AWS launches Amazon Honeycode for code-free app building

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced a fully managed service for customers to build apps quickly without having to worry about any coding.

Amazon Honeycode is a visual application builder that can be used to create interactive web and mobile applications backed by an AWS database.

Users can create mobile and web-based apps that range in complexity from a task-tracking application for a small team to a project management system that controls complex workflows for multiple departments.

The service is aimed at those that need innovative online capabilities, but can't necessarily hire experienced software engineers. Instead, Honeycode can help companies to build applications to track and manage things like process approvals, event scheduling, customer relationship management, user surveys, to-do lists, and content and inventory tracking.

"Customers have told us that the need for custom applications far outstrips the capacity of developers to create them," said Larry Augustin, vice president, AWS. "Now with Amazon Honeycode, almost anyone can create powerful custom mobile and web applications without the need to write code."

Honeycode customers can select pre-built templates, with data models and pre-defined business applications all ready to go. Alternatively, users can import data into a blank workbook and use a spreadsheet interface to define the data model and design the on-screen applications themselves. Once fully formed, the application can easily be shared with the rest of your organisation.

The idea is to enable more and more businesses to build and access cloud-based services to help navigate a more digital future.

It follows yesterday's Amazon announcement to support 200,000 UK startups with digital training and expertise. The Amazon Small Business Accelerator will help startups navigate the 'new normal' and along with Honeycode, will aim to further expand the global footprint of the world's biggest provider of cloud computing.