Use no-code platforms for data optimization

The year 2023 should be a priority for every company to improve business productivity. Regardless of the size of the company, productivity is the fuel for growth and thriving. High productivity means the company is using its resources as effectively as possible. The most productive companies have realized that they can leverage innovative technologies and software, such as no-code platforms, to collect, source and analyze data to solve complex business challenges. With No-Code's simple building block approach, complex tasks can be completed in weeks instead of months or years. However, this advantage can only be realized if critical data is shared across the enterprise and across all teams. This is where No-Code database software comes in. 

Efficiency and adaptability are in the foreground

As data increasingly becomes a commodity, its use is also changing. Free-flowing data benefits companies in the technology and digital sectors as well as those in traditional industries such as manufacturing, banking, retail, healthcare and the public sector. Nearly all industries rely on the ability to share data across teams or analyze it in real time as a fundamental requirement for their daily operations. "Given the tight economic climate in 2023, productivity has become even more important for companies with tight budgets and resources. In this economic environment, companies need to prioritize efficiency and adaptability to increase productivity and unlock new cost-saving opportunities, while remaining innovative to stay ahead of the competition," said Olivier Maes, co-founder and CRO of Baserow, an open source no-code database and platform startup based in Amsterdam.

Data optimization and more

So how can companies democratize data and innovation across the enterprise and improve productivity in 2023? To this end, the following three points can be considered:

1. Include all teams: A true culture of data sharing is still rare in companies. This is especially true for sharing data and information outside of a specific department, and even more so for collaboration with external partners. However, modern companies need to think differently about data and collaboration.
   The most innovative companies in 2023 recognize that creating an open data culture for all company employees and participating external partners will lead to more valuable insights to drive performance and productivity. No-code and low-code applications enable data sharing that allows enterprises, partners, and non-technical employees to create customizable workflows and database capabilities that meet all business needs.
   Of course, there are good reasons for companies to protect their data and intellectual property. No-code platforms offer enterprise-grade security options for managing user access permissions and self-hosting capabilities. These security options allow easy access to data while protecting information. Administrators can restrict who can view which data-specific role records. Data sets can be created for specific workgroups without having to access multiple database platforms and sources. "Essentially, the combination of open data cultures and no-code database solutions is a fast, effective way to drive innovation and improve productivity across all departments," Olivier Maes, quoted at the outset, continued. 
2. Put a stop to the rampant SaaS proliferation: Since the pandemic, the average number of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications used by enterprises worldwide has increased dramatically. Statista found that organizations will use an average of 110 SaaS solutions in 2021. This represents a 38 percent increase over the past year and a 1,275 percent increase since 2015. This increase in SaaS creates a big blind spot for many organizations, especially the IT team. Too often, SaaS tools are used in isolation, without integrating processes or data. Different business units or departments use different applications for their specific needs. This creates data silos that other departments cannot access.
   The ongoing adoption of SaaS solutions is threatening to spiral out of control. Many teams are regularly overwhelmed by the hundreds of applications and tools they need to do their jobs. Many organizations have multiple applications and options for sharing files, communicating, collaborating and managing productivity. This leads to different departments in the organization working with incomplete or inconsistent data. "SaaS proliferation leads to bloated budgets, not to mention the impact on file store management, passwords, versions, workflows, and roles and responsibilities created by the ad hoc addition of dozens or even hundreds of applications to a company's IT," Olivier Maes explains in more detail. 
3. Deploy no-code platforms: A no-code database platform combined with existing software products provides users with a single source of information on the front end. Using a customized database solution helps departments bring together linked data sets from across the enterprise - from sales, operations, marketing, R&D, product development, and human resources - on a central platform to significantly improve efficiency and performance. This gives all company departments the flexibility to feed data to other software applications and business processes. This reduces the cost of managing multiple vendors and eliminates the need for manual data validation and retrieval. Most importantly, these platforms can be developed quickly and efficiently to meet any business and its complex requirements.
   "Preventing the creation of data silos must be a priority for businesses in 2023. With the free flow of data and insights, it is easier to successfully implement digital transformation initiatives in modern organizations and take businesses to the next level. With a no-code database, the focus is on enabling non-technical users to create their own database to structure information and collaborate effectively," concludes Olivier Maes. 

Source: Baserow