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Skuid, which stands for scalable kit for user interface design, is a no-code, drag-and-drop cloud platform that combines data from multiple sources within an organization to create customized apps, pages, and reports. With Skuid, organizations can bring data from all their systems into one system of engagement, explained Ken McElrath, founder and chief strategy officer at Skuid.
Skuid started as a Salesforce partner, offering organizations a user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) toolkit for Salesforce to build apps faster with less code. Because of this background, Skuid initially focused on the Salesforce admins who build apps. Over time, Skuid has expanded that focus toward operational leaders, beyond those in the Salesforce ecosystem. Its target audience has expanded to include leaders responsible for business goals in sales ops, human resources and customer success, among others.
Today, Skuid can connect to anything that has an API to access data in real-time, but it doesn’t store the data, which is especially critical in industries like healthcare and financial services. Organizations can use their existing investments by taking out-of-the-box software and tailoring it to the business needs. The company claims that organizations can build custom apps using Skuid ten times faster.
Skuid’s visual designer makes development “drag and drop”
In addition to its component library and composer, Skuid has a visual tool called Design System Studio, which allows organizations to build an entire design system without writing a single line of code. With one click, the design system can be applied across all apps. The point of the design system is to make every app within an organization look consistent and tailored to the users.
These features – data connectors, components and design systems – drive app agility. That is, the ability to continuously design, create, and deliver impactful human-centered business apps and experiences, said McElrath.
“App agility is the secret to business agility. Everything is being digitized right now. If you have to crank out 30 different apps and 90 different prototypes before you decide on the one you want, you’re really restricted as a company as you go on this digital acceleration journey,” McElrath added.
Use case: Baker Hughes customized Salesforce with Skuid
Baker Hughes is a longtime Skuid user that struggled with Salesforce adoption in the past. The industrial service company considered ripping and replacing Salesforce with a new customer relationship management (CRM) system, but quickly realized the transition would be too expensive. Skuid helped Baker Hughes customize its Salesforce user experience, driving CRM adoption to over 90 percent.
“We started with the user and worked backwards, instead of starting with the database and moving forwards. As a result, Baker Hughes solved their data quality problem,” said McElrath. “They also solved their collaboration problem and found new opportunities to grow deals as a result.”
What’s next for Skuid is renewed emphasis on making app development faster and cheaper. Skuid is exploring problematic areas that could potentially slow down business processes.
In the last couple releases, Skuid also added new capabilities that enhance the table component, with the goal of making business apps more competitive with offline spreadsheets. In upcoming releases, the company will continue to build on that with table navigation and actions that make tables even better for power users.
This is one example of Skuid focusing “the user experience around the needs of the individual,” said McElrath. This requires not only having a personalization framework to create the user experience – which Skuid provides – but starting and ending with a human-centered design approach.
Skuid offers the best of both worlds McElrath claimed. “You get rock solid core technology on the back end and you get modern user experiences that are personalized around the needs of your users.”