Ragic turns spreadsheets into apps, works just like magic

Spreadsheets are like Swiss Army Knives for startups: They are cheap and often free, and you can use it for a multitude of tasks.

But as startups mature, they’ll need move away from spreadsheets into more specialized apps either for CRM, database and project management. The transition can be painful however, as the team will have to get used to the new system.

One way to remove the stress is to allow companies to create database apps using spreadsheets, and that is what Taiwan startup Ragic has done.

A top ten finalist of Echelon 2012, a major technology conference that will be held in Singapore, Ragic makes it possible for non-technical users to build apps without coding.

Advanced users can make use of a simple HTTP API and Javascript scripting to perform more complex operations.

Founded in 2008, the company has about 4,000 registered accounts and 30 paying corporate accounts. They’ve just released a new entry-level Lite version at US$5 per user per month, in a bid to attract more companies to pay for the service.

Ragic is aimed at companies with limited IT resources, and are already using spreadsheets for data management. Often, it is too difficult and costly to build an online database system using traditional PHP or Java programming languages.

While companies develop these systems in-house or by outsourcing, the quality is often compromised due to lack of time and money. Faced with a global developer crunch, firms also find it hard to find decent IT talent to build these apps.

Another solution is to rely on pre-packaged software, but these are not value for money either as companies rarely use most of the features.

Ragic allows users to create apps that fit their needs exactly, at a fraction of the cost. Although the user interface isn’t highly customizable, the company’s co-founders say this isn’t an issue for internal enterprise apps.

Other features of Ragic include the ability to flexibly link data, an online analytics engine, and a query builder that allows users to quickly find the information they need.