EASA Software

Fig 1 - EASA transforms spreadsheets into web apps

Using EASA Web, you create custom web applications which connect to underlying spreadsheets, scripts, databases, and other EUC assets. The underlying tools (Excel, for instance) or code that define your applications no longer need to be shared: instead, you share the web application that interfaces to that tool. This means, firstly, that the end-users do not have to have any of these tools or code running on whatever device they are using. This in turn means that EASA Web applications are easily deployable more or less anywhere. It also means that the application interface does not need to be based on the technology underpinning the application: you may be interacting, ultimately, with a spreadsheet, but your interface doesn’t have to look like a spreadsheet unless you want it to. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this approach means that you can change the logic in your underlying application without having to change the user interface. In the case of a spreadsheet application, for example, this means that you can ensure that users are always employing the latest, most current version of that spreadsheet.

An illustrative example is how EASA Web transforms Excel. Excel is a program that has both the interface and logic contained within it, and can cause chaos in terms of version control, error introduction, and error propagation, not to mention lack of control of critical intellectual property, and no ability to monitor or audit its use. With EASA Web, users no longer need to have Excel running locally, they simply need a web browser to access and use the spreadsheet but cannot copy, download or change it. But EASA Web also allows other programs to be integrated with the spreadsheet, so databases, CRM, ERP and virtually any other program can now be packaged with the web app, making complex workflows usable by people who do not have to have any direct knowledge of how to operate these various software tools.

Access management, version control, audit trails, load balancing, and cloud support – among other things – are provided. You can ingest external data into your EASA Web application via web services and/or JDBC, and integration with various CRM systems (such as Salesforce) is also included.

EASA Web is, to the best of our knowledge, unique: we are aware of no other product on the market that has been designed to turn your EUC models into software applications. It combines a low-code development platform with EUC governance in a way that is both novel and effective, and meaningfully addresses the problem of shadow IT that is at the core of both of those spaces. This is the first of its advantages: if you want what it’s got, there’s nothing else like it.

Moreover, there are good reasons to care about this kind of offering. From a low-code perspective, you’ve got the ease of creating applications built around your existing models. From an EUC governance perspective, the centralised applications created by EASA Web are notable for providing both model security and model access. In fact, it is clear that securing the intellectual property in your underlying models is a fundamental part of EASA’s proposition.

At the same time, EASA Sheets provides more general spreadsheet governance, suitable for use when there are many spreadsheets that need to be centrally controlled. This fills the hole left by EASA Web’s application-based approach. Although by itself we would describe EASA Sheets as a fairly slim offering, this works to its advantage when considered alongside EASA Web.

The Bottom Line

EASA offers a unique and effective pair of products that blur the line between low-code development and EUC governance. Whether you’re having issues with shadow IT or you want to operationalise your models for more general benefit, EASA is more than worth a look.