This is what we discussed in our last internal team meeting.
The current state of affairs is:
- We have Framework Desk UI which is extremely feature rich but offers very little “composability” in terms of layouts / UI
- On the other end of the spectrum is “Frappe Builder” which is very composable but not feature rich from an application development framework POV.
- We have Frappe UI, which is a component design library that can connect the two - what we need is a new UI platform that will give you the richness of the Desk UI with the composability of the Builder.
The long view
The way software applications are built today is totally broken. You have to learn so much to build a simple app - client side, server side, infra, databases, CSS, auth, permissions, etc. Learning CSS is like learning byte code in the 90s.
What we realise people love about ERPNext is the customisability of the Framework. For us fixing these fundamental problems is very important. Framework is great, but can be so much more better looking at the current crop of low-code (toy like) tools. So we will try and take a stab at fixing the holy grail - “Let’s make it application development simpler” with a visual builder, schema designer, data manager, permissions manager all baked in with a “one click publish” platform.
Also we are not in a hurry. It may take us 10 more years to fix these problems, so be it.
What about ERPNext?
ERPNext continues to be a core focus - we have entered into a partnership with Resilient Tech @snv and @Smit_Vora who are better equipped to build out the ERP features. They are both trained accountants (unlike folks at Frappe) and proved themselves with the amazing India Compliance app. Along with this @nabinhait @rohit_w and @Ruthra from Frappe are committed to take ERPNext forward along with a bunch of new hires. This is also a big change in direction where we are working more closely than ever with the community to build out the product. We would love to work with more folks (making regular contributions is a great way to start) in the community and ideally the “most capable” person should be the one driving the project foward, whether that person is from Frappe or not.
New products
The new products are built without any legacy. We see each of them (Helpdesk, CRM, LMS, Website Builder, Insights BI, Drive, Wiki, Gameplan) as a different product category and they should be built to solve those problems. They are still very “young” and we hope that will soon be drivers of this community as much as ERPNext. Any connectivity to ERPNext will be Phase II. Also there are no plans to remove the basic CRM, Support, Projects modules from ERPNext itself.
From Frappe’s POV, we will try and solve as many problems as we can while building a sustainable + 100% FOSS product. The enhanced focus is probably more on quality than anything else at this point.
In the short run, some things may go fast / slow. But the overall vision is to fix deeper problems in the app development space, while building out ERP and a bunch of other products.