What does compression achieve in OutSystems applications?

Compression in OutSystems applications plays a significant role in optimizing the data transfer process. By reducing the size of data that is sent over the network, compression minimizes the amount of bandwidth required when users access the application. This can lead to faster loading times and improved overall performance, especially for users on limited bandwidth connections or when the app is required to send large volumes of data.

When data is compressed, it reduces the payload size of network requests and responses, which is crucial for enhancing the user experience by decreasing latency and resource usage. This is particularly beneficial in mobile applications where network conditions can vary greatly.

The other options do not accurately reflect the purpose of compression: increasing the app's loading time contradicts the very benefit that compression aims to provide, enhancing visual elements is related to design rather than data handling, and cross-platform functionality is achieved through OutSystems' framework and does not involve data compression processes.