Engineer at a university with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Great tool with simple architecture for fast webpage deployment
Pros and Cons
  • "Oracle APEX allows our company to complete webpage projects easily in a fast turnaround time."
  • "Occasionally when trying to un a page, I would be faced with an error number; however, not much information would be provided on the error itself outside of the programming language. It would be nice if more information could be provided."

What is our primary use case?

I used this to deploy some web pages. It did not have a difficult or complex architecture.

How has it helped my organization?

Oracle APEX allows our company to complete webpage projects easily in a fast turnaround time.

What is most valuable?

Oracle's simplicity is the most valuable aspect. You are able to deploy simple websites that have several pages easily. Minimal consideration is required for design. You can just make a few configurations and your website is ready to use. It is as quick as making the coffee.

What needs improvement?

Occasionally when trying to un a page, I would be faced with an error number; however, not much information would be provided on the error itself outside of the programming language. It would be nice if more information could be provided.

Buyer's Guide
Oracle Application Express (APEX)
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Oracle Application Express (APEX). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
768,857 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for two months.

How are customer service and support?

Due to sanctions, many users in Iran are not able to access support. For those who can, it is not an easy process.

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

Before the Oracle APEX, we used the traditional tool or write your web page by PHP, HTML, etc. And as a database, we used to use MySQL, Cassandra, and other options. I don't know why the company decided to use Oracle APEX.

How was the initial setup?

As a programmer, the setup was very easy. I do not know what the setup looks like for database administrators.

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

I do not think this would be an ideal option for a small sized company or a startup when considering the salary requirements for Oracle DBA'a and developers.

What other advice do I have?

Oracle APEX would be great for a big company and with a strong client base where project web pages are needed as soon as possible. The product reduces the time to market for your product and you can write websites by different configurations.

Overall, I would rate the product an eight 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
IT Specialist at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Real User
It has a well-designed architecture and is a simple 3rd party application
Pros and Cons
  • "It has a well-designed architecture and is a simple 3rd party application."
  • "It has been reported that the technology is very hard to learn, and the service is expensive."

What is our primary use case?

The APEX database is based on a SaaS service. We use a distributor based in Malaysia for that. We integrate this with other Oracle technologies. To use Oracle Apex, you require a licence. We rely on our distributors for the service, and then we advise our end users and support them. Our clients invest in Oracle technology for their application platform. Still, the devil is in the detail with the contract, explaining how the new technology enhances their solution.

How has it helped my organization?

It is risky to move to a new staging instance or new solution, which may cause an issue. In Malaysia, we don't need to take any risks. It is a mostly new architecture. Our clients are mainly in government. 

What is most valuable?

Our clients use this solution continuously. It has a well-designed architecture and is a simple 3rd party application. Our clients really like the new version. It does not need to be maintained very often. 

What needs improvement?

It has been reported that the technology is tough to learn, and the service is expensive. The online supporting documentation could be better and offered in other languages, as Malaysian does not seem to be covered. Oracle could improve server and data migration from the cloud. This is achieved easier via a hybrid version. Sometimes we perform migrations and have to roll them back, as there are unforeseen issues.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using APEX since 2020. It's a cloud service, with a cloud structure.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Oracle is stable, as it is a data container, and it includes advanced framework development.

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

We have considered Azure Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Google GCP and Microsoft Azure. Oracle has value in that they have related products. We have been looking at products to standardise, and hence is why we chose Oracle as a uniform solution.

How was the initial setup?

The implementation for clients is the responsibility of the distributor or reseller. The consultants must go directly to the users to understand their requirements. Implementation is usually carried out on-premise.

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

Pricing is expensive overall on an enterprise system, but we consider that it gives corresponding value to the product. It becomes more expensive when more products are added to the main product. The Apex element itself is free to use, so it's useful for learning individually.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Apex 10 out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud

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

Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator (solution provider)
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Oracle Application Express (APEX)
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Oracle Application Express (APEX). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
768,857 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Founder at Avsa Danismanlik Ltd Sti
Real User
Easy and cost-effective to develop, install, and deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "With only a browser, it is very easy to develop in a web environment."
  • "Visual Builder and APEX should meld in one product."

What is our primary use case?

With APEX, I developed a web portal for an insurance company. With this portal, every agency can look at its customer's personal data, their claims, policies, coverage, and collections.

I am using this solution and I am developing software for my customers.

