Productive organisations in the public sector need to prevent the formation of data silos by employing innovative technologies and software, such as no-code platforms
There are countless volumes of data across modern public sector organisations. Data manifests across all the databases and spreadsheets created and utilised by different departments. Hence, large government organisations and 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 productivity which must be every organisation’s priority in 2023.
Productivity in the public sector
Regardless of the size of the business or public sector organisation, productivity is the fuel for growth and delivering key services. This is because high productivity means the organisation is making the most effective use of its resources.
Today, the most productive organisations recognise that they can employ innovative technologies and software, such as no-code platforms, to gather, source, and analyse data to solve complex 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 organisation to the teams that need them – that is where no-code database software comes in.
due to no-code’s simple building-block approach, complex tasks can be delivered in weeks
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 and public sector environment in 2023, productivity is even more critical for organisations with stretched budgets and resources. In this economic landscape, organisations must prioritise efficiency and adaptability to drive productivity and realise new cost-saving opportunities whilst remaining innovative to stay ahead of the competition.
How can organisations democratise data and innovation across the organisation, and improve productivity in 2023?
1. Get all your teams involved
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, organisational heads 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 leaders in 2023 will prioritise open data culture for everyone in the organisation and participating external partners to derive more valuable insights that will drive performance and productivity.
There are, of course, good reasons 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 enable easy data access while keeping information safe. In addition, administrators can limit what sets of data-specific roles they can view. This means organisations 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. Arrest the burgeoning SaaS sprawl
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 departmental units or departments deploy different apps designed for their specific needs, thereby creating huge data black holes inaccessible to different parts of the organisation.
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 teams 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.
Database solutions for connected datasets
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 teams – from operations, HR, and customer service – into a central platform to drastically improve efficiency and performance.
Deploying a bespoke database solution can help your team pull together connected datasets across the teams
This gives your team the flexibility to feed other software applications and 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.
Preventing the formation of data silos must be a priority in 2023
With the free flow of data and insights, it is easier to successfully deploy digital transformation initiatives within modern organisations and take them 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 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.
This piece was written by Olivier Maes, Co-Founder and CRO, Baserow
