I’ve mentioned the dangers of spreadsheet misuse on many occasions, and explained why it’s so important to put that spreadsheet data into your database. However, I realized that I’ve never showed you how to turn your spreadsheets into database-driven web apps.
So, we created a video to do just that. The following video explains why you should convert your spreadsheets into web apps, and even shows you how it’s done. You might be surprised to learn just how simple this process is.
Note: This video is best viewed in 720p(HD) resolution at full screen. Click the “gear” icon below the video to change the resolution.
A customer portal provides a secure, customer-only area on your site where customers can purchase products, view information, submit support requests, update account information, and more. They help businesses improve customer satisfaction, streamline customer support, and even drive revenue.
But…building a customer/vendor portal is a tricky task. One portal must display different data to different users. If one user logs in and sees data that they shouldn’t see, you’ll have a big problem on your hands. You need a way to not only build all of the applications in your portal, but ensure they have at least 3 types of security set up:
1. User security: The most basic security option, user security limits portal access to only registered users. 2. Application security: Once a user logs in to the portal, application security controls which applications they can access. 3. Multi-tenant security: This type of security controls user access at a row level. That means different users can access the same application but only see the data that they’re authorized to access.
Here’s a question: How long does it take to build a secure customer portal and populate that portal with applications for your customers? A few weeks? Months?
How about 11 minutes?
We just created a video to show you how it’s done. This video walks you through the process of building a few applications, setting up security, and creating a customer portal. We walk you through everything from start to finish so you can see just how easy portals can be (with the right tools).
Snowflake is a popular data platform and data warehouse. It provides a cloud-based, relational database that businesses use to store structured and semi-structured data. Snowflake is known for offering data access at near-infinite scale, and is often used to store massive data sets.
The big question: If you use Snowflake, what are you doing with all of your data? Are you using this data to gain a clear view of your business and make informed decisions? Do you have an easy way to quickly create reports and dashboards over your data tables?
After all, what good is your data if you don’t use it?
The good news: Creating reports over your Snowflake data tables is simple! We just released a new video demo that shows how easily you can create reports, BI applications, and dashboards over your data. In just 5 minutes, we take you step-by-step through the whole process of creating a report over a Snowflake database table using m-Power. You can find the video below:
Want to see m-Power working over your data? Set up a custom demo here: m-Power Demo.
If your business had a choice between an off-the-shelf CRM system and a CRM that’s custom-built to your needs, which would you choose (assuming you’d get either one immediately)? I’d say the vast majority of businesses would prefer a custom CRM. After all, custom CRM systems offer a number of advantages, such as:
Scale without user fees: Off-the-shelf CRM systems typically charge per user…which can quickly drive up the cost in larger companies. With a custom CRM system, you can scale across your entire company without user fees!
Custom Workflow Processes: You can build custom workflow processes into any aspect of your CRM. For instance, you can create customer onboarding workflows that fire automatically when a lead becomes a customer.
Integration with existing software or third-party tools: For example, you might want to update your ERP system or pass data to a third-party tool using an API.
Deploy anywhere: Most off-the-shelf CRM systems only run in the cloud. A custom CRM can run in the cloud or on-premise. The choice is yours.
Control the security: Every business has different security needs. With a custom CRM, you can control how much or how little security you’d like to have.
With these advantages, why doesn’t every business opt for custom CRM systems? It all comes down to development time. Building a custom CRM from scratch can be expensive and easily take months.
The big question: What if you could create custom CRM systems in days or weeks? What if you could get all of the benefits of a custom CRM with non of the drawbacks?
It’s not as hard as you think. We recently released a new video that shows you how easily you can create a custom CRM system using low-code development. In the video, we create a CRM system that includes custom workflow processes, API integration with third-party software, and ERP integration. The result: A custom CRM that perfectly fits our needs and can be easily enhanced and changed.
The best part: The whole process only takes 75 minutes. You can watch the video below:
Want to learn more? Set up a demo here: Set up a demo.
Summary: As technology evolves at breakneck speed, it brings new opportunities and challenges to web application development. If businesses want to create lasting, successful web applications, they must address these challenges.
Let’s talk about web applications. I know it’s a vague term, so I’ll quickly define it for the sake of clarity.