How has it helped my organization?

For three years, we have done the same application with more than 10 people.

With APEX, we can reduce our costs by reducing the size of our teams.

Before APEX, we were using Oracle Forms. This required larger teams.

With small teams of four to six, with a maximum of 10 people, you can build every kind of product.

APEX will also benefit enterprise companies.

What is most valuable?


Developing in a web environment is very easy with just one browser. With a username and password, I can develop this product very easily. With this product, it is very easy to develop. Many sample applications have been created by Apex in the Applications Gallery.

You can built multilingual applications, each user can interact the application with their own depending localization parameter.

Apex supports Restful Service in JSON format. It is very easy to create a web service for Apex Environment.

It's suitable for team development.

What needs improvement?

It would be my dream to merge two products into one. Visual Builder and APEX should meld in one product. 

Each has different strengths. Visual Builder is very strong in Java, and you can build HTML applications very easily with low code. APEX is very important to have a direct connection to the Oracle database.

If these two products would meld into one in the future, it would be very nice. 

In the future of APEX, I would expect features more like Visual Builder. Also being able to use HTML codes directly. Visual Builder produces HTML codes and source codes.

APEX does not have source code, it runs from the database. We can export our objects, our source, and import them in different environments and different hardware, but it's not readable in HTML codes. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for three years.

We are using the latest version and will be upgrading to 20.2

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Oracle Application Express (APEX) is a scalable product.

We have four users in our organization.

How are customer service and technical support?

We don't need direct support from Oracle. We are using Oracle Websites.

How was the initial setup?

It's very easy to install and easy to deploy.

The first time, I spend six weeks, but now it can be done in a few hours.

We need only one person to maintain this solution.

What about the implementation team?

We completed the implementation of it ourselves.

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

This is a built-in license with data.

When buying the data license, APEX is included.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Currently, I am doing some research on Visual Builder. I saw a demo.

It's an application that is ready for the cloud. You cannot use it on-premises or on your local machine. It's just for the cloud.

They have very nice features.

You can easily build your applications at a very low cost, and it is very powerful with JavaScript.

What other advice do I have?

We are a consultancy firm for IT purposes, software. Especially, we are engaged in the insurance and banking finance sector. 

We have a very large and deep knowledge of accounting software. Our team is very experienced, senior developers, and business analysts.

We are migrating our Oracle Forms to APEX. In the future, we will continue to use APEX.

I would highly recommend this product to others who are interested in using it.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Managing Partner & Oracle ERP Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Consultant
A customizable web-based software development solution
Pros and Cons
  • "I like how we can actively develop and customize APEX because it's on the same database."
  • "I don't like the URL syntax."

What is our primary use case?

We use Oracle Application Express (APEX) to integrate solutions with E-Business Suites.

What is most valuable?

I like how we can actively develop and customize APEX because it's on the same database. We use all the E-Business Suite custom environment features in APEX. We use it because developers can fully leverage it. For example, in Oracle Application Framework, you have a download time of about half an hour before deployment. But there's no deployment time in APEX. You can see it after refreshing the page.

What needs improvement?

I don't like the URL syntax—for example, the parameters in the URL for the pages. If there are any parameters, all the users see all the parameter names. This may require some caching. The UI could be improved as well. Sometimes, based on the customization, load balancing isn't running behind the F5. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using Oracle applications for about three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

APEX is a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

APEX is scalable. We have two deployments, two of them behind a local APEX and another in Turkey. The installation is on the local area network. We got three servers that run on the APEX and an APEX installation on a single database in a lab.

What about the implementation team?

There's a technical team, but I install APEX by myself.

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

We have a full Oracle E-Business Suite license, and we use that license to develop applications. There's no license required for developing Oracle applications. It's just for the Oracle development tools we use until the final product is ready. 

What other advice do I have?

The forums are quick, and I follow those to lookup features, and I just recall it. I follow all the online seminars and that was enough for me.

There are some restrictions when using this product, but it can be valuable for developing and integrated with E-Business Suite. Because in some instances, some tools aren't available in the E-Business Suite environment. 

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Oracle Application Express (APEX) an eight.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Senior Database Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Rapidly develop public-access applications that stay stable under load
Pros and Cons
  • "This is a good application for quickly creating public applications."
  • "There is a problem with security because the applications store passwords in the configuration files."
  • "Connections to the application pages are not handled well and at times more than one user can be accessing an application with the same ID."
  • "Fixing bugs is difficult because of how the HTML code is generated. It is not always broadly compatible with browsers."

