Amazon Honeycode lets non-developers build apps

With Amazon Honeycode, introduced on 24 June, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is offering a managed AWS service that allows non-technical users to build mobile and web apps without writing any code.

Now in beta, Honeycode uses a spreadsheet model, allowing users to leverage what they know about spreadsheets and formulas.

The goal is to enable quick development of custom apps without having to wait for the IT department or developers to find the time to do so. Instead, non-programmers such as business analysts, finance managers, and technical program managers can build these apps via a visual interface.

Honeycode handles the creation of the three tiers of functionality found in most business apps: database, business logic, and user interface. Honeycode provides templates for common applications, allowing users to customise these apps, with changes being deployed immediately.

The list of Honeycode templates includes content tracker; customer tracker; event management and field service agent, alongside inventory management; PO approvals; simple survey and simple to-do. This is in addition to team task tracker; time-off reporting and weekly demo schedule.

Honeycode users can start with an empty table or by importing existing data in CSV form. They can draw on a palette of user interface objects including buttons, lists, and input fields when building their applications, and make use of trigger-driven actions that modify tables and generate email notifications.

Honeycode’s built-in functions include Filter, which returns rows that match filter conditions; Getrow, which returns a rowlink based on an offset to a specific row; and Indexrow, which returns a rowlink by index in a specific domain.

To get started with Honeycode, visit the Honeycode Builder to create an account. Honeycode is free for teams of 20 users or less and for 2,500 rows per workflow.