can place the code and escalate data storage. I also like that it's user-friendly. Nothing is complex in Ionic."

More Ionic pros

"The features that I have found most valuable with Mendix are its business process management and its minimal low code, both from an interface perspective and from a process perspective."

"You can scale the solution."

"We also use Mendix Enterprise Integration for complex business logic. It's a low-code platform, so we run Mendix in the Mendix Cloud."

"The domain model of Mendix is highly valuable as it allows quick setup and public deployment."

"It is a brilliant solution."

"The most valuable features are the integration and UI customization."

"What I found most valuable in Mendix is that it's very much suitable for mobile apps such as native Android or IOS supported mobile apps. The multiple features of the platform are very, very attractive and very popular. Mendix has technical features such as microflows and nanoflows. You can also access data models in the platform. These are the features that are very, very strong in Mendix. I got my hands dirty on other low-code platforms, but I have not seen such strong features in them compared to the microflows, nanoflows, and data model access that are in Mendix, including creating and integration. The platform has out-of-the-box adapters or out-of-the-box-connectors that you can integrate with different interface applications such as SAP, Salesforce, Oracle EBS, etc."

"The user experience is great."

More Mendix pros

"The flow editor is the most valuable feature. It is simple and intuitive, and it can guide you step-by-step."

"We can quickly develop an application using the tool."

"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 solution is all-encompassing and very easy to use with its drag-and-drop feature."

"The integration capabilities have benefited my customers by providing many connectors out of the box, allowing for the integration of external applications or business applications."

"The most valuable features of OutSystems are the user interface, the flexibility to quickly integrate with almost anything in the system, and the ability to connect with databases."

"The most valuable feature is Agile development. I love that you save a lot of time on development and can focus on logic and business requirements."

"You can go huge - so it is definitely a scalable solution."

More OutSystems pros

Cons

"As a developer, I would say one of the improvements is more plugins."

"The documentation could be improved."

"Ionic could improve in the Native mode because while we do testing it is difficult to find the root cause of problems. It could be more user-friendly."

"In a future release, we would like to have a little more support for the desktop environment. Currently it is still focused on mobile devices."

"Ionic's UI component doesn't always look like the native mobile app."

"Documentation for migrations and compatibility is insufficient."

"Ionic would be improved with dynamic design features."

"It would be better if it had a speed niche system. There are a lot of things we need that weren't in the latest version. But I think they will be adding something."

More Ionic cons

"It could use a more comprehensive widget creation studio in the IDE."

"While the documentation is good, the development box could be better."

"Overall, integration with the enterprise ecosystem needs improvement."

"A constraint of Mendix is that you have to look for the required plugins which takes up development time. There are a limited number of Mendix experts in the market."

"The code refactoring tools could be better, especially for applications running for years. It's not bad, but it could be smoother. Also, writing new widgets can be trickier than it should be for some people, but not if you're familiar with Mendix."

"The vendor should focus more on the opinion of the users and make improvements"

"Mendix is great for internal applications but not so great for a public-facing interface. It lacks a proper directory structure for public use. The URL will not change from page to page unless a deep link is created for each page. That makes it difficult to bookmark pages in the browser to view later on."

"I struggle with solutions like Mendix in terms of creating enterprise solutions."

More Mendix cons

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

"The tool needs to improve the efficiency of its widgets."

"The new version could be improved."

"The solution is costly."

"We have performance issues while fetching bulk data."

"The documentation needs to be more robust."

"We had some lagging issues under high data loads, and the solution needed to be customized to improve this."

"The cons involve delays in project timelines primarily due to the time taken in requirements refinement and challenges faced when adding new features, making it somewhat complex to manage and maintain applications as they grow in scale."

More OutSystems cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's open source option is free with no licensing fees."

"Ionic is an open-source solution, it is free."

"You don't have to pay anything except for certain projects. For example, Appflow has some costs related to it but you don't have to use it. You can also pay for extra support."

"I think most of the plugins for Ionic are open source, and you can do a lot with many of the basic features. However, if you need to use a premium plugin for something like extra scroll list functionality, Ionic will ask for a certain sum of money."

"We pay 50,000 dinars per month."

"The starting cost for the enterprise option is around one hundred dollars per month."

"You can use the free version, but if you still want to buy it, the price starts from $499/month."

