Turning one billion knowledge workers into developers
Mariam Hakobyan • Published on Apr 18, 2023 • 3 min read
Becoming data source agnostic
Today, we are excited to share a huge milestone for Softr!
We are officially launching our Google Sheets integration and new templates to power internal tool use cases.
It has been one of our most requested integrations, and this launch lets you turn your spreadsheets into powerful apps, with beautiful frontend, action-packed logic and advanced roles and permissions, just like what you have been able to do with Airtable.
Our mission has always been to empower billions of knowledge workers to create their own tools, using their existing data from various sources.
With the addition of Google Sheets as a data source, we’ve reached the first milestone of becoming a data source agnostic platform. Over the course of this year, we will continue to add more data sources for different use cases like SQL databases, CRM, BigQuery, Rest API and more.
Expanding into internal tool creation
With this new launch, we are also publishing a suite of 20+ professionally created and designed internal tool templates for Employee Onboarding, Customer Feedback Management, KPI dashboard, Issue Tracking, Help Desk, Event Planning, and more!
Why focus on internal use cases, you ask?
Well, since the beginning of the no-code movement, Softr has been a popular choice for SMBs and makers building client portals, resource directories, and marketplaces. However, external-facing applications are only the tip of the iceberg of all the software needs in the world.
The bigger portion of the iceberg is hidden within organizations.
Every company has inefficient and unique workflows waiting to be solved with software. Up until recently, teams have been stuck with:
- Spreadsheets — messy, non-intuitive, and prone to human errors.
- Vertical SaaS — expensive, inflexible, and the procurement process can be a pain.
- Custom-built solutions — teams have to put up a fight to get their engineers to help, and the UX is often far worse than public-facing apps.
This pain is not just limited to early-stage startups but also affects medium and large companies. That’s why companies of all sizes started adopting no-code platforms.
Gartner estimates that over 50% of medium to large companies will adopt a no-code tool by 2023 — and that's consistent with what we’ve seen firsthand!
Over the past year, we’ve witnessed more and more tech companies leveraging Softr to build internal tools. Non-technical teams, such as Operations, Sales, Marketing, HR, and Finance, have built custom apps tailored to their needs in a matter of days and at 1/100th the cost. This also enables their engineering teammates to have more time to work on their core products.
As the tech industry faces a downturn, the need for tech companies to do more with less will only continue to rise. At Softr, we are ready to support this rising need.
If you believe your team can use some custom internal tools, it’s time to step up and build! (As they say, heroes are made during tough times 😉)
Of course, we’ve not forgotten our SMB and maker users. We will continue to make Softr more powerful for everyone without sacrificing its ease of use.
Looking ahead: 2023
2022 was already a big year for no-code and also Softr:
- The company grew 3X organically
- More than 150K businesses and creators now build on Softr, including organizations like Google, Universal, MIT, and Havard.
And 2023 is going to be even bigger!
Our upcoming roadmap is jam-packed with big product features, ecosystem initiatives, and many more exciting projects:
- More powerful actions, major blocks updates,
- Conditional forms 2.0 - no need for a third-party tool,
- More advanced data sources.
But we are not stopping at just building the most intuitive no-code platform, but continue to pursue Softr’s grand mission - to build the world’s largest ecosystem where anyone can discover, create and share apps created without knowing how to code.
In the coming months, we’ll be rolling out several new pieces of that vision, starting with the Softr Universe - a place for builders to create, share, and distribute their apps as templates.
In the summer of 2023, we’ll launch the first version with selected creators and their templates. After that, the submission will be open to everyone. We seriously can’t wait to see what our community builds!
Softr is leading the next phase of the no-code revolution
At Softr, we frequently ask ourselves:
"Only 0.3% of the world's population knows how to code. What happens when you enable the other 99.7% to build as well?"
No-code software creation is at its inflection point. With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing companies to reimagine their operations and become tech-enabled businesses to survive, no-code platforms are now a $16 billion market and are expected to reach over $84 billion by 2027.
The breakthrough of AI has only added fuel to this fire. Last year, Softr was the first no-code platform to add native AI functionalities because we believe that "no-code" is much more than a drag-and-drop builder — it is about the re-definition and democratization of software creation. Moving forward, we will continue to explore how AI can push the limits of no-code development to new heights.
Software development, as we know it, is about to be changed forever. We are here to make that future a reality, and lead the next phase of the no-code revolution!
If you are as excited about the future of no-code as we are and want to help us achieve our vision, please check out our jobs page.
