OutSystems introduced the latest evolution of its Project Neo with the OutSystems Developer Cloud (ODC), which combines cloud-native architecture based on Kubernetes, Linux containers, microservices, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud-native services with enterprise-ready security and enhanced productivity driven by the visual, model-based nature of low-code application development.

Chief Product Officer Gonçalo Gaiolas explained that ODC will be familiar to existing OutSystems customers, but "mind-blowing to those who have ever used traditional low-code or not left the traditional development lane,” he said.

It takes a significant amount of time, dedication, and money to train developers in modern technologies like Kubernetes and microservices so they can implement a basic cloud-native application platform – and that's all before those developers can actually build their first application, Gaiolas explained.

"With ODC, we’ve done all the hard work for customers so they can take advantage of these state-of-the-art technologies and begin writing their applications on day one," he said.

ODC, together with OutSystems 11 (O11) and O11 Cloud, comprise the vendor's platform, which focuses on "building serious applications, achieving serious productivity, and enabling a continuous innovation cycle for business growth, scale, and competitiveness," according to the company. The addition of ODC aims to advance collaboration, experimentation, and execution for teams creating cloud-native applications like customer-facing portals, internal line-of-business apps, and business systems.

The low-code application platform provider also announced a new set of artificial intelligence (AI)-based app dev, security, and quality analysis tools that provide support during critical phases of the software development lifecycle.

The AI mentor system pairs each developer with an AI mentor that serves as the dev's assistant and "literally shaves weeks and months off of the development process, while increasing the quality and security of every app," Gaiolas said. "The traditional software development approach needs to change," he added.

This move builds on OutSystems' four-year history of integrating AI into its platform to speed up app development and remove skill barriers. The system automates repetitive tasks, removes the need for "tedious work," and validates applications before production to ensure they'll work as planned. To that point, this tool should help organizations optimize the performance of their cloud-native architectures, discover and remediate code errors that create security risks, and lower technical debt.

Gaiolas likened the experience of using the AI mentor system to having a cohort of experts on hand that extend the collective knowledge of the IT team whenever called upon.

"OutSystems is catching potential issues and serving up solutions for the dev team, so they can focus on creating awesome solutions. This system is a prime example of high-performance low-code with the agility of a visual programming language and a powerful AI engine, supporting faster and more accurate development at every stage," Gaiolas explained.