Updated March 5, 2026
0:00 Welcome to Colaberry AI podcast brought to you by Colaberry AI Research Labs and Carl Foundation. Welcome to another deep dive. This is where we take a collection of information, synthesize it, and really try to bring you the core understanding you need efficiently and well effectively. And today, we're diving deep into something quite specific. The integration between Mendix, which is an AI augmented low code platform, and Siemens Xcelerator. 0:28 Siemens Xcelerator, of course, being Siemens' big suite for helping industrial companies with their digital transformation. Right. And for this, we're drawing on info straight from the Mendix website about how they work with Siemens Xcelerator plus insights from a white paper called the Digital Execution Manual four point o. Our mission really is to unpack how this combination, this integration lets companies quickly build and roll out these, fit for purpose applications. Exactly. 0:52 Applications designed to use data from all those different industrial systems within the Siemens Xcelerator world. Okay. So let's get granular. Siemens Xcelerator, what exactly is it from a technical perspective? What are we talking about here? 1:04 We'll think of Siemens Xcelerator as a curated toolkit, essentially. It's a collection of software and web services all designed to help industrial organizations become, you know, truly digital enterprises. Some key pieces include tools for creating digital twins, those virtual copies of physical things or processes Mhmm. Tools for optimizing how products are developed and also for making manufacturing much more efficient using digital methods. And Mendix, it is called AI augmented low code. 1:33 What does that actually mean in terms of its architecture and function? Okay. So Mendix is built on this idea of model driven development. It uses a visual interface, meaning you're abstracting away a lot of the traditional line by line coding. This lets developers, even ones who aren't, say, deep code experts, build serious enterprise level applications much, much faster. 1:52 And the AI augmented part. That refers to embedding machine learning right into the development environment. So the platform itself offers intelligent help suggesting model improvements, optimizing performance, even predicting potential errors Uh-huh. And the benefits of low code overall, faster delivery, definitely, easier connection to different data sources using prebuilt connectors and APIs, and usually lower maintenance costs over the application's life. Got it. 2:20 Now the integration, how do Mendix and Siemens Xcelerator actually work together? What's the mechanism? It's kind of a layered approach. You can think of Mendix as providing this agile layer for development and runtime that sits on top of or alongside the data and services within Siemens Accelerator components. This essentially decouples the user interface and the business logic from those core back end systems. 2:44 Decoupling. What does that unlock, technically? Yeah. So when we talk about adapting your systems of record, Mendix lets you build these very specific custom user interfaces for different roles. These interfaces pull data from Siemens Accelerator through defined APIs, usually things like REST or GraphQL. 3:01 Okay. So you can give different users exactly the view and workflow they need without messing with the core transactional system underneath. And extending your data. What are the data integration patterns there? Extending means Mendix can pull together data from various Siemens accelerator parts like Teamcenter for product data, ops center for manufacturing, insights hub for IOP data. 3:22 Right. And then it can blend that with data from other external systems using its connectors. This lets you build these, holistic views across different functions. You get better analytics, better reporting, and you can create new processes that weren't possible when data was stuck in silos. Okay. 3:37 Let's drill down into specifics. Teamcenter Siemens PLM system, how does Mendix adapt and extend that, technically? Technically? With Teamcenter, Mendix uses a specific prebuilt connector. This basically exposes Teamcenter's data model and its services as ready to use blocks within the Mendix development tool. 3:56 So developers can visually design apps that interact with that PLM data, maybe create a really streamlined change request process, or give non engineers an easy way to see product data on a web or mobile app. Mhmm. And crucially, it still respects all the security and rules built into Teamcenter itself. And how does this look with OpsCenter down on the manufacturing execution layer? For OpsCenter, Mendix allows building custom manufacturing operations management or MOM applications. 4:23 These talk to OpsCenter's functions using its service oriented architecture. So you might build, say, a custom dashboard for operators showing real time production numbers pulled from different ops center modules or maybe integrate directly with shop floor machines using protocols like OPC UA, which Bendix supports. So it's about adding specific capabilities without overhauling ops center itself. Exactly. Augmenting the core system with highly tailored apps. 4:47 Okay. And what about real time data? From Insights Hub, the IoT platform, how does Mendix integrate there? Yeah. Insights Hub integration usually involves using protocols like MQTT or OPC UA to bring in that time series data from industrial sensors and machines. 5:03 Mendix has built in ways to handle the streaming data. You can feed it into real time dashboards, use it in predictive models built either in Mendix or elsewhere, or set up automated actions based on certain data triggers or anomalies found in the Insights Hubstreams. So building specific industrial IoT apps becomes much faster. Much faster prototyping and deployment for specific operational needs. Yes. 5:24 And industrial edge, how do Mendix apps run there? Mendix applications can actually be packaged up containerized, typically using Docker or Kubernetes, and then deployed directly onto Siemens industrial edge devices. So processing happens right there at the machine level. Exactly. It reduces latency and the amount of data you need to send back to the cloud for certain tasks. 5:45 Mendix provides tools to create these lightweight app packages suitable for the edge and manage them remotely. This lets you build really responsive, localized apps that use machine data for immediate control or optimization. You mentioned the Siemens Xcelerator Marketplace earlier. What role does that play technically in this ecosystem? The Marketplace is essentially a curated library. 6:07 You can find prebuilt Mendix components, connectors, even complete industry specific solutions that already use the integrations with Siemens accelerator parts. It promotes reuse, speeds things up even more, and gives companies building blocks for common industrial problems so they don't always have to start from scratch. There was that quote from Anu Mishra at Mercury Systems about innovation pace having to slow down to match the business because of the architecture. What's the architectural principle allowing that kind of agility? That really speaks to the modularity and the, loose coupling of this integrated setup. 