Why We Chose Spreadsheets: The Story Behind Scoop Analytics

Scoop was formed on the basis of a very simple idea - one in eight people in the world know how to use spreadsheets. It's the most common business analysis tool globally. So why are so many technologies looking to eliminate, rather than enhance, spreadsheets?

From Spreadsheets to Sophisticated Tools

Brad started his career in spreadsheets - literally, as his first job was as a Financial Analyst at Morgan Stanley. Later, he'd build far more sophisticated tools, including leading the analytics product line at Siebel through its acquisition by Oracle, and then founding, leading, and selling Birst, the first cloud-based BI system.However, these systems were still complicated and labor-intensive for companies to use data to make strategic decisions. It took millions of dollars and years before they could realize any business value. While many, including Gartner and Forrester, considered Birst to be a revolutionary product, making sophisticated analytics accessible to a much broader audience, there were still significant numbers of teams who couldn't access business analytics.

Recognizing the Needs of Smaller Businesses

In 2017, Brad sold Birst to Infor, where he became SVP of GTM Analytics and Business Intelligence.But he still recognized that the audience for these tools was limited. Most businesses are smaller and younger. They’re not large enterprises with a big data team to build reporting for every business need. They just want to be able to leverage their data to make strategic decisions that make sense.

Reuniting the Team: Brad, Gabe, and Janet’s Vision

After leaving Infor, Brad kept in touch with his team from Birst, who had also lived firsthand the problems with the conventional data stack. Gabe Jakobson was Head of Visualization at Birst, where he saw what people could do with the product but didn’t have the time for. Janet Gehrmann, who led SMB Go-To-Market at Birst, heard hundreds of potential customers who had analytics needs but couldn’t get the resourcing from the BI team needed to implement the solution.

The Birth of a New Idea: Everyday Data-Driven Decisions

Thus began the idea for Scoop Analytics. And just like before, it was built on a new idea, which was that data-driven decisions should happen every day… for everyone. You shouldn’t have to be an engineer or rely on one just to get access and use of your data.

Rethinking Data Platforms: Leveraging Spreadsheet Simplicity

To achieve that,Brad, Gabe, and Janet needed to completely rethink how a data platform works.They began by thinking about how basically every business is doing analytics today — an idea that was born from the first job Brad had at Morgan Stanley, a tool built with spreadsheets, not SQL.

Creating a User-Friendly Solution: The Scoop Advantage

And so Scoop wasborn as the world's only data platform designed to be used by anyone. There are no areas of the platform that you can’t use. No technical setup, no need for data infrastructure. All you need is the ability to use a spreadsheet.

Embracing Simplicity for Strategic Success

With Scoop, the goal is simple yet revolutionary: to make data-driven decision-making accessible to everyone, regardless of their technical expertise. This platform empowers businesses to leverage their data effortlessly, ensuring they can make strategic decisions that drive success. As Scoop embarks on this journey to enhance how businesses use spreadsheets, it invites companies of all sizes to experience the ease and power of a platform built on the foundation of the world's most familiar tool: the spreadsheet. With Scoop, data-driven decisions are no longer a complex task but an everyday reality. Join us as we continue to transform the way businesses interact with their data, one spreadsheet at a time.

For more details, check out our press release.

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