Data tools need to change, including ours

A year in review

2021 has been a pretty remarkable year for many of us. For some it has been a time of challenge or sadness, others perhaps it has been rewarding. At Count, 2021 has been all of these things, but above all else, I would describe it as formative.

Our mission at Count is to rethink the way we work with data, to push the bounds of technology to make data more actionable and integrated into how we work. We kicked off this year by launching our first solution towards this goal – the SQL notebook.

We've always riled against the dominance of dashboards as the primary way data is consumed in organizations, and the notebook is a way to enable a more nuanced, contextualized, and shared understanding of data.

Dozens of companies are now using Count notebooks not just to create contextualized analysis, but as a piece of a larger goal to make their teams and organizations more data-driven. We've been truly humbled to play even a small part in those journeys.

It's from these teams that we learned an enormous amount about how data can supercharge the way we work. It's also how I've come to realize how far off the ideal data tools, including our own, are in truly enabling this.

The next challenge

Our thesis for starting Count is that most data tools are optimized to create insights rather than supporting actions and decision-making.

Our goal in 2022 is to focus both on the methodologies and the software that will change how teams think about data, wrestle with numbers, and ultimately, act with confidence.

While we're keeping our solution under wraps, for now, we can tell you that it's founded upon three goals:

1. Elevate the role of the analyst from chart monkey to decision facilitator.
2. Build the most creative and flexible analytics tool in the world.
3. Enable an end-to-end collaborative experience that currently does not exist.

To do this, we're running a private beta program, and we're looking for data leaders, analysts, enthusiasts who are forward-thinking and looking to shake up the way they use data in their teams. If that sounds like you sign-up for the private beta below.

If you're an existing Count notebook user, not to worry, your account will stay active and you can use the tool as you do today. But, we'd love to invite you to join the beta too!

I recognize in some ways this might seem like an odd thing to do. We already have a product our users love and the company has a bright future ahead of it. But I can't shake the feeling that there is still a better answer at our fingertips and I'd rather go after that now than wait until this sort of change is harder to make.

We'll keep sharing our progress and thinking along this journey in our blog over the course of the next year, and we hope you'll be there with us!