Spreadsheets and databases provide the foundation for a wide-range of applications, but now there’s a better way to rapidly build secure and managed applications. With AppSheet, you can quickly create amazing, flexible workflows and apps with your data, all in an easy, no-code environment.
AppSheet enables enterprises to do more with their data wherever it resides – from spreadsheets to databases. The platform features built-in enterprise constraints, meaning there are limits that keep data safe and applications maintainable. The platform can be deployed in an organization and controlled just like any other enterprise application—the control layer is baked in. But that doesn’t limit AppSheet’s functionality. It’s still extremely capable and extensible, and you can do a lot right out of the box.
Why AppSheet?
The problem with many existing applications that are custom-built on complex spreadsheets is that they’re fragile: any changes in the way data flows into the application can disrupt the process and break or limit the app’s functionality, or even influence the output. If the person who created the application leaves the organization, it can be hard for anyone else to maintain or update it. Some applications are built using more complicated methods than are necessary, simply because streamlined and intuitive tools weren’t available at the time. The business may need to quickly find a stopgap solution if the application stops working, while the application fills a gap, the enterprise could be left with critical apps that are neither supported nor maintained.
Getting started with AppSheet
Previously a standalone application, Google purchased Appsheet in early 2020 and the solution is now built into Google Sheets. This provides Google Workspace users with a ready-made way to tap into their data to build new applications. In its simplest form, this no-code solution gives you a nearly effortless way to gather information from people, such as collecting signatures or images from field workers at a jobsite. Those pieces of data are uploaded to the database and AppSheet uses the information to power the application.
Of key importance is that users never see the spreadsheet working behind the scenes. The experience is that of a modern application. And the magic is that it only takes minutes to create useful applications that can transform the way people work.
That makes it sleek without being complicated. AppSheet provides a user-friendly mobile app experience, enabling businesses to spin up niche applications to help remote and field personnel reduce manual tasks and streamline workflows. In 15 minutes or so, you can have a non-trivial application based on the data you already have, and a way to leverage new data as it comes into the organization.
Google Sheets provides much of the core horsepower, but AppSheet seamlessly connects with other databases to offer broad usability across a tremendous range of use cases. Excel and MySQL databases are just the beginning—AppSheet works with numerous other types of data. Within the application, powerful AI helps users identify useful data points suggests more efficient ways to slice and dice information.
If you’re already a Google Workspace user, you have a flexible and accessible tool ready at your fingertips that can help you pull greater value and usability from the data stored within your business.
The benefits of no-code app creation with AppSheet
The no-code approach of AppSheet means everyone in your company can leverage it to optimize their own workflows. You’ll give your citizen-developers a tool that is:
- Intuitive to use
- Simple to understand
- Flexible to iterate and for new process requirements
Whether a division needs to change how they approve purchase requests or a single user sees an opportunity to increase their productivity with a new way of tackling daily tasks, AppSheet enables innovation across the entire organization.
AppSheet + Google Cloud for workplace transformation
Because AppSheet is based on Google Cloud infrastructure, you have near limitless architectural scalability. No need to spin up servers or try to match the tool’s capabilities to your forecasted growth—AppSheet dynamically scales out of the box to suit your user base today and into the future without any configuration at all. Its user interface is designed to be intuitive and easy to navigate, even for people who’ve never built an application before. Connecting to data sources, creating workflows and delivering information in a way that’s usable are just a few of the things that are normally complicated for most applications, but AppSheet has taken care of all that.
With AppSheet, you can finally drag-and-drop your way to a usable—and useful—business process application.
