New Horizons – What’s Next For DataFlex?
As 2024 draws to a close, we’re finishing the year with appreciation for what has been a remarkable 12 months for DataFlex. This year saw a strong focus on innovation and expanding the DataFlex community, and brought some exciting developments.
Among the many highlights was EDUC 2024, where Nick Nikijuluw, CEO of Data Access Worldwide, delivered a captivating presentation on the evolution and future of DataFlex.
Nick’s insights took us on a journey through the history of DataFlex, showcasing its strength and evolution while laying out an inspiring vision for the future. We’re excited to share this story with the entire DataFlex community.
Data Access Worldwide Update
Founded in 1976, Data Access Corporation is the originator of DataFlex. After years of careful planning and preparation for change, as of January 2022, Data Access Europe (DAE) became the new “HQ” responsible for DataFlex product development, management, licensing and marketing.
Prior to 2022, DAE already played a pivotal role in DataFlex research and development. Now, the expanded DAE team continues to keep what users love about DataFlex front and center, innovating for the future in line with developer and business needs.
DataFlex Update
Right now, we’re prototyping a way of easily creating a new database, and we’ll soon start developing an advanced, visual data modeling tool for DataFlex.
Defining the DataFlex DNA
People often comment on the longevity and adaptability of DataFlex. There’s really no secret. It’s always been – and will continue to be – about clarity.
DataFlex has a straightforward product design philosophy and product definition, as well as a clear feature set for new tools and products. Yes, development speed has always been part of the DataFlex DNA, but it’s not just about fast development. It’s also about the long-term maintainability of code.
DataFlex is not necessarily about less code – or no code – it’s about having a development environment in which the creation and continuous maintenance of apps runs parallel to new and innovative technologies, advancements, and ways of working. In fact, we like to compare DataFlex with the Lean principles devised by Toyota.
There are 3 aspects to our approach to DataFlex:
- Our design must focus on target administrative and business database applications.
- We must deliver products, tooling, and services to make creating and maintaining those solutions as efficient as possible.
- The life cycle of these solutions must be effective and adaptable enough to span decades.
Shaping the future of DataFlex – together
As DataFlex continues its journey, new horizons emerge with each passing day. For example, it’s now possible to create views on the fly. Also, simply by drag & drop, it’s even easier to control the navigational flow of an app. You can now create new views and design your navigation flow with just a few clicks.
We will also leverage the legendary coding efficiency of DataFlex using AI. But while it’s important to keep pace with the speed of technological change, we don’t want to change the DataFlex DNA. Instead, we want to extend it for decades to come by developing features that add real value for developers and the business.
To that end, we won’t over-design or bloat the product with frivolous features, but we will make it easier to make powerful applications that look visually appealing and are user-friendly.
Virtual roadshows ahead
As we look ahead to 2025, we’re excited for what’s coming next. We’ll continue to keep evolving DataFlex… but we also want to better understand our users. To that end we’re pleased to announce a virtual roadshow that will spotlight major new features in DataFlex 2025 designed to enhance your applications; so we’ll certainly have our work cut out for us!
We’ll also continue to actively engage with our community and to develop lasting relationships based on a mutual quest for best practice. Here’s to a future filled with bold ideas, shared success, and the drive to keep reaching new heights - together.
Curious to see Nick’s full presentation? It’s free to watch on the DataFlex Learning Center. Check out the chapters and timecodes beneath the video to dive straight into the topics that interest you the most!