5 min read

The Importance of Data-Centric Apps in the Modern Workspace

Business Automation

In today’s digital age, businesses are flooded with tools designed to make operations more efficient.

There are tools for every use case - from productivity tools to Artificial Intelligence capabilities.

This rise in technology has in no doubt allowed us to achieve more in less time.

However, the abundance of disconnected software has created a whole new set of challenges.

Organizations find themselves dealing with fragmented processes, communication breakdowns, lack of a unified direction and conflicting information.

Keeping operations running smoothly can become a constant struggle that needs to be addressed on a daily basis just to get by.

Most organizations don't realize the extent of the manual and ad-hoc effort needed to maintain daily operations

To thrive in this environment, organizations must pivot towards a data-centric approach and invest in the right technologies that will set them up for success into the future.

The Hidden Cost of Inefficiency

Many organizations still rely heavily on manual intervention for tasks that could be automated. From simple data sharing to complex inter-departmental workflows. This not only slows down operations but also ties up valuable human time that could be better utilized for strategic and creative tasks that drive business growth.

"70% of employees spend 20+ hours a week chasing information instead of doing their job"

As employees become overwhelmed by information and a pressing need to deliver results, they are often forced to take shortcuts that become standards of how everyone will operate.

Technical Debt is the extra work that results from choosing a quick solution over a more efficient one.

Without a data strategy in place, teams often develop their own solutions to track information, leading to a patchwork of systems and spreadsheets that are difficult to manage. This fragmentation not only creates inefficiencies but also poses a risk to data integrity, as different versions of the same information can coexist across the organization.

Investing in the Right Technologies

It becomes clear that organizations need solutions to help them operate efficiently at scale.

Investing in the right technologies under a clear strategy has become an important success factor.

Custom Software	SaaS
Creating custom applications to address a business's unique needs can provide all the flexibility needed for a business without relying on external factors. It can also be a significant undertaking as it often requires a full team of software developers and engineers, dedicated servers and lengthy development cycles. This can become prohibitively expensive and resource-intensive. Furthermore, the lack of transparency in the development process can make it challenging to keep up with evolving business requirements. As the organization's needs change, updating and maintaining custom-built applications becomes a major burden on the entire IT team.	The rise in Software as a Service (SaaS) helped to alleviate some of the challenges of traditional software development. The per user licensing model also made this an affordable option without much commitment upfront. However, reliance on third-party SaaS providers can introduce concerns around vendor lock-in and loss of direct control over critical systems. Additionally, while commercial SaaS tools can offer a high degree of flexibility, they may not match the full customizability of a custom software solution. This mismatch can lead to suboptimal business processes or the need to integrate multiple independent SaaS tools that don't communicate well with each other.

Custom Software

SaaS

Creating custom applications to address a business's unique needs can provide all the flexibility needed for a business without relying on external factors. It can also be a significant undertaking as it often requires a full team of software developers and engineers, dedicated servers and lengthy development cycles. This can become prohibitively expensive and resource-intensive.

Furthermore, the lack of transparency in the development process can make it challenging to keep up with evolving business requirements. As the organization's needs change, updating and maintaining custom-built applications becomes a major burden on the entire IT team.

The rise in Software as a Service (SaaS) helped to alleviate some of the challenges of traditional software development.

The per user licensing model also made this an affordable option without much commitment upfront.

However, reliance on third-party SaaS providers can introduce concerns around vendor lock-in and loss of direct control over critical systems. Additionally, while commercial SaaS tools can offer a high degree of flexibility, they may not match the full customizability of a custom software solution.

This mismatch can lead to suboptimal business processes or the need to integrate multiple independent SaaS tools that don't communicate well with each other.

Feature Bloat refers to the fact that a solution can have so many features, most of them unused that it becomes difficult and tedious to use.

SaaS Overload occurs when businesses accumulate a large number of SaaS applications, each intended for a specific need. The lack of integration between them can create significant challenges, fragmented operations and unnecessary costs.

The Rise of Low-Code

Low-Code or development platforms are tools aimed at developers that minimize the amount of code needed to create a solution. This translates to significant reduction in development times and minimal maintenance across the board.

Unlike no-code solutions, developer platforms don’t sacrifice on flexibility by having the ability to write code anywhere needed.

Many developer platforms offer the building blocks to create software with a drag and drop interface. This shifts the dynamic from focusing on software architecture to focusing on business outcomes.

Developers no longer need to spend countless hours on tedious and repetitive tasks therefore alleviating the burden on the IT team that comes from traditional software development.

Operations Software

With the rise in low-code, operations software has gained a lot of attention.

"Operations software is custom software built to streamline and codify the unique business processes of a team or individual"

This is software built around unique business processes, many which don't exist outside of the organization. This is crucial because it allows for high customization that commercial tools might not offer.

Productivity and automation are key points. This is software designed for internal use rather than customer facing and focuses on improving a process through technology.

Operations software also helps us collect and interact with data in a standardized way.

Internal tools can help us collect that information and trigger actions that affect other systems. This opens the door for communicating with existing tools and be able to read and write information back and forth from a centralized location.

Many applications allow us to Create, Read, Update and Delete data records coming from a database. This is called CRUD operations, and it actually makes up a large % of all existing software.

Looking Ahead

Developing custom software is no longer reserved for large enterprises with extensive IT resources. Small and medium-sized businesses can now leverage these platforms to create custom apps tailored to their specific needs, often at a fraction of the cost and time required compared to traditional software development.

Where to begin?

Assess Current Challenges: Begin by evaluating your business's current state and identifying the key pain points. A clear understanding of these challenges is essential to drive change.
Set Clear Goals: Ensure the entire team is aligned with the same objectives. Everyone should understand the value these initiatives will bring.
Develop a Strategic Roadmap: Create a detailed plan. Focus on how the new tools will evolve over time — good solutions should adapt as needs change.
Invest Wisely: Investing in the right technologies, people and training are critical to the success of your initiatives.
Establish Strong Governance: Define data ownership, permissions, policies, and guidelines to ensure the effective management, quality, and security of your data.
Choose the Right Implementation Approach: Decide whether to manage the project internally or seek external help from consultants or managed services.
Measure and Iterate: No solution is static. Plan for continuous improvements and maintenance. Regular updates will help keep the solution aligned as needs change.

By embracing technology and creating a data-centric culture organizations can streamline their operations, enhance decision-making, and position themselves for future growth and innovation.

In an increasingly competitive business environment, the ability to efficiently harness data can make the difference between thriving and merely surviving.

About Drio Tech

Drio Tech was founded with the aim of helping business improve their internal operations and decision making through data and technology.

We help companies develop and implement a clear, effective data strategy.

Our expertise spans AI driven solutions, custom internal tools, low-code development, advanced data analytics, and process automation. Our comprehensive approach enables us to deliver end-to-end solutions that scale with our clients' growth.