What is a Data Application?

In today’s fast-paced business environment, staying ahead of the competition requires more than just traditional methods. Enter data applications—a revolutionary way to automate and optimize business processes by seamlessly combining data, user experience, and business logic. 

What is a data application?

At its core, a data application empowers teams to streamline operations and drive better outcomes by harnessing data from multiple systems, augmented with human inputs, and triggered workflows. Whether you’re in a unique industry or a specialized department, these applications are designed to meet your specific needs, making them a game-changer in the digital landscape.

Why are data apps important? 

Charles Darwin famously said, “It’s not the strongest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” This principle holds true in the business world as well. Traditional enterprise applications are great for automating standard processes like posting journal entries or generating purchase orders. However, they fall short when it comes to handling workflows unique to your business or team and are not designed for prototyping or deploying improvement initiatives. They focus on automation rather than optimization.

Data apps, on the other hand, are agile and designed to move at the speed of business. They don’t require management by a central IT team, do incorporate data from multiple systems, and can be easily adapted to fit your unique metrics and workflows.

Interestingly, agile data applications have been around for decades, often in the form of spreadsheets with macros. However, these come with constant concerns about data accuracy, freshness, and security.

How are modern data apps developed?

Today, there’s a significant shift towards cloud data warehouses and the modern data stack. Organizations across industries are recognizing the value of treating data as a competitive asset rather than a costly liability. As more workloads move to the cloud, trusted data from disparate systems becomes readily available for analytic applications and ad hoc analysis, forming the foundation of modern data apps. With the right platform, business teams can create their own data apps, implementing unique workflows based on reliable information without the need for spreadsheets or downloads.

Modern data applications are not just a trend; they are an essential tool for business agility and efficiency. They allow for the integration of vast amounts of data from various sources, enhanced by human inputs, to trigger workflows that lead to superior business outcomes. This capability is not only about making data accessible but also about making it actionable and tailored to specific business needs.

How do businesses benefit from data apps?

As the migration to cloud-based solutions continues, organizations will increasingly demand more from their business intelligence platforms. They will want to interact with their cloud data warehouse (CDW) using familiar spreadsheet skills, easily integrate and manipulate data, leverage forms for data entry, trigger complex workflows, and update other systems based on data anomalies. The expectation will be that every action taken on data will directly contribute to improved business outcomes, making data applications an integral part of the business intelligence ecosystem.

Real-world examples of modern data apps

To illustrate the transformative power of data apps, let’s look at some real-world examples:

• A Fortune 100 energy company has developed a tailored data app for employee performance reviews, combining automated data from HRMS and operational systems with contextual inputs from employees, managers, and peers.
• A non-profit healthcare company uses a data app to reduce outstanding sales days by correcting erroneous diagnosis codes through user interaction with large data volumes, dramatically speeding up bill resubmission.
• An entertainment technology company has replaced inefficient spreadsheets with a data app for capturing theater data during new film screenings, moving from email attachments to cloud-based data.
• A Wall Street investment banking firm uses a data app to streamline month-end processing, integrating manual updates and automatic system updates to replace error-prone spreadsheets.

These stories highlight how modern data apps can be customized to meet the unique needs of different businesses and teams, leveraging existing investments to boost both efficiency and effectiveness.

Driving success with data applications

As you embark on your next analytics initiative, consider the unique workflows and processes of your teams. Enable them to take action, streamline processes, and improve business outcomes. The most efficient automation is done by people who own and understand the accountability for their jobs.

As Peter Drucker, management consultant and author said, “Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine.” If your analytics platform is “analysis-only,” you’re missing out on must-have capabilities. It’s time to transform your business with modern data apps and start driving better outcomes today.