Google acquired no-/low-code application development platform provider AppSheet in a move that fills in a growing segment of the market focused on democratizing the developer space. The new purchase will slide into Google’s Cloud division.

The everything-giant noted that AppSheet will boost Google Cloud’s ability to support enterprises that want to use automation to innovate their development process but lack developer resources. It notes that customers will be able to develop richer applications at scale that can leverage various Google services like Sheets, Forms, and Analytics.

“AppSheet complements Google Cloud’s strategy to reimagine the application development space with a platform that helps enterprises innovate with no-code development, workflow automation, application integration, and API management as they modernize their business processes in the cloud,” explained Amit Zavery, VP of Google Cloud’s Business Application Platform, in a blog post.

Google currently offers low-code environments like its App Maker platform, which it launched in mid-2018.

No- or low-code platforms are targeted at simplifying the developer experience for enterprises. They typically use automation or artificial intelligence (AI) that allows a person with no experience with traditional coding languages to construct applications. They can also support more established developers working in new environments.

AppSheet CEO Praveen Seshadri noted in a separate blog post that the deal will help fill growing enterprise demand for greater use of automation to advance business operations. He added that its operations will continue to support platforms outside of Google Cloud, including “Office 365, Salesforce, Box, Dropbox, and databases hosted in other clouds.”

Financial terms of the deal were not announced. Seattle-based AppSheet was founded in 2012, and according to Crunchbase it has secured $18.5 million in funding through six rounds.

Forrester recently ranked AppSheet as a leader in low-code platforms for business developers, alongside vendors like Apple-subsidiary FileMaker, Caspio, and Quick Base. As part of that report, Forrester noted that AppSheet “has the most aggressive strategy and road map for empowering businesspeople as developers,” highlighting the platform’s “strong features for mobile app development, data design, application scaling, and documentation generation, as well as in its commercial model and growth rate.” It also found that customers were “highly satisfied with the product's mobile features and rate of innovation.”

The deal also continues what has already been a busy week for Google in buying its way deeper into the enterprise space. The company had previously announced it was linking IBM’s Power Systems into Google Cloud to allow enterprises to more easily migrate workloads from their IBM-powered, on-premises environments into Google’s Cloud.