Amazon Web Services Inc. is getting into the low-code software development game with today’s launch of its latest new service, Amazon Honeycode.

It’s a fully managed service that enables enterprise employees to build mobile and web-based applications without any programming skills.

Amazon said customers will be able to use Honeycode to create apps that leverage an AWS database, including simple task-tracking apps or more complicated project management apps that can merge multiple workflows.

Currently available in beta test mode, the service gives Amazon an entry into the fast-growing market for low-code and no-code software development tools. Such tools allow company employees to build apps that can make them more productive without needing to request help from their internal app development teams.

“Customers have told us that the need for custom applications far outstrips the capacity of developers to create them,” AWS Vice President Larry Augustin said in a statement. “Now with Amazon Honeycode, almost anyone can create powerful custom mobile and web applications without the need to write code.”

Honeycode is similar to other low-code development tools in that it provides users with a set of templates for common use cases, including customer trackers, inventory management, to-do lists, surveys and schedules. Amazon said in its announcement that typically, most businesses rely on shared spreadsheets to handle these kinds of tasks.

Because the service runs on an underlying AWS database, data can be linked, filtered and sorted easily using a point-and-click interface and a data entry structure that’s similar to a traditional spreadsheet. Amazon said the service is free to use for apps with up to 20 users, with charges kicking in for those that require more users.

The company said the primary use case is likely to be for websites and apps used internally by companies, though it’s just as effective for public-facing websites and apps.

The launch of Amazon Honeycode is part of a wider effort by the company to expand beyond the core infrastructure and platform services that initially made its cloud computing technologies so popular. Amazon is hoping that by doing so, it can protect its position as the leading public cloud platform from the challenge of rivals such as Google LLC and Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft notably also has its own low-code application development platform, called Microsoft PowerApps.

“Amazon has very few white spots within its portfolio of tools, but low-code and no-code was one of them,” said Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller. “These kinds of tools are critical for enterprise acceleration, as they give technically savvy business users the ability to own their automation faith.”

The market for low-code app development tools could in any case turn out to be a very lucrative one. Research firm Gartner Inc. last year said low-code and no-code tools will likely account for more than 65% of all application development within enterprises by 2024. Meanwhile, Forrester Inc. has estimated that low-code app tools will become a $21 billion market by 2024.

Image: Amazon