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Education

How to create a web-based data management system in 7 minutes

analyticsHow easily (and securely) can you manage your business data? In my experience, businesses typically answer this question in one of three ways:

1.“We use spreadsheets to manage data”.
This is probably the most common response, but also the riskiest approach. Sure, spreadsheets are readily available and easy to work with. They do the job when you only have small amounts of data. The problem is that many businesses stick with this approach as their data grows. This is a mistake. Why? Spreadsheets aren’t designed to be multi-user data management tools. When you’re managing lots of data across many users, spreadsheets will waste time and lead to data errors.

2. “We don’t really have a good way for users to manage data.”
In many companies, data just sits in the database–inaccessible to business users. Sure, the IT department can run reports and make changes but no one else can.

3. “We have a web-based database management system.”
This is the ideal response. A web-based data management system provides a secure way for end users to manage database tables using a web browser. Security is in place to ensure that users can’t see or manage data that they’re not authorized to manage.

If you don’t have a web-based data management system yet, how do you create one? We’ve recently published a video that walks you through the whole process. In this video, we create three different applications that let users view and manage their database tables from a web browser. Then, we’ll add security to ensure that only specific users can modify the database. Finally, we’ll wrap everything up into a data management portal so users can easily access all of the applications. All this in 7 minutes! You can watch it here:

Want to learn more? Set up a demo here: Set up a demo.

38 important low-code statistics and facts for 2022

trendsSince the term was first coined by Forrester back in 2014, low-code software has really picked up steam. The pandemic (and the subsequent move to remote work) only furthered its adoption.

The recent spike in low-code usage got me thinking: What does the low-code market look like now? Where will it be in a few years? How are modern businesses using low-code?

To answer those questions, I did some research. I’ve found many different low-code reports, studies, and surveys and compiled those statistics into this article. One thing to keep in mind while you’re reading: Some of these surveys and statistics say similar things, especially when it comes to predictions. I included them because they help paint a complete picture. Low-code is growing and will continue to grow in the coming years. How much will it grow? That’s hard to say. But multiple studies and research firms agree on one thing: The low-code market isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

5 important questions to ask about low-code software

trendsIf you’re at all considering low-code software, there are a few things you must understand:

First, there are hundreds of low-code tools available these days…and new ones are constantly popping up. You can’t possibly evaluate every option.

Second, they’re all different. This is a big deal because most people think low-code tools are generally the same. They’re not. They have different features, interfaces, and development approaches. Some are great in certain areas but poor in others. Some are customizable. Others are not. As a result, comparing your options is tricky. Depending on your needs, some tools will fit better than others.

Finally, there’s really a lot to know about development tools in general. The problem is, not everything is obvious until you really get into them…some of which will come back to bite you if you’re not prepared.

The big question: What ‘not-so-obvious’ areas should you look at in a low-code tool?

We created a video to help you answer that question. We’ve compiled our best advice into 5 important questions to help you identify the ideal low-code platform for your business. You can watch it right here:

5 tips for creating a killer business dashboard

EducationOkay, so you’ve been asked to create a business dashboard. Where do you start? How can you create a dashboard that is equal parts powerful and amazing?

Before you do anything, you must define a clear objective. You must understand who plans on using the dashboard, why they want a dashboard, and what they hope to get from this dashboard. You’ll want to pull very specific objectives out of the future users. Don’t settle for generic answers like, “We want to see sales data.” Get specific. You can’t develop a clear objective without very specific goals.

Okay, so you have the specifics, you know the objective, and you’ve mapped out a plan for this dashboard. How can you make it great? Here are 5 tips for you:

Top Business Process Automation Trends for 2022

trends** This guest post was written by Jason Richardson. Learn more about Jason in the author bio at the end of this post. **
WorkflowCOVID-19, digital transformation, and rising global competition are just a few of the reasons why planning for the next financial year is essential to your company’s success. Business process management (BPM) is an excellent framework for understanding how your company operates today and, more importantly, how you may improve it in the future. BPA’s rapid growth will significantly speed up as we approach 2022.

5 Technologies that CIOs and IT Leaders Can’t Ignore in 2022

trendsSummary: It’s been a challenging past 2 years for many businesses. CIOs and IT leaders were forced to adapt on the fly as the pandemic stretched on. Many receieved a rude awakening–realizing that they didn’t have the technologies in place to adapt. The big question: What technologies will have the biggest impact on the business world in the coming year? In this article, we explore a few more technologies that the modern CIO cannot afford to ignore.

5 big challenges facing CIOs and IT leaders in 2022

automationSummary: Over the past couple of years, CIOs and IT leaders have faced a pop quiz of sorts: How quickly can your company adapt to unexpected challenges? Assuming you navigated through the challenges brought on by the pandemic, the next question is: How will you address the challenges in the coming year? In this article, we explore 5 challenges that CIOs and IT leaders should watch in 2022.