What is our primary use case?

The only feature which is useful is that it makes it easier to quickly create publicly accessible applications. We were using it to make these applications.  

We used it in addition to Forms and Report Services because Forms and Report Services at that time were client-server applications. It used to be an addition to the Oracle development environment.  

Right now I am working on two projects. One of them is using Oracle Forms and APEX.  

What is most valuable?

The valuable feature is the basic use case: it makes the process of creating publicly accessible applications easier.  

What needs improvement?

The first thing I can think of that needs to be improved with this product is that there is a problem with security. In all of the applications I saw, they stored the passwords in the configuration files. I think this is a big issue. The security module is supposed to be included in the APEX connection component, but people connect to the Oracle HTTP Server and the password goes to the HTTP server. It is using the HTTP server for the security part. We did some analysis and we figured out that we had to move to another product.  

Because security is not satisfactory, we created our own connection mechanism in ORDS. It was a better way to keep the passwords encrypted and to make access to the APEX applications a little bit more secure. But the way APEX causes applications to store the security information is a big issue and a security vulnerability. ORDS is pretty straightforward and Oracle WebLogic Server is very flexible and a very nice feature.  

Also, the Oracle application page is supposed to be able to cancel access to the application. From what we found, this is not done properly. The connection is hanging and sometimes different people who connect to the application use the same ID. This can seriously interfere with users who are already connected. These are both very bad security issues.  

There is also a disadvantage in that it is pretty hard to fix bugs in APEX. It is very tricky. Basically, the Oracle objects generate the HTML code and cast it to the HTTP server. You have to be very careful with the HTTP Syntax for the sake of compatibility. Some browsers accept the code that gets generated and some browsers not. It is very hard to debug these coding issues.  

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Oracle Application Express (APEX) since 2015.  

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Applications are usually accessible by thousands of users at a time without stability issues.  

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

You can use multiple servers and the scalability of APEX is really pretty good from an end-user standpoint.  

I do not think there is really much of a limitation on how many people can use the generated applications. This is one thing it is good at.  

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

I used to work with other Oracle products like Fusion Middleware, Forms, and Reports. Since 2016, I worked less with APEX because there are other solutions that I prefer. My experience with APEX is that it is a little limited right now. Because of that we actually moved most application development to ORDS (Oracle REST [Representational State Transfer] Data Services).  

ORDS is more efficient and easier to use. APEX is compatible with ORDS as well. The problem with APEX is mostly that I do not like to use different vendors for HTTP server and Oracle WebLogic Server. ORDS is supposed to be more of a native, all-in-one solution. So we try to use ORDS for development projects because Oracle HTTP Server is not supported anymore by Oracle and this is a problem for APEX security. You have to use a Tomcat server or something else with APEX.  

How was the initial setup?

I worked with APEX to do the initial setup and I have never set up the environment fully on my own. It is complex enough that I do not think I would want to do it without their help.  

What other advice do I have?

APEX is a pretty old application and a pretty old environment. Most people are usually trying to get rid of it rather than bringing it onboard. For anyone still considering it, I strongly suggest going to the cloud application because the general strategy of Oracle Corporation is to support applications on the cloud. There are multiple other solutions to consider from Oracle or other vendors as well.  

On a scale of one to ten where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate Oracle Application Express depending on the task. For some tasks, it is just perfect. You can say it would be an eight or nine-out-of-ten for quickly creating an application that does not need strong security. But for some tasks, like when you try enhancing an application, the score is pretty low. In that case, I would give the product a three or a four.  

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
reviewer1249362 - PeerSpot reviewer
reviewer1249362Consultant at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Consultant

Hi reviewer1404792,


we are using Apex since 2005 and never encountered these strange security issues that you do report. Our architecture is a little bit different, though: since our clients are on Windows, we use an IIS (Kerberos) as identification server and put the ORDS (former called apex listener) on a Tomcat directly behind the IIS. A call to an apex application page goes first to the IIS. The user is automatically authenticated and the call is forewared to the Tomcat/ORDS. There are no usernames/passwords needed in the process. 

Technical Director at Look Ltd
Real User
Top 20
Stable, easy to set up, and easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
  • "Better connection and integration with non-Oracle databases is needed."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use is to develop secure applications for the Oracle Database. It is like an administrator for data processing functions.

