Frequently Asked Questions

What is Avocado Workflow?

Avocado Workflow Platform (AWP) is a cloud-based software infrastructure that dramatically reduces the time and cost of developing transactional web-based business applications. AWP runs as a fully-managed cloud-hosted service on the Google Cloud Platform. By developing and running your application in such a cloud environment, our customers dramatically lower their IT costs for developing, managing, and owning the application.

What kind of applications can I develop using AWP?

You can develop any transactional web applications on AWP. AWP provides an extensive suite of built-in features that can be used to easily configure complex applications that may involve sophisticated data-entry forms, process workflow automation, rich document generation, review and approval cycles, e-signatures, online payments, recurring services, event docketing & calendaring, customer self-service, and so on. While the platform is optimized for transactional web applications, it can easily be used for simple applications as well that do not require all the features of AWP.

A typical application requires a data model, a database, an application server, user interface generation, etc. Where is all this managed in AWP?

AWP provide comprehensive support for all architectural components of a typical web or mobile application. You define the data model and business logic for your specific application needs using a simple declarative programming paradigm. AWP provides a powerful set of JSON-based APIs that are used to implement the data management and business services required to run your application within the platform.

Can I modify an application after it has been deployed?

Yes, of course. AWP provides complete support for the full software development life cycle. After the initial development and deployment, the application can be modified and new releases can be deployed as necessary.

How can I migrate an existing application to AWP?

To migrate a legacy application to AWP, you would follow these steps:

  1. Define your new application within AWP platform to match your business needs.
  2. Use the AWP framework to define REST API’s that will load data into your AWP application’s data store.
  3. Create the necessary ETL scripts to extract data from your legacy application and then use the REST API in 2 above to load that data into your new AWP application.

Our professional services team can help design, review and execute your data migration strategy.

What do you mean when you say that AWP is built on Google Cloud Platform?

AWP has been designed from the ground-up on the API’s and architectural infrastructure provided by Google Cloud Platform (GCP). AWP itself runs on GCP and the applications developed using AWP are also deployed and run on GCP. As a result, the AWP ecosystem makes full use of the scalability, security and innovations offered by GCP.

What skills do I need to develop an application on AWP?

The primary skills required to develop an application on AWP are:

  • Business analysis
  • Data modeling
  • Basic programming knowledge of JSON data structures, JavaScript, and HTML
  • Understanding of AWP’s development model and features

You do not require expensive software development resources. Developing an application on AWP is a straightforward matter that consists of a) configuring the application using AWP’s out-of-the-box features and b) using JavaScript to implement any custom business rules for the application (if any).

What are some examples of the types of applications that I can develop using AWP?

AWP has been designed for the development of next-generation SaaS applications in any industry. With AWP, such applications can be developed very quickly and cost-effectively. Some examples are, SaaS applications for end-to-end management of:

  • Service delivery in the professional services industry (such as law firms, accounting firms, software firms, immigration services, medical centers and other consulting services)
  • Student admissions process in the education industry
  • In-house recruitment for a company or by employment agencies
  • Procurement process of goods and services
  • Government tender process
  • Citizen services by various government agencies
  • And so on…

After I develop an application on AWP, where do I run it? Who installs and maintains my development environment and my application on AWP?

AWP Applications run as SaaS applications on a fully-managed infrastructure that is provided by AWP. Each application runs on a separate dedicated execution instance of AWP with its own data security and privacy. For AWP customers, no hardware or software installations and no DevOps staff are necessary.

Your AWP development environment and the developed applications run on a fully-managed infrastructure that is managed by Avocado Workflow. We provide all DevOps and production management services for your applications.

Can I run an application developed on AWP under my own domain name?

Absolutely. Any application you develop on AWP can be run under a domain name owned by you. Alternatively, we can also run your application under our domain with a URL of the form YourAppName.AvocadoWorkflow.com.

What does the word “workflow” in AWP signify?

Most contemporary business applications require some level of collaboration among various participants (including staff members of the organization and customers). One of the key features of AWP software is its built-in support for intelligent role-based routing of tasks in workflows that map to and manage various business processes of the organization.

Your application can define its own set of roles. For each workflow, various task steps can be assigned to specific roles (in addition to the worker role for a task step, we also support supervisory and advisory roles for every task step). Finally, users can be assigned one or more roles. AWP also supports the notion of “teams” such that a user can have different role(s) within different team(s).

As new workflows are initiated, AWP runtime environment orchestrates the intelligent routing of individual workflows tasks to the appropriate user based on their roles. The routing engine is intelligent and can use worker productivity statistics, prior worker-customer pairing history, worker vacation status, queue-length status, request-worker matching rules (e.g. for time zone, language preferences etc.) and manager directives to increase overall productivity and/or reduce labor costs. In future, other optimization functions will also be supported.

What are the key features of AWP?

