It’s a Database. It’s a Spreadsheet. It’s Zoho DB.
Mark Hendrickson
33 comments »
Zoho is adding another weapon to its arsenal today - Zoho DB - raising its total number of online office applications to 13 (not including four additional “utilities”, or lightweight apps).
Zoho DB is meant to provide developers and database administrators with better ways to manage and digest their data. In a way, it’s like Microsoft Office Access but online and (purportedly) with more powerful features. It also combines aspects of two other Zoho products: Spreadsheets and Creator (although all three will exist as separate, soon interlinked, products intended for different purposes). Whereas Zoho Spreadsheets organizes data in Excel-like spreadsheets and Zoho Creator makes it easy to build database-driven applications, Zoho DB stores data in a database but displays that data as though they were in a spreadsheet. Still with me?
The best way to understand Zoho DB is to actually try it yourself. To start, you can create a new database or simply import an existing spreadsheet (from Zoho Spreadsheets or a desktop application like Excel). Zoho DB will convert that spreadsheet into a database. You can then interact with the data as if it were in a spreadsheet, or you can run queries on it as if it were a database. The application accepts queries in any SQL format (Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, Sybase, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Informix and ANSI SQL dialects).
Once you’re ready to analyze the data, you can take advantage of reporting and charting capabilities that the company claims are comparable to those found in high-end products like Cognos and Crystal Reports. The creation of reports and pivot tables is simplified with a drag-n-drop interface.
There’s a lot of functionality built into Zoho DB, much more than I can explain or even fully understand. Luckily, Zoho has helped us out by providing a nice video tutorial, which we have embedded below. An additional tip: if you are looking for a feature (like running SQL queries) but can’t find it, click on the arrow next to the “New” button in the application and you’ll likely find it there.
Zoho’s parent company is Adventnet, which has been around for 11 years and has never taken any outside funding. Over 150 programmers based in India develop Zoho’s products and were able to take advantage of Adventnet’s SwisSQL product line to gain database expertise (and SwisSQL’s engine to support all SQL formats within Zoho DB). Look for Zoho to add further functionality to Zoho DB, such as the ability to import and export database schemas into and out of Zoho DB.
Hi just now i saw the Demo of Zoho DB its very interesting to see.I need this tool urgently.This is very fantastic tool.Thanks to Zoho Team.
This is an invaluable tool built by Zoho. But I have to admit, I still like the classic look and feel of Excel spreadsheets.
I know of only one language/database engine strong, fast and capable enough for ALL of these feats.
I think their backend is Visual Foxpro (Microsoft).
As VFP deploys w/o any licensing, meaning unlimited database size, unlimited users, unlimited CPU’s.
VFP is a file based database, like Access but each table has it’s own file, so it’s only limit is a single table being over 2gigs in size.
VFP as a language can read and write in spreadsheet files as if they were a table, 1 line of code.
I’m deeply amazed by this product! :O
Zoho is an interesting company for sure. We are testing their CRM product (in a totally live environment, we already depend on it) and are very impressed. As of now have not paid a cent, as you don’t pay until the 4th user and even then only $12/mth. Either they cannot make money at this, and will fold, or they will start putting other online application hosts out of business.
Yes, one more app….
Why can’t they just get the ones they have to work properly ? I’ve been using them for some time and I can see they’ve done some good work, but only 80% of it. Then, instead of finishing the interface and solving bugs, they probably find it funnier to begin another app.
Once you stop playing with the apps and try working with it, you soon realize you can’t really trust it…so you stop using it.
The last mile guys, don’t forget the last mile.
@Patrice,
Actually, every one of our services gets an update every 6-8 weeks at least (some much more frequent than that). And every single one has its dedicated team. This is not to say that every app is finished, but it is to say that they are being actively improved upon. An office suite is a fairly complicated beast
Just that if you are looking at an app every day, 3 months can look like a long time, but alas laws of software development haven’t been repealed: you cannot make a product come out faster by adding more people to it!
If you do tell us what Zoho service you found frustrating, we will be happy to tell you when the next update would be.
Thanks,
Sridhar
It’s about time.
I can’t tell you how many times I have seen excel users store data in a spreadsheet!
nice forward thinking
Yeh, one more Zoho release. The adventnet juggernaut never stops. It keeps on rolling.
Very impressive. I am overwhelmed by visiting Zoho’s homepage which I did after a long time. Suddenly they are from 3-4 apps to whole suit of products. They seem to be way ahead of competition.
Nice the competion must rush now to stay on front. For the end user will be very nice to say like a spreadsheet. Regards to Zoho Team.
Thumbs up ZOHO. The interface looks very intuitive and usable (for the kind of complexity involved).
amazing stuff….impressive. Thanks Zoho
http://vidsonly.blogspot.com
I tried Zoho Notebook also. Amazing stuff. Does not seem to be a web application. Too good for taking notes (specially with the firefox plugin). Google also has a notebook product but you can’t dare to compare it with Zoho.
I’m not sold on the storing your data online…
Carmelo Lisciotto
HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO DABBLE DB?
How are the comparisons (pros & cons) to Cognos? Anyone using both?
All zoho apps are simple college projects with nice screens and colors. These are for individuals or may be for small startups. Whichever apps I tried so far, I know I am not going to use them again.
One more useless application…..I don’t care about zoho or any other lame startup trying to do the same thing on the web that Microsoft does on the desktop. There is no value… The just want to get a good buyout for their lame applications…zimbra, zoho, all of em are lame….at least they buy advertising on gigaom and teccrunch.
So Kevin went ahead and said it:
http://www.blist.com/blog/inde.....databases/
Hmm, all the power of a database, without the need to bother with any of that “referential integrity” nonsense.
What garbage. People, use spreadsheets as spreadsheets. Spreadsheets are NOT AND NEVER WILL BE DATABASES.
Lets face it. The average person isn’t qualified to design a database, write queries for that database, or really be allowed within 100 feet of a database. This is why you end up paying me WAY more money then it would’ve taken to do it properly the first time, to come in and fix your error-ridden atrocities you people call ‘databases’
(If I seem overly harsh, its cuz I just got off a FileMaker Pro *4* job. Damn people, can’t even upgrade once a DECADE?)
…. “In a way, it’s like Microsoft Office Access but online and (purportedly) with more powerful features.”
You gotta be kidding me!
Nothing is better than Access!
If you are interested in Zoho DB you should give yadashare at try. http://www.yadashare.com
I was interested to know if anyone has done some *real* work using any of the Zoho applications.
Has anyone created an important report/document/spreadsheet using Zoho for a serious assignment (and shown it to the boss)?
Many web-based Office competitors are “sexy” for tech journalism (yeah! here they come to crush Office and take over the world).
I have tried using some of these applications but had to switch to the good old MS Office to save my ass while trying to meet a deadline. Maybe I don’t know how to use such bleeding edge technologies!
#24,
I see your frustrations. I tried using these apps, and they have very basic features.They are just useless for serious work.
@14: Without search feature, I think Zoho Notebook is useless.