For business-critical applications, stability and reliability are non-negotiable. Scheduling planned maintenance windows is essential to prevent unexpected downtimes and keep operations running smoothly without disrupting key processes.
Another crucial aspect is monitoring—especially for integrations. Business-critical apps often rely on various integrations to function properly. If one fails, the entire workflow can be disrupted. By using robust monitoring tools such as Datadog, issues can be detected early, minimizing potential damage. CLEVR employs Datadog for all supported customers.
While updates and patches are necessary for security, performance improvements, and bug fixes (or small enhancements), they can occasionally introduce unexpected issues. A structured update testing strategy—including staging environments and thorough regression testing—is vital to avoid disruptions in production. CLEVR has extensive experience with automated testing tools, and these tests can be further integrated into a CI/CD pipeline. Mendix continues to mature in this area; however, in collaboration with customers, sometimes an Azure-based CI/CD pipeline may be the better alternative.
At CLEVR, we take charge of your upgrade schedule to ensure the application always runs on a supported Mendix version. Our specialized upgrade team has conducted numerous customer upgrades, allowing them to become increasingly adept at avoiding common pitfalls. We also schedule regular monitoring tasks to confirm that all widgets, modules, and the Mendix platform itself are updated to the latest released versions.
A well-structured incident and change management process is key to quickly resolving issues. Setting clear target solution times enables teams to act with urgency, reducing downtime for critical business processes.
Good governance on deployments is also crucial for preventing instability. Establishing clear guidelines for releasing new features and updates reduces risks associated with untested changes. Consider implementing automated regression testing and CI/CD pipelines to mitigate the risk of downtime or negative impacts. At CLEVR, for example, we never release on a Friday night—one of many best-practice guidelines we’ve developed to ensure smooth rollouts.
Another common challenge in Mendix development is versioning. Over time, businesses can accumulate multiple application versions, complicating consistency and collaboration. At CLEVR, we’ve honed a best-practice approach to versioning Mendix applications. This ensures smooth rollbacks when necessary and minimizes conflicts, particularly important in environments where a project team focuses on new features while a support team handles small improvements and incident fixes.
Security is a top priority for business-critical applications, and compliance can be challenging—especially in low-code environments. Proper access control, including role-based access (RBAC), is a fundamental requirement but can be complex to configure. CLEVR offers specialized tooling to streamline this process, ensuring users have precisely the access they need—no more, no less.
Audit and compliance requirements can also be demanding because low-code platforms sometimes lack traditional code-level security features. CLEVR helps businesses navigate these challenges by implementing Mendix security best practices.
Some organizations require custom security measures beyond Mendix’s out-of-the-box capabilities, such as advanced encryption or custom authentication. CLEVR has established security best practices to address these specialized needs. We also developed a support module that we include in every project delivery. This module features handy tools to manage data distribution and archiving, along with an additional security layer for the MxAdmin account.
Finally, working with a specialized penetration testing (PENTEST) partner is highly recommended. A qualified PENTEST provider with Mendix expertise can detect vulnerabilities that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Effective monitoring and logging are critical for maintaining business-critical applications. CLEVR uses Datadog for real-time monitoring and alerting, enabling quick detection and resolution of potential issues before they escalate.
In addition to monitoring, maintaining code quality is equally important. QSM from the Software Improvement Group (SIG) helps check the quality of Mendix applications, providing insights into maintainability, performance, and security. CLEVR is an implementation partner of SIG.
Maintaining business-critical Mendix applications requires a comprehensive approach that includes stability planning, robust incident and change management, strict security compliance, and proactive monitoring. By following these best practices and leveraging CLEVR’s expertise, businesses can ensure their Mendix applications remain reliable, secure, and high-performing throughout the entire application lifecycle.