AWP is a robust and feature-rich platform for developing SaaS applications. It has many sophisticated features; it is difficult to enumerate them in a simple list. Some of the key features include:

  • Full-support for sophisticated yet easy-to-configure workflows that map to your organization’s business processes
  • Highly-configurable forms that support data entry, communication, document collaboration, e-signatures, pricing, online payments and context and task sensitive display over the lifecycle of the workflow
  • Monitoring and escalation of overdue tasks
  • Automatic generation of template-based documents
  • Support for routing, review and approval of documents including e-signatures
  • Management of recurring tasks, services, and payments
  • Full support for search, analytics, and reporting across all application data
  • Rule-based monitoring of application data and alerts based on event-triggers
  • Online and offline payments
  • Integrated and real-time audio/video collaboration among task stakeholders
  • Self-service portals for various roles
  • Responsive, modern, Material Design-based UI
  • Integration with accounting systems
  • Application execution as SaaS on the world’s most sophisticated, scalable and securely managed cloud infrastructure – Google Cloud Platform
  • And so on…

Can I customize AWP and add new features to it?

Yes, the AWP is fully extensible. If your application requires specific functionality that is not offered by AWP, you can develop new modules and integrate them into your AWP development environment. Your custom module will be deployed under AWP on GCP and managed by us. We support all development technologies that are supported by GCP for development of custom modules.

Do you provide training and documentation for developing applications on AWP?

Yes, we provide comprehensive documentation, tutorials, sample applications, and support to our customers.

Can you develop an application on AWP for me?

Yes, we can. Our Applications group can either develop and run an application for you or provide training to your staff on how to develop and manage the application.

How do I “install” AWP?

Since AWP is a fully cloud-based system, there is no “install” for either AWP or for the applications developed on AWP. As soon as you activate your account on AWP, you can start creating applications there. Similarly, when your application is ready to be deployed in production, you simply indicate that in your AWP development console and your application is then deployed on the cloud. There are no traditional “installs” or “hardware servers” involved in the process.

What type of support do you offer for AWP?

We provide a variety of support options for AWP. These include:

  1. Email support,
  2. Phone support,
  3. Bug resolution,
  4. Ongoing AWP enhancements through new releases,
  5. Platform training courses, and
  6. Application development assistance.

The exact support options will depend on the maintenance agreement you sign with us.

Is AWP in production or beta?

AWP is currently in its early-release program. A general production release is targeted for the near future.

Are applications developed using AWP mobile-friendly?

AWP automatically delivers a responsive UI for your application that can be accessed on a variety of screen sizes. AWP’s current release delivers applications optimized for desktop, tablet, and mobile device screens.

Can I develop an application on AWP and then license it to my customers?

Absolutely. In the AWP terminology the developer of an application is called the Publisher. AWP supports three different models for the applications that are developed by a Publisher:

  1. Publisher Use Model: The application is used by users within the organization of the Publisher.
  2. Publisher-Subscriber Model: The application is licensed by the Publisher to many Subscriber organizations. Users of the Subscriber organization use the application.
  3. Publisher-Subscriber-Client Model: The application is licensed by the Publisher to many subscriber organizations. A Subscriber organization can use the application for its internal users as well as to serve its clients.

In all of the above models, applications are always deployed in a SaaS model and are powered by AWP.

Does AWP integrate with any accounting systems?

AWP currently integrates with XERO accounting system – the leading next-generation web-based accounting system designed for growing businesses. We also provide an Accounting Integration REST API that can be used to integrate with other accounting systems. Built-in support for accounting systems other than XERO is planned in future releases of AWP.

Does AWP integrate with online credit card payments?

AWP has built-in integration with the leading online credit card payment platforms such as Stripe, and Braintree. No additional software development or integration is required to accept credit card payments from your customers.

Where is the data for an AWP application stored?

All AWP data resides within the GCP cloud. Your data can be stored in a specific GCP region of your choice.

How safe is my data? Is my data held separate from the data of other customers?

Your data is secured by GCP’s security technology – the same technology that secures all of Google’s products including Gmail and Google Apps. Google views security as its core competency and has invested significant resources in creating the world’s leading, best-in-class security infrastructure for its cloud. By using AWP, you get to leverage this security infrastructure investment.

Every application developed using AWP runs in a separate environment and stores its data in its own storage area. 

Do I need to install and manage my in-house servers to store my data?

AWP applications and all of their data reside in the Google Cloud. Each application’s data resides separately and securely within GCP. You no longer need to use in-house servers to store data.

Can I obtain a demo account or a trial license to AWP to “kick the tires”?

Absolutely! We can provide a AWP trial license to customers with verified interest in working with us. With a demo account, you can develop a sample application with full-access to all features of the platform. Please contact us if you would like such an account.

How do I contact you for further information on AWP?

You can obtain more detailed information about the AWP platform here. For further exploration on how AWP can assist your needs, please get in touch with us.