"Ionic is an open source solution, and there are no hidden fees."

"Mendix licensing cost is based on the number of apps you have on the server. At the basic level, it is free of charge, so that seems reasonable, but once you go beyond that, and when it comes to the number of users on the app, that basic structure doesn't work, and the pricing tends to get a little bit steep."

"Licensing costs are similar to those for all other IT technology, but they vary by region."

"The solution is a bit expensive compared to others"

"Mendix seems a bit expensive. But in terms of wanting to have less developers and higher velocity, the total cost of ownership is fine. It's not cheap, though."

"Its cost is higher than competitors. The cost mostly includes licensing. It is charged per user. The cost model could be better. When you have a big company, what does per user mean? If I have a company where I have 40,000 people who will go to access it but only 200 do, how do you license it and who do you pay for? If they hit it once, do you pay for it? The licensing is complex for a big company. It is easy for us to buy all we can eat, get an enterprise license agreement, and call it good."

"Mendix is not open source, but its license cost is cheap, particularly when compared to the Appian license. The license model would depend on how many users you have and how many applications you are creating. If you are creating a single app, you just need to have a single app license, so it's free. If you want a multiple app license to cover two thousand or three thousand users, for example, internal users or external users, then you need to pay for the license. There's also a license model for above three thousand or four thousand, or five thousand internal and external users."

"Pricing used to be complex, but Mendix has improved that quite a bit."

"There is a license required to use Mendix. The solution's price is high, but it is best suited for enterprise companies that have the budget. It is not for small or medium-sized businesses."

More Mendix pricing and cost advice

"OutSystems is a good solution, but it's not cheap."

"It is too expensive for small companies."

"It is very high price."

"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."

"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to OutSystems. It is an expensive product."

"The tool’s licensing is based on the user’s usage."

"I believe they have two pricing options. One is approximately $4000 USD a year and the other is approximately $10,000 USD a year."

"I believe they are very strict with their pricing platforms, or the pricing policies, and it changes."

More OutSystems pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Educational Organization

13%

Comms Service Provider

Real Estate/Law Firm

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

University

Educational Organization

28%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Mendix?

We also use Mendix Enterprise Integration for complex business logic. It's a low-code platform, so we run Mendix in t...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Mendix?

I have some idea about the licensing part, and it depends on the person and the number of applications.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Mendix?

Currently, I do not see any improvements needed in Mendix. However, I have not used Mendix for the last few months, s...

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Which solution is better for developing non-ITSM applications: OutSystems or Service Now?

The short answer is that OutSystems is far better for 2 main reasons. Firstly, with Service Now you are locked into t...

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What industries do you think OutSystems is most useful for?

I cannot really name an industry in which OutSystems cannot be beneficial. Who does not want to make top-notch applic...

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How did you decide which OutSystems edition was the best one for you?

We started using OutSystems fairly recently, so we are still on the free version of it. My company is still testing ...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 35% of the time

ironSource vs Ionic

Compared 13% of the time

SAP Mobile Platform vs Ionic

Compared 9% of the time

IBM MobileFirst vs Ionic

Compared 9% of the time

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ServiceNow vs Mendix

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Power Apps vs Mendix

Compared 11% of the time

Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs Mendix

Compared 8% of the time

Appian vs Mendix

Compared 6% of the time

Salesforce Platform vs Mendix

Compared 5% of the time

More Mendix Competitors

Appian vs OutSystems

Compared 20% of the time

ServiceNow vs OutSystems

Compared 15% of the time

Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs OutSystems

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Power Apps vs OutSystems

Compared 7% of the time

Oracle Visual Builder Cloud Service vs OutSystems

Compared 1% of the time

More OutSystems Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Ionic

May 2025

Download Ionic product report

Buyer's Guide

Mendix

April 2025

Download Mendix product report

Buyer's Guide

OutSystems

April 2025

Download OutSystems product report

Overview

Ionic is an open-source UI toolkit for developing high-quality mobile and desktop apps with web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Ionic focuses on the frontend UX and UI interaction of an app – UI controls, interactions, gestures, and animations. It is simple to learn and can be used without any frontend framework by utilizing a simple script inclusion.

