At what point do I need a database?
Most businesses start asking, “At what point do I need a database?” when they’ve been tracking customers in spreadsheets, but now it’s getting messy and slow. As your business grows, how you store and manage data becomes a major contributor to efficiency and decision-making. When spreadsheets aren’t working anymore, that’s basically when you need a database.
When you need a database
A database is a system designed to store, organise and retrieve information efficiently. It’s made for hundreds and thousands of rows of information and helps your business to scale and make better-informed decisions. Spreadsheets are fine if you’re in the early stages with a few customers and a small number of products, and when only one or two people need to access your data. But if your volumes are getting hard to manage, you’re ending up with multiple versions of files and missing or duplicated entries, long loading times or computer errors where files are constantly ‘locked’ or overwritten; it’s time. Also, think about time. If you can’t find information easily or searching and filtering are taking too long, this is costing you human capital. You shouldn’t be dealing with reports and dashboards that require that much manual effort.
Why a database is better
A database centralises your data so everyone works from one reliable source. This improves speed and accuracy by removing version confusion and disconnected info. A database supports growth because it can handle thousands of records effortlessly. This allows you to make use of automations and advanced analytics. It also allows for an easy integration with dashboards, CRMs and e-commerce tools. The last benefit, and perhaps the most overlooked, is that a database protects your information. Databases offer backups, permission restrictions and more advanced security.
How to choose the right database
For most businesses, you’ll want a cloud database. These are managed for you, like Airtable or full suites like AWS or Azure. Depending on your business, you could skip the middleman and use a business platform like HubSpot or Salesforce. They use databases behind the scenes to enable practical functions like email & sales automation. And if nothing else will fit, you can work with a database development agency like Wirebox to create something totally custom.
Planning the transition to a database
Don’t wait too long to make the switch. If you’re having issues now, they will only get more costly to fix later. And when you’re ready to move to a database, it’s best to follow this process:
- Identify what data you need to track long-term
- Choose a system that fits your current needs but can grow with you
- Migrate gradually, moving one thing at a time and testing
- Show your team how to use it effectively
- Listen if they say something’s not working
When you finish your migration, you’ll feel a massive sense of relief. Managing, sharing and analysing data won’t be a burden anymore, and you can use more of your time for more critical tasks like growing your business.
If you’re ready to get out of your own way data-wise, get in touch today. We’ll help you understand what database is right for your business and build for scale.
