AppSheet is an application that provides a

no-code development platform No-code development platforms (NCDPs) allow programmers and non-programmers to create application software through graphical user interfaces and configuration instead of traditional computer programming. No-code development platforms are closely r ...

for

application software Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

, which allows users to create

mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

, tablet, and

web application A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection. History In earlier computing models like client-serve ...

s using data sources like

Google Drive Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service developed by Google. Launched on April 24, 2012, Google Drive allows users to store files in the cloud (on Google's servers), synchronize files across devices, and share files. In addi ...

DropBox Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, U.S. that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and Client (computing), client software. Dropb ...

Office 365 Microsoft 365 is a product family of productivity software, collaboration and cloud-based services owned by Microsoft. It encompasses online services such as Outlook.com, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, programs formerly marketed under the name Mic ...

, and other cloud-based spreadsheet and database platforms. The platform can be utilized for a broad set of business use cases including

project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. Th ...

customer relationship management Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information. CRM systems compile data from a ra ...

, field inspections, and personalized reporting. AppSheet was acquired by

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

in January 2020.

Platform

The AppSheet platform allows users to create mobile apps from cloud-based

spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in cel ...

s and

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...

s. Apps can also be created directly as an add-on from spreadsheet platforms like

Google Sheets Google Sheets is a spreadsheet program included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google. The service also includes: Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Google Forms, Google Sites and Google Keep. Google ...

. The platform is available from both a

self-service Self-service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when making purchases. Aside from Automated Teller Machines, which are not limited to banks, and customer-operated supermarket check-out, labor-saving of which has been described as self- ...

model and a corporate licensing model for larger organizations with more governance, data analytics, and performance options. Compared to

low-code development platforms A low-code development platform (LCDP) provides a development environment used to create application software through a graphical user interface. A low-coded platform may produce entirely operational applications, or require additional coding for s ...

which allow developers to develop with faster iteration cycles, AppSheet is a no-code platform which allows business users familiar with basic spreadsheet and database operations to build apps. AppSheet compatible data sources include: *

Google Forms Google Forms is a survey administration software included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google. The service also includes Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Google Sites, and Google ...

Microsoft Excel Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows, Windows, macOS, Android (operating system), Android and iOS. It features calculation or computation capabilities, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro (comp ...

on Dropbox *

on Box (company) *

Smartsheet Smartsheet is a software as a service (SaaS) offering for collaboration and work management, developed and marketed by Smartsheet Inc. It is used to assign tasks, track project progress, manage calendars, share documents, and manage other wor ...

Salesforce Salesforce, Inc. is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides customer relationship management (CRM) software and applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, a ...

* DreamFactory *

Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system developed by Microsoft. As a database server, it is a software product with the primary function of storing and retrieving data as requested by other software applications—which ma ...

MySQL MySQL () is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). Its name is a combination of "My", the name of co-founder Michael Widenius's daughter My, and "SQL", the acronym for Structured Query Language. A relational database o ...

PostgreSQL PostgreSQL (, ), also known as Postgres, is a free and open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) emphasizing extensibility and SQL compliance. It was originally named POSTGRES, referring to its origins as a successor to the In ...

Amazon DynamoDB Amazon DynamoDB is a fully managed proprietary NoSQL database service that supports key–value and document data structures and is offered by Amazon.com as part of the Amazon Web Services portfolio. DynamoDB exposes a similar data model to and ...

Features

Data Capture

AppSheet apps capture data in the form of images, signatures, geolocation, barcodes, and NFC. Data is automatically synced to the cloud-based, or users can opt to manually sync the data at any time. Common uses for data capture include field or equipment inspections, safety inspections, reporting, and inventory management.

Data Collaboration

Synced, shared data allows users to collaborate across mobile or desktop devices.

Workflow A workflow consists of an orchestrated and repeatable pattern of activity, enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes that transform materials, provide services, or process information. It can be depicted as a sequence of ...

rules can also be used to trigger notifications or work-based assignments where appropriate. Offline access is also possible as data storage is localized to the device and synced upon internet connectivity returns.

Data Display

AppSheet data can be displayed in graphical and interactive formats. Common data views include tables, forms, maps, charts, calendars, and dashboards. Each app can hold multiple views consisting of data from various sources.

Declarative Programming Model

AppSheet's platform allows users to declare the logic of the app's activity in order to customize the app's user experience rather than use traditional code. This level of abstraction essentially trades a granular level of customization that would be available through hard code for increased efficiency, scalability, and security that would be available through a declarative model.

Security

Data is stored on a user's device and the user's existing cloud-based storage system. When users sync their app, changes they make are sent to the AppSheet web service over an encrypted protocol (HTTPS). AppSheet then applies the changes to the backend spreadsheet (on Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.). The latest version of the spreadsheet or database is read (from Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and sent back to the mobile app. AppSheet's platform is also verified as SOC2 compliant.

History

AppSheet was originally founded by Praveen Seshadri in March 2014 after several months of developing the product at his home in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. In 2015, AppSheet received seed funding from

New Enterprise Associates New Enterprise Associates (NEA) is an American-based venture capital firm. NEA focuses investment stages ranging from seed stage through growth stage across an array of industry sectors. With ~$25 billion in committed capital, NEA is one of the w ...

. In 2018, AppSheet was recognized by

TiE Tie has two principal meanings: * Tie (draw), a finish to a competition with identical results, particularly sports * Necktie, a long piece of cloth worn around the neck or shoulders Tie or TIE may also refer to: Engineering and technology * Ti ...

as a Tie50 award recipient recognizing innovative tech startups. In 2018, AppSheet launched SPEC, a

natural-language programming Natural-language programming (NLP) is an ontology-assisted way of programming in terms of natural-language sentences, e.g. English. A structured document with Content, sections and subsections for explanations of sentences forms a NLP documen ...

tool allowing non-coders to build apps by asking users in plain English what they want to build. In 2018 and 2019, AppSheet was named a leader by

Forrester Research Forrester is a research and advisory company that offers a variety of services including research, consulting, and events. Forrester has nine North America locations: Cambridge, Massachusetts; New York, New York; San Francisco, California; McL ...

for mobile low-code platforms for business developers. On January 14, 2020, AppSheet announced they had been acquired by

and would be joining the

Google Cloud Google Cloud Platform offers numerous integrated cloud-computing services, including compute, network, and storage. Products Past and present products under the Google Cloud platform include: Current * Google Cloud Datastore, a NoSQL databa ...

team.

References

External links

* {{Google Cloud Software companies established in 2014 2014 establishments in Washington (state) Software development Software companies based in Washington (state) 2020 mergers and acquisitions Google acquisitions Google Cloud Defunct software companies of the United States Web applications Cloud applications