I’m pretty bullish on all no-code/low-code automation services such as IFTTT, Zapier, AWS HoneyCode, and all the startups in this sector. Software is eating the world, and it’s not hard to see the piles of cash being shoveled to the first company who can drastically simplify a lot of current IT operations.
That’s one of the reasons I’m pleased to see Google introducing more automation within AppSheet and Apigee: https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/08/google-cloud-launches-its-business-application-platform-with-apigee-and-appsheet/ . I’ve been toying around with AppSheet to help automate some work, and it is a surprisingly fun and agile platform to work on.
I really like the deep integration with Google Sheets: AppSheet makes it easy to quickly deploy a proof of concept app or a low-traffic production application and store data within a Google Sheet. Better yet, AppSheet can analyze your data and set up an app template automatically. When I first started AppSheet, it automatically imported a spreadsheet “Post Mapping” stored in my Google Drive: it was a listing of bookmarks and dates I had been saving.
When I clicked on the Post Mapping file, AppSheet automatically created table and calendar views of my data:
One thing I’m surprised not to see is integration with Firebase. Firebase is – IMO – the easiest to use backend for mobile and web apps, and yet AppSheet doesn’t integrate it. At the very least I’d like to see AppSheet borrow Firebase’s authentication options.
In short, AppSheet is definitely something to keep your eyes on.