6:41 Mendix's low code nature means you can iterate really quickly. You can deploy new apps or change existing ones without huge rework on the core Siemens systems. Because of the APIs. Precisely. The API driven integration means changes in one place have minimal knock on effects elsewhere. 6:57 This makes the whole IT setup much more flexible and responsive to what the business actually needs. And thinking back, Siemens acquired Mendix back in 2018. Technologically, what was the driving synergy there? From a tech perspective, the goal was to tightly integrate Mendix's rapid development power with Siemens' deep industrial knowledge and huge portfolio of software and hardware. It allows Siemens to offer this end to end platform for digital transformation from the edge through automation, PLM, right up to enterprise apps, all with Mendix providing that speed and integration layer. 7:29 And Siemens itself uses Mendix extensively over 500 apps, 240,000 users. What does that tell us about the platform's ability to handle complex industrial environments at scale? It's a massive proof point, really. It shows Mendix, more bust, it can scale, and it meets the tough requirements of a giant industrial company like Siemens. That volume of apps and users just underscores that it can handle complex logic, integrate widely, and support really critical operations. 7:57 So which industrial organizations stand to gain the most from this combination, considering their existing tech stack and where they are digitally? I'd say primarily organizations already invested in Siemens Xcelerator who need more agility. Companies struggling to adapt their existing Siemens tools quickly enough for market changes or needing custom interfaces for specific roles or wanting to unlock more value from their industrial data across the business, they'll see significant benefits using Mendix as that application layer. Now the white paper mentioned this gap, a big one between strategy and actually getting things done in digital transformation. Gartner stats even point to execution failure as a major problem. 8:34 How do platforms like Mendix technically help bridge that gap? Well, low code platforms tackle this by drastically cutting down the complexity and time needed for software development and deployment. Their visual nature means more people can get involved, business analysts, domain experts, not just hardcore coders. This helps align what IT builds with what the business actually needs. So faster translation of ideas into working software. 9:00 Exactly. The speed of iteration and the ease of connecting to existing systems just accelerate that whole process, turning strategic goals into real working solutions much faster. Mendix proposes this digital execution framework. What are the key technical pillars of that framework designed to close that strategy execution gap? Structured around five p's. 9:20 From a technical angle, platform is key choosing and deploying a scalable low code platform like Mendix, designed to minimize technical debt and integrate well. Process is about adopting agile and DevOps practices for rapid continuous delivery. Mhmm. Portfolio involves managing your application strategically, focusing on business value, leveraging that rapid development capability. People is about building cross functional teams and empowering citizen developers where appropriate. 9:48 And the last one? Promotion, which is really about communication and feedback loops between IT and the business, ensuring everyone's on the same page and things keep improving. Okay. And the idea of a low code center of excellence or a COE, what are the technical governance aspects of setting one up in an industrial company? A low code COE is about establishing standards, architectural best practices for Mendix development to ensure things are maintainable, scalable, secure. 10:14 It involves setting guidelines for data integration, how APIs are managed, making sure everything fits the broader enterprise architecture. And operationally. Operationally, the CoE acts as a central hub. It provides guidance, training, support for the development teams. It encourages sharing knowledge and governs the whole life cycle of the Mendix apps development, deployment, maintenance. 10:36 What kind of technical roles do you typically find in a CoE? You'd usually have a program owner looking after the overall strategy, an enterprise architect making sure it aligns with the big IT picture and setting guidelines, an executive sponsor for high level backing, and crucially, a technical leader. And the technical leader's role. They're responsible for the technical standards, mentoring the teams, ensuring the quality and performance of the Mendix apps being built, really the hands on technical governance. The white paper talks about three stages for building a COE, start, structure, scale. 11:09 What's the technical focus difference between those stages? Okay. So start is about getting the first team going, setting up basic workflows, maybe integrating with just a few key systems, proving the initial value, structures where you formalize things. You create reusable component libraries, set up proper CICD pipelines for automated deployment, maybe expand the team, you establish more formal governance. Right. 11:33 Building repeatable processes. Exactly. Then scale is about enterprise wide adoption. You're optimizing the whole portfolio of apps for business value, maybe automating more advanced things like testing or infrastructure provisioning. Technically, in the scale stage, you might be looking at deeper integration with things like microservices architectures, setting up really robust monitoring for your whole low code landscape. 11:56 The paper also stresses change management being critical for transformation success. How does low code itself help with that often difficult process? Low code helps because it allows for such rapid prototyping and iteration. Stakeholders can see things, give feedback early and often. It's much more collaborative. 12:14 Less of a big bang delivery. Precisely. That collaboration builds buy in and tends to reduce the resistance you sometimes get with traditional projects. Plus, the fact that you can make changes and deploy updates relatively easily in Mendix means the organization can adapt faster as needs or feedback evolves. It makes the whole transformation feel more agile. 12:35 This has been, yeah, a really insightful look at the technical side of Mendix, Siemens Xcelerator, and how low code fits into that industrial digital transformation picture. Absolutely. Combining Mendix's speed with Siemens Xcelerator's industrial depth offers a really powerful approach for companies trying to move faster digitally. And as these industrial ecosystems get more complex and interconnected, you have to think that the ability to quickly adapt and extend these systems using platforms like Mendix, well, that's gonna be a huge competitive factor, really leaves you wondering just how critical will that speed and adaptability the client low code offers become for staying ahead in the industrial game. Thank you for listening in. 13:14 Subscribe and follow Colaberry on social media links in the description, and check out our website, www.colaberry.ai backslash podcast for more insights like this.
