Common misperceptions around Oracle APEX

In the last years, I spoke with many in the IT industry about low-code and there seem to be several misperceptions around Oracle APEX, so I thought it is time to address these in this blog post.

Here we go:

1. "APEX is only for Oracle customers"

Existing Oracle Database customers can install APEX right-away without paying anything extra, have the infrastructure and licensing already set up, have the personnel to manage it all and store their data already in the Oracle Database. So, yes, APEX is very attractive for existing Oracle Database customers. Does that mean it is limited to this scenario? No. There are multiple reasons why you should start using APEX, although your company has no track record with Oracle:

- Your data can reside outside the Oracle database. No matter if you are using PostgreSQL, MS SQL Server, SAP, Hubspot, MS Dynamics, Spotify, etc.: you can integrate it all without programming a single line of code! APEX is doing a great job and can handle even complex JSON structures returned by 3th party systems.

- You don't need dedicated personnel to maintain the Oracle Database with APEX, let Oracle do this for you, either in the Pubic Cloud, the EU Sovereign Cloud or in the Private Cloud.

- Within weeks, you are up to speed with Oracle APEX. With all the standard features, you can already realize 90% of your application without coding. For the final 10%, I would recommend learning PL/SQL, a simple programming language that runs in the Oracle Database. Alternatively, you can now also execute JavaScript in the Database (23ai+). Here is a blog post from me to get you up to speed with APEX.

2. "We don't do Oracle"
Ok, for whatever reason, you don't use the Oracle Database (which is great product by the way) for data storage in your company. And yes, you need the Oracle Database to run Oracle APEX. Now let us look at it the other way around: for very little cost, you can build as many apps as you want, without any limitation in users and you don't even have to store the data in the Oracle Database. It's like buying a Ferrari for very little and you say "No, we don't like Ferrari, although we are fully supported by a great team of engineers and people in the community".

3. "APEX is not for complex applications"
What does complex mean? Many pages? Many users? Complex business logic? Many developers?

We have done many of these "complex" apps as a IT consultancy firm, although you don't need that many developers to get a lot done. Oracle uses APEX massively internally and is building their own software products nowadays based on APEX (ERP, CRM, etc.).

4. "APEX is not low-code, but more mid-code"
APEX is something for all developers out there: citizen developer, no-code developer, low-code developer and full-code developer. It all depends on what you are aiming at. One platform that covers all these kinds of developers is to me a very positive aspect. I know that there are a lot of platforms out there that address only a subset of these developer categories.

5. "Oracle is expensive"
As with everything in life, it can be expensive. Does Oracle APEX have to be expensive? Definitely not.

For demo purposes using apex.oracle.com: 0 €

For development purposes using the Free Tier on Oracle Cloud: 0 €

For production purposes using the APEX Service: 109 € per month*

For on-premises APEX customers, the Oracle Database SE2 starts at around 15,6T€ list price (1st year) for one processor and 22% of this amount for support costs starting at the second year.

Advertising my company Hyand a bit:

- If your don't want to maintain the APEX service on OCI yourself, let Hyand do this for you.

- For those of you that don't want to build the app yourself, let Hyand do this for you.

- 109 Euro* per month is too much for you? Hyand can offer companies a shared service for little as 49 €* per month!

See apex.hyand.com for further information.

*) As of 24-SEP-2024. No limits in users, applications and use cases. You can scale with a click on a button and with the EU Sovereign Cloud your data stays in the EU and the environment is maintained by european companies.

6. "I haven't heard of Oracle APEX"
It is never too late. :)

I know the APEX team works hard to make APEX even more heard of, but sure, there is always room for improvement. That said, marketing is one thing, the truth is another. Don't let yourself be blended by social media or some vendors, but make your own opinion (or let us do a proper low-code analyses for you).