While previous versions of Ionic were strongly connected to Angular, version 4.x of the framework was re-engineered to serve as an independent Web Component library, with integrations for the newest JavaScript frameworks, such as Angular. Ionic works well in most frontend frameworks, including React and Vue, however some frontend frameworks require a shim to enable full Web Component support.

The official Ionic CLI, or Command Line Interface, is a tool that enables developers to easily construct Ionic apps and offers a number of useful commands. The CLI installs and updates Ionic and also includes a built-in development server, build and debugging tools, and much more. If you are an Appflow member, you may manage your account and carry out cloud builds and deployments via the CLI.

Ionic Features

Ionic has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

One codebase: Ionic is the first mobile app stack that allows web developers to use a single codebase to create apps for all major app stores and the mobile web. Ionic apps look and feel natural on every device thanks to Adaptive Styling.
High performance: Ionic is designed to run and behave well on the latest mobile devices, using best practices such as efficient hardware accelerated transitions and touch-optimized gestures.
Simple, clean design: Ionic is built to function and display well across all popular mobile platforms and devices. You'll be building in style thanks to pre-made components, typography, and an attractive (but flexible) base theme that adjusts to each platform.
Native and web-friendly: Ionic uses native SDKs and emulates native app UI guidelines to combine native app device features and UI standards with the full flexibility and power of the open web. Ionic operates as a Progressive Web App in the browser or deploys natively via Capacitor (or Cordova).

Ionic Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Ionic. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Cross-platform: Create and distribute apps with a single code base. Apps run natively on iOS, Android, desktop, and the web as Progressive Web Apps. Publish once and go anywhere.

Based on web standards: Ionic is developed using cutting-edge web APIs like Custom Elements and Shadow DOM on top of reliable, industry-standard web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Ionic components have a solid API as a result, and they aren't subject to the whims of a single platform vendor.

Good design: Ionic is made to operate and look great right out of the box across all platforms. Start with typography, interactive paradigms, pre-designed elements, and an attractive (yet extensible) base theme.

Simplicity: Ionic was created with simplicity in mind, making it fun, simple to learn, and available to almost anyone with basic web development skills.

Ionic

Mendix is a low-code application development platform that helps your organization accelerate its application development lifecycle. The solution is designed to enable you to create software faster by abstracting and automating the development process for better business outcomes at speed and scale. Mendix has many key capabilities, including a tailored IDE for every developer, built-in collaboration tools for team development, feedback management, agile project management, the ability to build a truly responsive design across devices, and much more.

Mendix Features

Mendix has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

App development
Multi-experience
Artificial intelligence
Intelligent automation
Data integration
Atlas UI framework
Cloud-native scaling
Single-click deployment
User-based security
Version control
Automated testing
Comprehensive admin suite

Mendix Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Mendix. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Efficient and easy to learn: Mendix allows business users and developers to build and deploy sophisticated multi-channel apps with a model-driven development platform that is much more efficient and easier to learn than traditional technologies.

Simple and responsive UI: Mendix allows business engineers to create an optimal user experience through predefined layouts for smartphone, tablet, and desktop user interfaces.

Native device functions: Mendix offers out-of-the-box widgets for native device functions. Mendix developers who are building a hybrid app can easily drag and drop a widget as a building block into an app without any further coding.

End-to-end mobile app dev flow: Mendix supports the end-to-end mobile app development flow, which makes it simple and intuitive for any developer to build mobile apps that can be part of larger multi-channel applications integrated with back-end apps and services.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the Mendix solution.

PeerSpot user Somnath G., Solution Architect and LowCode Practice Lead at a tech services company, says, "What I found most valuable in Mendix is that it's very much suitable for mobile apps such as native Android or IOS supported mobile apps. The multiple features of the platform are very, very attractive and very popular. Mendix has technical features such as microflows and nanoflows. You can also access data models in the platform. These are the features that are very, very strong in Mendix. I got my hands dirty on other low-code platforms, but I have not seen such strong features in them compared to the microflows, nanoflows, and data model access that are in Mendix, including creating and integration. The platform has out-of-the-box adapters or out-of-the-box-connectors that you can integrate with different interface applications such as SAP, Salesforce, Oracle EBS, etc."

