Why building an app is now a child’s play

Vinod Sirohi is a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in the Uttar Pradesh police. Until a year ago, he and his colleagues would typically use Telegram and WhatsApp groups to share crime-related information or queries. But older chats would get buried on these messenger apps, making it difficult for them to be traced. This prompted Sirohi to think about his own app, one that could help cops find former colleagues, batch mates, acquaintances, and even allow them to share photos and videos. 

“If a police officer goes to another city or remote area for work, members should be able to locate the nearest police station and find other members. They should also be able to seek assistance,” he said.  

But there was one problem. He did not know how to code. This is where tech platform Appy Pie helped him successfully complete this task. Christened Hum Panchee Ek Daal Ke, Sirohi’s app now has about 6,000 members.

The Appy Pie platform allows anyone to build an app by simply dragging and dropping features without any prior coding knowledge, and hence it is known as a ‘no-code’ (NC) platform. Such platforms aid users with visual tools to build apps, chatbots, dashboards, mobile and web apps, and even content management platforms. Appy Pie also helps with publishing these apps on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store. In short, such platforms have made building and publishing an app nearly a child’s play.

“Maintenance is an issue as every now and then, Google and Apple change guidelines. Users need to rebuild the app in sync with the latest guidelines and republish the app. Features for security and data compliance are also built into the platform. Every year, we do a vulnerability assessment,” explained Abhinav Girdhar, chief executive officer (CEO), Appy Pie.

Sirohi is just one of the 10 million registered users of Appy Pie whose customers include universities, research firms, and even media companies. ICFAI Business School, Asianet, and ManipalCigna Health Insurance are some of the organisations in India that have built apps using Appy Pie’s no-code platform. 

Read the full story on Mint.