By now, you’ve probably heard all about the benefits of low-code development tools. They let you build business applications with little (or no) code. They reduce development time by 50-80%. They let you deliver custom business applications in hours or days.
I could go on.
The big question: If your organization does any type of manual web application development in-house, why aren’t you using low-code? If it still takes months to deliver business applications from scratch, what’s keeping you from using development tools?
Chances are, you’re skeptical.
Maybe you don’t believe the time-saving claims.
Maybe you’re worried that it isn’t as easy to use as the vendor claims.
Maybe you’re worried that it will limit your options.
Or, maybe you think that low-code is just 4GL or RAD tools all over again.
I could debunk every one of those fears, but prefer a different approach. I’d rather let you see it for yourself. To help you understand the low-code development process, our consultants put together videos of full development projects that:
Walk you through the entire process from start to finish
Show (and explain) each step in the development process
Are completed in under 2 hours
Word of warning: These are longer videos (1.5 – 2 hours each) because we didn’t want to leave anything out. But, you’ll get a good idea of how quickly you can go from nothing to a working application with low code. Sound reasonable? Here are the videos:
1. How to build a custom helpdesk portal with low-code
In this video, we create a helpdesk portal from scratch using low-code. This portal includes user security, a helpdesk ticketing system, a helpdesk calendar, support dashboard, and more.
2. How to create a BI/Reporting suite with low-code
In this video, we walk you through a custom business intelligence/reporting project. We start with a single spreadsheet full of data and create a suite of BI & reporting applications that includes features like multi-tenant security, forecasting, dashboarding, data write-back, data warehousing, and many more.
3. Create a Field Service Management Application with low-code
In this video, we create a custom field service management system from scratch. This system includes a job listing application, signature capture, mapping, multi-tenant security, and much more.
Looking for a good low-code platform is a lot like buying a car. There are many options out there, and they’re all different. Some look flashy. Others are plain.
But, over time, we care more and more about one thing: How it was made.
Today, I’ll bust one of the most common myths about low-code software: The idea that low-code means low customization.
I see this myth repeated across most low-code articles these days. The articles claim that low-code software improves development speed (which is true) at the expense of customization and flexibility.
To be fair, some low-code tools DO have this drawback. But, all low-code tools are different. Some create websites. Some create basic web applications. Others are built for enterprise applications. Some offer customization. Others do not.
Placing all low-code tools in one big category is like saying that cars, bikes, and rollerskates are equal because they’re all ‘modes of transportation.’ While true, they’re very different things. The same is true for low-code tools.
The reality: Some enterprise-level tools offer unlimited customization–even down to the code level. When you get into the enterprise-level low-code tools, you’ll find that customization is critically important. Why? Here are a few reasons. The amount of customization available in the tool determines:
How well the tool fits your business needs
The amount of limitations you run into over time
Whether or not you get locked into the tool
What customization features should any enterprise low-code platform provide? We created a video on this topic that covers 6 different customization features to look for, and explains why each is important. You can find it here:
Want to learn more, or see a customizable low-code platform in action? Set up a demo here:m-Power demo.
** This guest post was written by Steward Copper. Learn more about Steward in the author bio at the end of this post. **
Low-code development has been an undoubted business trend in recent years. Though the demand for low-code solutions is showing a stable growth, 23% of businesses that are not using low-code express fear of mismanagement when handing the IT-connected processes to citizen developers, according to a Capterra survey. So is low-code as scary as it is painted? Business experts share their vision.
Low-code development usage is growing fast. According to Gartner, the low-code market will grow 20% this year. They expect it to grow even more next year.
But, you’ve probably heard these stats a thousand times. The low-code market has grown steadily for years. No one will argue that point.
The bigger (and more important) questions: We know that adoption is on the rise, but…how are these businesses using low-code? What are the practical use cases? What can you build with low-code?
I’ve mentioned the dangers of spreadsheet misuse on many occasions, and explained why it’s so important to put that spreadsheet data into your database. However, I realized that I’ve never showed you how to turn your spreadsheets into database-driven web apps.
A customer portal provides a secure, customer-only area on your site where customers can purchase products, view information, submit support requests, update account information, and more. They help businesses improve customer satisfaction, streamline customer support, and even drive revenue.