Sameer V., Consulting Manager at Deloitte, mentions, “Their native mobile capability is very good. In general, the way they launch the product has been great. Their product launching strategy is far better than any other platform. I work in OutSystems and Mendix. They tend to be more on the legacy side, OutSystems. With this solution, the product launching strategy is very, very agile. I really like when they roll out their updates, which are very, very frequent.”

Robert B., Solutions Architect at a computer software company, explains, The solution is just very quick and responsive. The initial setup is very straightforward, and those implementing the product do not have to be very technologically advanced in order to manage the process.”

Mendix

OutSystems is a platform for low-code application development that unites design, code, and deployment to simplify development so any business can create innovative solutions in a timely manner. There are various use cases an organization can employ with OutSystems, including:

Customer portals: Through OutSystems, companies can easily create customer portals and mobile applications and deploy them faster in comparison to manual coding. The platform offers businesses the opportunity to develop secure, scalable, and customized applications that support their and their customers' needs.
Internal apps: Using this solution, companies can also build internal applications and portals which can be used for their workforce. Using these, organizations can overcome their internal app backlog, bridge gaps between systems, and facilitate their work process.
Core systems: Custom software for running a business can also be developed using OutSystems. The tool shortens the time for developing core systems and delivers them flexible and personalized to each business' needs.

OutSystems offers faster development and deployment times than hand-coding while delivering unique and personalized solutions to its customers. The main focus of OutSystems is high-performance low code which enables businesses to create functional products that answer their needs. It offers clients the ability to develop enterprise-grade applications with a high level of security.

The product stands out from its competitors as it offers:

Serious applications
Serious productivity
Serious scalability

It ensures its clients that the applications built using this platform are as scalable as hand-coded ones while increasing workspace productivity and evolving applications’ capabilities.

OutSystems Features

OutSystems has various features through which users can develop and deploy highly efficient applications and other products. Some of the features include:

Monitoring: The tool has a feature that allows real-time monitoring of the usage of applications and their performance. All insights are reported to companies via the intuitive interface.
APIs: OutSystems is completely scalable through application programming interfaces.
Security: The product offers its users a high level of enterprise security for their applications as well as for their data.
Mobile: Every application created on OutSystems can be deployed for mobile. The product also provides the option to monitor the performance of applications to detect any issues.
DevOps automation: The product facilitates and shortens the development time of applications through various automation which help users create apps without the help of developers, as well as providing developers with additional resources.
Agile development: Every company that seeks to perform agile development can benefit from the native support this tool provides.
Debugging engine: OutSystems has an integrated debugging engine that can be utilized in the development and deployment processes, shortening the time it takes for developers and businesses to look for issues.
Multilingual support feature: Customers can benefit from support in multiple languages, ensuring their questions are answered understandably.

OutSystems Benefits

The solution offers a wide array of benefits to companies that utilize it in their application development. Some of these benefits include:

Visual development at high speed provides increases productivity for both businesses and users.
The option to integrate applications to a large number of systems without additional complications.
The product adds automation to all levels of development, including front end, back end, and integration, facilitating the delivery of complex applications.
Artificial intelligence (AI) validation ensures the high quality of applications.
The tool offers connectivity with more than 400 systems and existing technologies, allowing companies to save money they would otherwise have to invest in new software.
The multi-platform solution decreases costs for organizations by removing the need for third-party software.
It offers whole-team cross-functional collaboration, which can increase the technological knowledge in a company and raise the overall business expertise.

Reviews from Real Users

Harikrishnan R., a technical lead at Netlink Software Group America Inc, likes OutSystems because the tool helps with validation, offers good features, and is reliable.

An owner at a consultancy thinks OutSystems is versatile with great scalability and great technical support.

OutSystems

Sample Customers

MRA, Napa Group, Sworkit, Airbus, Sense Corp, Interactive Gaming Company, Pacifica, Untapp'd, Diesel, National Museum of African American History and Culture

Genzyme, TNT, Yahoo, Capgemini, Roche, D&B, Aegon, kpn, AZL, Sky, Arch, Penn State Univeristy, BancABC

Randstad, Warner Brothers, HP, Intel, ING, Banco Popular, Thrivent Financial, Bacardi, Kent State University, Bacardi, FICO, ING, Vodafone, AbbVie, Estafeta, Siemens, Vopak

Buyer's Guide

Mobile Development Platforms

April 2025

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