Due to operational pressures, in 2005, I created a "shadow IT department" in a central government department. I was a civil servant on the receiving end of a Ministerial request for urgent data. We didn't collect the data that had been requested by the Minister at that time, so I had to develop a means to collect it from mutilple offices distributed around the country, quickly.
Back in 2005 I didn’t really have the right tools, all I had available to me was Microsoft Office. Excel wouldn't cut it, so all I had left to use was Microsoft Access. So, I bought a few “for dummies” type books and I built an application.
I did seek some help from the central IT department so I could apply some basic level of security and I needed help deploying it to the 3000 front-line staff that needed to access it, but nevertheless, this was an enterprise level problem, solved with a very tactical solution.
This application met the immediate need and I was able to provide the Minister with the data that the required. But I had indivertibly created what the IT department referred to as an “unsupportable database”.
What I really needed was kinodb, the development platform by datb.
A few weeks ago, I joined datb, and am now undergoing my training on kinodb. What immediately stuck me was how quick it is to build an application, to test it iteratively, and to see the impact of a change immediately.
For example. If I had wanted to do something as simple as adding a check-box (a Boolean, true/false) field to the application, the effort would have been massive. In addition to adding it to the data table, I would have to assess every query that accessed it, every form, every report. It would take hours, probably days.
But with kinodb, I can add the checkbox and it is cascaded throughout the application immediately. If I make a mistake and need to remove it, that change is also cascaded straight away.
The key is that the application is developed as a model which is stored in the metadata. This allows proper enterprise grade applications to be built and deployed really quickly.
Moreover, the application can be deployed to any browser and is hosted in the cloud (private or public). Unlike my Access solution which was on a local machine that someone on the network needed a shortcut to access, this can be on any device, handheld, tablet, laptop or desktop running any browser.
It still gets better. Because this is a proper enterprise-grade platform, it is recognised by IT departments. The London Borough of Camden local authority use it, as do EDF Energy and High Speed 2, as well as many others. Additionally, the application can interface with what you already have and/or other services through APIs.
I have made a few applications in my time, but none have been so easy to create as the one I just have with kinodb. This platform is a real game-changer, particularly in a world where we don’t know what will happen next, and what your next urgent or critical requirement is.
To have kinodb in your toolkit could give you a real edge next time you need to meet some requirements, fast.
To find out more about the benefits that kinodb can deliver, click here.
