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A web-based Excel/database hybrid

ragic.com

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Re: A web-based Excel/database hybrid

#41

Post by sardonicbryan »

longneckdeer wrote: post #20
sardonicbryan wrote: post #15

Just some hopefully constructive feedback here: for Excel power users, you're not just competing with Excel, you're competing with Excel+ODBC+SQL+Workbench which is basically an Excel/DB hybrid, just not web based. I read your "how this is different than a spreadsheet" blog, and none of the examples struck me as compelling, even though I use my Excel/SQL toolchain every day. Given how strong the ecosystems are around…

One big point that we forgot to mention in that blog post is that Excel is hard to work with when multiple users are involved. It would be quite a bit of trouble if Excel users want to implement access control on whether some users can read or write certain entries.

So for "collaboration," I'd almost rather see something like Spotfire's publish/view model, where not everyone has edit permissions, but power users can publish their sheets for people to view.

This more closely mirrors the workflow in my office at least, where only a handful of people create reports, but maybe 10-20x the number of people just want to consume it.

Re: A web-based Excel/database hybrid

#42

Post by sardonicbryan »

debacle wrote: post #32
sardonicbryan wrote: post #15

Just some hopefully constructive feedback here: for Excel power users, you're not just competing with Excel, you're competing with Excel+ODBC+SQL+Workbench which is basically an Excel/DB hybrid, just not web based. I read your "how this is different than a spreadsheet" blog, and none of the examples struck me as compelling, even though I use my Excel/SQL toolchain every day. Given how strong the ecosystems are around…

He could readily target the market of people who use Excel for things they shouldn't be doing, because they don't know how to encorporate SQL+Workbench, and don't have the time to learn.

Yea, it seems like this is a pretty market position if you ask me -- if you need DB like tools, why not just use a DB? This product would have to be an order of magnitude easier to set up and use to get people to use that instead, IMO.

Could be wrong though -- would be great if something like this could improve the data/analytical literacy of the general population.

Re: A web-based Excel/database hybrid

#44

Post by louhong »

Small suggestion: Add a stronger CTA (I was thinking after the 3 steps and before the 'next steps'). At that point I was ready to sign-up to try it out but wasn't sure what to do next.

FWIW I think this is an interesting approach. We're trying to approach one specific use case in our own product (I'm in agreement that smaller companies need an alternate solution to larger CRM tools). Good luck!

Re: A web-based Excel/database hybrid

#45

Post by redtexture »

Essentially, your pricing indicates that you offer only the crippled version of the application unless the individual or small group obtains the $199.99 per month account.

The pricing and usage limitations on forms for "personal" (one user / 10 forms / $19.95/month) and "lite" (20 users, 10 Forms, $99.99/month) indicate that you don't understand that full collaboration for both large and small entities is where you will find and grow your market of users, and that small groups are not going to be thrilled with crippled functionality.

I suggest charging only on a per-user basis and not cripple the application with limited forms. Make it easy for even small users to want to rely on the full application for all of their activity. They will tell everybody about your useful application, and won't advertise its silly crippled limitation. Let both small organizations and individuals grow into comprehensive and full usage without a big hurdle ($200 a month) for complete functionality.

Re: A web-based Excel/database hybrid

#47

Post by Zak »

longneckdeer wrote: post #31
bergerj wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't stop reading, but it feels like too high (for lowest tier). I think there should at least be a FREE tier which allows 1 or 2 forms. Once someone sees the value, they'll jump for more. I understand that textual data is light, but 250MB seems quite low given current costs of hard drive storage. Why the user limit too? Your costs seem to be in data transfer/storage.

The user limit is to segment large user sites from small user sites. We assume larger users sites have more budget. But we seem to need a cheaper plan designed for developers and geeks so that they can play around Ragic with minimal investment.

It seems to me you might want a free plan suited to app development but not production use (e.g. something that doesn't keep data long-term) to encourage more people to develop for your platform.

Re: A web-based Excel/database hybrid

#49

Post by harwoodr »

longneckdeer wrote: post #26
andybak wrote: post #25

Anyone else stop reading after seeing the lowest tier was $19.95/month? Maybe I'm just a cheapskate...

Pricing has always been a big topic of discussion inside our team. Would really like to know what kind of pricing would keep you or anyone else reading this comment interested.

Let us know when you have the absolutely free, extremely light, developer/farting around tier - that isn't a trial.

I may get 2-3 days in the next 30 where I can take some serious time with it - by the time I have any traction, the trial will have ended.

Re: A web-based Excel/database hybrid

#50

Post by tatsuke95 »

There are two markets:

1. The programmers, utilizing an Excel+SQL setup for users in an IT setting.

2. The business users who use Excel for more than they should be, or use it in a place a DB would be far more efficient.

Like another poster said, the former probably aren't going to find anything above and beyond what they can't already accomplish with a DB and Excel.

The latter, on the other hand, are a huge market and need help. This is the market who hammer spreadsheets, but are completely in the dark when it comes to databases, and to whom, I believe, PG was referring. As one of those users (okay, I know a bit more about DBs than the "average" business person), this looks complicated. I can't determine precisely what it does, and there seems to be a lot of programmer speak. Apps? APIs? "Development" required? It looks hard. In other words, I want an Excel/DB setup, in theory, but don't really know if this is what I think it is.

That said, as a data dabbler, this is intriguing. I'll be following progress.

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