When you talk about apps, what comes to mind for most people is the apps you download from the Apple or Google stores and use on your phone and these apps are designed for public use. Think: banking apps, social media apps, messaging apps, or even functional apps like a magnifying glass or compass.
There are also apps that established companies and even startups use internally (i.e. that are not customer-facing) and help them conduct different aspects of their business. Think: budgeting, sales performance, marketing ROI, office scheduling, CRM, vacation requests, customer support, automate workflows, etc. These apps, on the other hand, are generally not found in the Apple or Google store since they’re not for everyone.
As of 2017, the average number of apps used by employees was 9.39 and companies in the United States spend $300 billion per year on internal apps.
Depending on the size of your company, the use cases and how much you spend for internal tools may vary, but their need never goes away. So how do you build internal apps quickly so your team can get started reaping the benefits?
Why Choose A No-Code App Builder For Internal Tools?
Creating apps quickly, easily and cost-effectively without ever having to write a line of code means (almost) anyone can build an internal app. These apps can be built off your spreadsheets, APIs, and other databases to make the process near effortless.
It’s important to note that the estimated low-code and no-code app market size is estimated to be between $13.3-17.7 billion this year (2021) and is expected to grow 4-9 times that in 2027. That means the industry is growing at exponential rates and will only continue to improve.
There are plenty of options for building tools internally -- from off-the-shelf options and custom coding to no-code options, each with pros and cons. Consider these 7 S’s when going through your options.
Spend: no-code apps like Glide mean you only have to pay for hosting instead of paying for the implementation and development of off-the-shelf or custom coding apps.
Safeguards: if there is a security breach or if the servers are down, it’s up to the host (like Glide) to get everything sorted and your app up and running again in a timely fashion.
Speed: with plenty of templates on-hand, no-code app builders can take minutes to create apps whereas traditional software or custom builds can sometimes require weeks or months to set up.
Support: if you get stuck or need help, there’s typically a support system in place via a support hub, community, or even humans who can assist.
Service: whenever there is an update to the platform, your app will automatically be updated as well.
Security: depending on the type of data you’re using for your app, you may have to comply with privacy regulations and avoid any risks.
Scalability: can the app you build scale with your growing business needs? That is, how many users need to use the app now vs in a year from now?
With the advent of no-code app builders like Glide, you can create complex internal apps and without spending your entire budget, without hiring several developers or product managers, and without it taking weeks, months or even years to develop.
Create An Internal Tool In 2 Steps with Glide
You can get started building your first internal app with Glide in as little as two easy steps.
From a Glide template:
Choose a template for the type of app you’d like to build. You’ll get a copy of the app template and a copy of the Google Sheet it uses in your Drive.
Customize the app by adding your own data in the Google Sheet.
From your spreadsheet:
Choose one of your spreadsheets to build a basic app as a starting point.
Customize the way your data appears in the app.
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Once you’ve completed the first two steps, your app is essentially ready to use as-is. However, you can customize your app’s layout, change how lists and tabs appear, match design elements to your branding, and truly make it your own. You can even add integrations with SaaS tools like Zapier and Google Analytics. Click publish and you’re ready to go.
To share the app with your employees, you can share the app’s QR code so others can scan it, you can text the link to someone, or copy the app’s URL and share that via email.
The best part is when you make changes -- whether in Google Sheets, to the app’s layout, or if users make updates to the data -- these will be live within seconds or minutes.
Testing and Shipping With Glide
The possibilities are endless when building no-code internal tools with Glide. The internal company apps can help improve processes and automate workflows since they don’t require elaborate systems, features, APIs, or databases. You can also use it for tracking and reporting for sales, complaints, expenses, and more.
You can also use your Glide app to test minimum viable products (MVP) internally and with beta users. This will allow you not only to get immediate reactions on your MVP, but allow you to make changes and updates quickly according to feedback from users. This could save you an incredible amount of time and money and allow you to gauge the validity of a product faster than if you built it from scratch (with code).
Create Your First App In Minutes, Not Months
Building internal apps can be a slow process but Glide makes it easy to build and deploy functional internal apps quickly -- without knowing how to code.
and make an internal tool in minutes, without writing a single line of code.
