What's a Database?
Wondering what an online database is and how it might be helpful to you? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about online databases, from the basics to the benefits.
1. What Is Online Database
An online database allows users to create, store, and manage data in one centralized online location. Online databases are often used to manage business data such as customer data, medical information, sales data, and inventory.
Unlike traditional databases, which are stored on a local dedicated server, online databases are accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. This means that multiple users can access and work with the same data simultaneously, making collaboration and remote work easier than ever before.
2. Online Database Software
You might be wondering, what is the difference between an online database and online database software? Well, they go hand in hand.
Online database software refers to the tools and software used to create and manage online databases. These software tools provide a user-friendly interface for entering, organizing, and querying data. Online database software offers a range of features to improve data management, including data encryption, generating custom reports, data visualization, and the ability to set up automated workflows.
3. Online Database vs Online Database Application
In simplest terms, a database application is built on top of an online database and allows you to perform mission-critical tasks with your data. Here are 4 examples of database application.
The key difference between an online database and an online database application is that the former is a tool for storing and managing data, while the latter is a tool for interacting with and manipulating the data stored in the database. An online database can exist without an application built on top of it, but an online database application cannot exist without a database to store and manage the data.
4. Who uses Online Databases?
Although anyone who needs to store and manage data efficiently can benefit from online database software, here are 4 specific industries that have successfully leveraged it:
- Businesses: online database software can help businesses manage and organize their data efficiently without requiring IT expertise. It can be used for managing customer data, tracking projects, or managing inventory, among other things.
- Non-profits: non-profit organizations can use online database software to manage their donor data, volunteers, and generate funder reports.
- Researchers and academics: researchers often require highly flexible and adaptable systems to support experiments and data entry, meaning off-the-shelf software solutions aren’t a good match. Researchers use online database software to collaborate, manage, and visualize their results.
- Healthcare professionals: many healthcare professionals use HIPAA-compliant online databases to manage patient data, track medical histories, and share information securely with other healthcare professionals.
5. Benefits of an Online Database
Using an online database has many benefits, including:
- Accessibility: online databases can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, making it easy for remote teams to collaborate and work together by editing the same record simultaneously.
- Scalability: online databases can easily handle large amounts of data and can grow along with your business as it experiences change.
- Security: online databases are often more secure than traditional databases, with built-in encryption, access controls, and data safeguards in place.
- Cost-effectiveness: online databases are often more affordable than traditional databases, as they require less hardware, maintenance, and don’t require the help of a software developer to make changes.
6. How to Choose the Right Online Database
Choosing the right online database for your business can be a daunting task. Here are some factors to consider:
- Your data requirements: consider the type and amount of data you need to store and manage.
- Scalability: make sure the online database can handle your current and future data needs, including the right features (i.e. online forms, dashboards, reports).
- Security: are you required to be HIPAA or GDPR-compliant? Look for an online database provider who offers high-security solutions for managing your data.
- Cost: consider the cost of the online database, including any implementation fees, monthly fees, and maintenance costs.
7. Popular Online Database Providers
Although there are many online database providers to choose from, here are some of the most popular ones. Remember, it’s important to work with the provider that can best meet your needs.
- Kohezion: a user-friendly online database software that specializes in custom implementations. Kohezion is for high-security users who are looking for a platform with a full suite of built-in features.
- Airtable: a cloud-based database with a user-friendly interface and collaboration features.
- Zoho Creator: a low-code platform for building custom business apps with built-in database functionality.
- Google Cloud SQL: a fully-managed relational database service on the Google Cloud Platform.
8. Online Database Features & Tools
The importance of having a robust set of features with online database software cannot be overstated. Features such as online forms, data visualization, and Excel migration tools are essential for businesses to effectively manage and analyze data, without having to work with numerous third-party tools.
- The Excel migration tool is just one example of how online database software can streamline data management tasks and improve efficiency. By providing powerful tools like this, online database software solutions like Kohezion are making it easier than ever for businesses of all sizes to easily migrate data away from Excel to increase productivity, and make better-informed decisions.
- Collecting and managing data is a critical component of many businesses, but collecting data efficiently and accurately can be challenging. Kohezion’s online forms feature provides an intuitive and customizable way to create digital forms that can be accessed and filled out from anywhere, allowing you to streamline your data collection process.
- Data visualization is a critical component of any online database software solution, as it helps you identify trends, patterns, and anomalies in your data quickly and easily. Kohezion's data visualization feature allows you to turn complex data into simple and easy-to-understand visualizations, including charts, graphs, and pivot tables. With this feature, explore and analyze your data in real-time, making it easier to make informed decisions and identify opportunities for growth.
Conclusion
An online database is a powerful tool that allows you to store, organize, and retrieve data from anywhere in the world. It provides numerous benefits over traditional databases, including increased accessibility, scalability, and security.
Whether you're a business owner looking to manage customer data, or a university in need of a robust data management system, an online database can be an invaluable asset. By understanding what an online database is and how it works, you can make informed decisions about whether it's the right solution for your needs.
