How businesses can unscramble data for critical innovation

There are countless volumes of data across modern organisations. Data manifests across all the databases and spreadsheets created and utilised by different departments. Hence, businesses structured by teams inevitably create data silos because mission-critical information is often held in these units and groups. 

Inevitably, siloed cultures lead to a disjointed workforce, competing or misaligned goals, poor decision-making, and, ultimately, worsening business productivity which must be every business's priority in 2023.

Why does this matter? 

Regardless of the size of the business, productivity is the fuel to grow and thrive. This is because high productivity means the organisation makes the most effective use of its resources. Today, the most productive businesses recognise that they can employ innovative technologies and software, such as no-code platforms, to gather, source, and analyse data to solve complex business challenges. And, due to no-code's simple building-block approach, complex tasks can be delivered in weeks rather than in months or years. But that advantage can only be realised if critical data flows across the business to the teams that need them - that is where no-code database software comes in. 

As data increasingly becomes a commodity, its usage is evolving too. Free-flowing data benefits companies in the technology and digital sectors and those in traditional industries like manufacturing, banking, retail, healthcare, and the public sector. Almost all industries depend on the ability to move data across teams or analyse it in real time as a fundamental enabler of their day-to-day operations.

Crucially, as we enter a pressured business environment in 2023, productivity is even more critical for organisations with stretched budgets and resources. In this economic landscape, businesses must prioritise efficiency and adaptability to drive productivity and realise new cost-saving opportunities whilst remaining innovative to stay ahead of the competition.  

Uplevelling data to amplify productivity and strengthen data: 

1. Your teams are your greatest asset  

Authentic data-sharing culture is still very uncommon across organisations. This is particularly the case with data and information sharing outside a specific department and even more so with external partners. However, modern businesses need to think about data and collaboration differently. 

No-code and low-code applications enable the exchange of data empowering companies and non-technical staff to build customisable workflows and database functionality that suit all the organisation's needs. The most innovative businesses in 2023 will recognise that creating an open data culture for everyone in the organisation and participating external partners will derive more valuable insights to drive performance and productivity. 

There are, of course, good reasons for businesses to want to protect their data and intellectual property. However, no-code platforms now provide enterprise-grade security options to administer user access permissions and self-hosting capabilities. These security options give businesses easy data access while keeping information safe. In addition, administrators can limit what sets of data-specific roles they can view. This means businesses can build datasets for specific workgroups without having to resort to 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 departments. 

2. Reduce the SaaS blindspot  

Since the pandemic, the average number of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications used by organisations worldwide has risen dramatically. Statista found that companies typically use an average of 110 SaaS solutions in 2021, a 38% increase over the past year and a 1,275% increase since 2015. 

This increase in SaaS creates a much larger blind spot for many organisations, particularly for the IT team. Too often, SaaS tools are used in isolation without integrating processes or data. This means separate business units or departments deploy different apps designed for their specific needs, thereby creating huge data black holes inaccessible to different parts of the business. 

The ongoing adoption of SaaS solutions risks going out of control. Many teams are regularly overwhelmed by the hundreds of apps and tools required to do their work. In addition, many businesses have multiple apps and options for sharing files, communicating, collaborating, and managing productivity. Again, this leads to different departments across the company working with incomplete or inconsistent data. 

In addition, SaaS sprawl often leads to bloated budgets, and not to think of all the possible repercussions for managing file storage, passwords, versions, workstreams, and roles and responsibilities created by the ad hoc addition of dozens or even hundreds of applications to an organisation's IT. 

Luckily, there's a way forward. A no-code database platform combined with the existing software products that provide users with a single source of information on the front end. Deploying a bespoke database solution can help your team pull together connected datasets across the business - from sales, operations, marketing, R&D, product development, and HR - into a central platform to drastically improve efficiency and performance. 

This gives your team the flexibility to feed other software applications and business processes, which can reduce the costs of managing multiple vendors and eliminate manual data validation and retrieval. Most importantly, these platforms can be designed quickly and efficiently to suit any organisation and its complex needs. 

No-code for the win!

Preventing the formation of data silos must be a priority for businesses in 2023. With the free flow of data and insights, it is easier to successfully deploy digital transformation initiatives within modern organisations and take businesses to the next level. With a no-code database, the focus is on empowering non-technical users to build their own database to structure information and collaborate effectively. 

With an array of no-code tools on the market, your organisation can use these tools to transform your business processes and scale innovation. It's time you take advantage of the many benefits no-code tools can offer. Your teams, from IT leaders to HR, marketing, and everyone in between, will surely see an impact and thank you for it.