What do you do with a low-code platform? Of course, the answer depends on what you intend to do with it. But one of the main points is about making product development and engineering work much easier, without having to compromise on the ability to handle complexity.

For those who want to gain time, there is a great answer: Make sure to have a perfectly adapted app that enables access to exactly the data needed to provide a comprehensive picture, and to control the product realization process, which is linked to PLM and manufacturing through a low-code platform.

For Siemens Digital Industries Software, this is all about the Mendix solution purchased a few years ago. Mendix is a low-code platform, but more than just the software is needed to get the optimal solution in place. This is where the company's latest acquisition, TimeSeries, comes into play.

But what can this Mendix partner add to Siemens, and what role is intended for TimeSeries?

The background is that Siemens is well on its way to expanding the functionality of its PLM suite, the Xcelerator portfolio. Mendix is a part of that portfolio and the German PLM developer has announced that it is buying TimeSeries, which is a leading Independent Software Vendor (ISV) and partner related to the Mendix platform to strengthen the environment around low-code implementations and capabilities.

Furthermore, this platform is the cloud foundation for Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio of integrated software and services, and a key element in Siemens’ SaaS approach.

As noted in engineering.com’s recent interview with the head of Siemens Digital Industries Software, Tony Hemmelgarn, Siemens values the purchase of Mendix quite highly.

“Mendix was one of our first investments in the SaaS area when the acquisition was made in 2018. The solution has also gone very well. We have already passed $100 million in annual recurring revenue related to Mendix alone, which is an important milestone. In addition, this low-code platform continues to grow. The nice thing about it is that we have a sales force that can sell Mendix to the world, in contrast to what it looked like before we bought it,” Hemmelgarn said.

“From the start, TimeSeries has focused on solving our customers' challenges by gathering the best people and the latest technology and pushing it to the limit. Now, as part of Siemens, we are pleased to have the power of advanced and customizable low-code solutions for more industries,” commented Erik Gouka, CEO of TimeSeries. (Image courtesy of Het Financieele Dagblad.)

What Is the Mendix Low Code Platform?

In short, Mendix’s purpose is to build apps without having to code in the programming. Instead, the software does it. The user only needs to drag-and-drop, and can build a dashboard in a custom app which is tailored and individually customized. This not only provides real-time status reports, access to things like 3D models, BOMs (Bill of Materials), OT data (Operational Technology) and other data from all software and machines that are part of a company's configuration of software and devices in the production apparatus, but can also provide measures related to various alerts and things that need to be fixed. All this can be done without the need for coding.

An important point of the solution is that it connects and combines the entire Xcelerator portfolio of Siemens software for design and manufacturing. Siemens’ CAD flagship NX, the simulation solution Simcenter, BOMs on the PLM platform Teamcenter or digital manufacturing management Tecnomatix, are just a few examples.

Communicating outside of Siemens' application environments, there are also a number of ready-made APIs that allow you to connect Mendix, still via drag-and-drop, with SAP, Ansys and a number of other applications.

Key capabilities of Mendix include:

Short development cycle
Flexible change management
Focus on user interface/user experience (UI/UX)
Support for both web and mobile applications
Integration via APIs
Out of the box connectors for Teamcenter, Mindsphere and SAP

A TimeSeries customer case: An example of a TimeSeries’ solution based on Mendix and Siemens IoT operation system, MindSphere, is the installation at German manufacturing company TKW Molding. For this company, production quality and compliant manufacturing processes are essential to meeting the control requirements of customers, being in the automotive passenger safety and consumer goods industries. By implementing TimeSeries Paperless Shop Floor as an industry cloud-based SaaS solution for injection molders, TKW aims to ensure easy access to information for everyone, efficient communication and highly efficient, compliant, always right-first-time precision production.

A Basis For Xcelerator In The Cloud

So, TimeSeries can add significant expertise to the development of vertical apps built on the Mendix low-code platform. Siemens believes this will help companies to accelerate digital transformation by increasing the uptake of low-code solutions and offering new apps, including such things as smart warehousing, predictable maintenance, energy management, remote control and more.

As mentioned above, the Mendix platform is the foundation for Siemens' cloud-based Xcelerator portfolio, with integrated software and services.

"Since the acquisition of Mendix in 2018, we have continued to see how this powerful low-code platform is a veritable game changer for companies in all industries," said Tony Hemmelgarn. "With TimeSeries as part of Siemens, it will enable us to significantly expand development of new apps, and also to increase the uptake of our low-code platform and create growth in the Xcelerator ecosystem."

Configurable App Templates

Let’s go into a bit more detail about TimeSeries’ role in this context?

Since 2012, TimeSeries has developed industry-specific applications for industries in the manufacturing, healthcare, energy, banking and financial services areas.

The company's configurable app templates capture each industry's best practices and solve repeatable problems. Equally valuable is that the solution, as I said earlier, can be quickly and easily adapted to individual business needs.

These apps, combined with Siemens' industry expertise and market reach, can enable customers across the industry spectrum to leverage the power of low-code and Mendix platforms even faster, claims Erik Gouka, CEO, TimeSeries.

“From the start, TimeSeries has focused on solving our customers' challenges by gathering the best people and the latest technology and pushing it to the limit. Now, as part of Siemens, we are pleased to have the power of advanced and customizable low-code solutions for more industries,” Gouka says. "Being part of the Siemens Digital Industries Software context will unlock enormous new opportunities for us. We look forward to helping even more companies transform digitally,” he adds.

With TimeSeries as part of Siemens, it will not only enable the German PLM and industrial automation developer to significantly expand development of new apps, but also will enable them to increase the uptake of its Mendix low-code platform and create growth in the Xcelerator ecosystem.

ISVs Can Speed Up Its Digitalization Efforts

Seen from a Siemens point of view, TimeSeries adds a lot. They will expand functions that can help companies and ISVs to accelerate their digitization efforts with the help of the Mendix platform. Through tailored industry apps and best practices, templates and reusable components that utilize advanced technology—including AI, intelligent process automation, multi-experience, state-of-the-art UI design, multi-cloud and more—Siemens will be able to deliver better experiences to customers, employees and suppliers.

“With TimeSeries, within the framework of Siemens, we will be able to help our customers and partners to value and get the use of low code even faster,” claims Derek Roos, CEO and founder of Mendix.

“We equip companies with advanced digital capacity to help them highlight how they conduct business and deliver rich, engaging experiences,” he continues. “The TimeSeries team has deep expertise in developing SaaS solutions for a range of verticals, and I'm happy to welcome them to Siemens.”