How has it helped my organization?

This product allows us to manage our data processing using simple screens.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the ease of use.

The user interface is not complex.

What needs improvement?

Workflow capabilities should be added.

Better connection and integration with non-Oracle databases is needed.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Oracle APEX for the past four to five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have not had a problem where it has crashed. However, it may be that our application is not complex enough.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have approximately eight people using Oracle APEX. At this point, we are trying to reduce our usage.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not personally been in contact with technical support.

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

We did use another similar product before implementing APEX.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not very complex. Our deployment took four or five months.

What about the implementation team?

A consultant assisted us with implementation and deployment.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are currently in the process of migrating from APEX to Microsoft PowerApps.

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anybody who is implementing APEX is to use the default parameters and do not do anything that is customized.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Senior Software Engineer at Viscosity North America
Consultant
Not yet well received from developers because they think it is not mature. From my experience, I think it is just like any other NBC framework that is out there.

Valuable Features

The most valuable feature is how fast you can do applications compared to other frameworks, like Java and PHP. It will take you three times longer to do what you can do in Apex. You don’t have to cut through a lot of layers to get to the data in your database with Apex.

Improvements to My Organization

From a cost perspective, you can use less resources to build applications. Time to market is another improvement, because you can make applications very quickly. We used to create a NBC project with another framework and write our own modules to access the data, but Apex gives you access to data in your database in a more straightforward way.

Room for Improvement

From a technical perspective, Apex is not yet well received from developers because they think it is not mature. From my experience, I think it is just like any other NBC framework that is out there. The approach is a little bit different, and it is a different part line, but you can still achieve the same stuff.

There are some improvements that could make Apex more robust as well, like integration with third party frameworks in order to have more components. They give you a stock of components that are enough to create a range of applications, but if you need more complex features or are creating something for end users or commercial users you have to build your own. However, being able to create your own features is another advantage.

Customer Service and Technical Support

I’ve never had to open a ticket. I’m familiar with web technologies so sometimes when I find an issue I just know how to resolve it myself, but the Oracle forums are very responsive and used by a large community of people. It is a strong environment, particularly because not everyone can submit a ticket since you need an account with access to the ticketing system in order to have Oracle look into an issue for you.

Initial Setup

Apex is already installed in your database, so you kill a lot of steps in that. If Oracle Database is already installed, you pretty much just need to execute one line of code and you will be up and running. It is very straightforward.

Other Advice

If you are looking for performance and speed for your application, I would choose Apex. I would rate it a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Senior Software Engineer at Viscosity North America
Consultant
The most valuable feature is how fast you can do applications compared to other frameworks. From a technical perspective, APEX is not yet well received with developers.

Valuable Features

The most valuable feature is how fast you can do applications compared to other frameworks, like Java and PHP. It will take you three times longer to do what you can do in APEX. You don’t have to cut through a lot of layers to get to the data in your database with APEX.

Improvements to My Organization

From a cost perspective, you can use less resources to build applications. Time to market is another improvement, because you can make applications very quickly. We used to create a project with another framework and write our own modules to access the data, but APEX gives you access to data in your database in a more straightforward way.

Room for Improvement

From a technical perspective, APEX is not yet well received from developers because they think it is not mature. From my experience, I think it is just like any other framework that is out there. The approach is a little bit different, and it is a different part line, but you can still achieve the same stuff.

There are some improvements that could make APEX more robust as well, like integration with third party frameworks in order to have more components. They give you a stock of components that are enough to create a range of applications, but if you need more complex features or are creating something for end users or commercial users you have to build your own. However, being able to create your own features is another advantage.

Customer Service and Technical Support

I’ve never had to open a ticket. I’m familiar with web technologies so sometimes when I find an issue I just know how to resolve it myself, but the Oracle forums are very responsive and used by a large community of people. It is a strong environment, particularly because not everyone can submit a ticket since you need an account with access to the ticketing system in order to have Oracle look into an issue for you.

Initial Setup

APEX is already installed in your database, so you kill a lot of steps in that. If Oracle Database is already installed, you pretty much just need to execute one line of code and you will be up and running. It is very straightforward.

Other Advice

If you are looking for performance and speed for your application, I would choose APEX. I would rate it a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partners
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Oracle Application Express (APEX) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: April 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Oracle Application Express (APEX) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.