Background: Missing database interface for non-technical users #
Cloudvox SRL, with offices in Austria and Romania, supports companies in identifying potential for workflow automation and then implementing it. Founder Cristian Livadaru was looking for a way to present complex data in a way that users without a technical background could understand. With SeaTable, he not only found a solution to this problem, but also discovered numerous other possible applications that fundamentally changed his work.
As an IT developer, Livadaru could easily create his own data processing tools for his customers. What he lacked, however, was a user-friendly interface that would allow people without database or programming knowledge to access data quickly and easily. When he was working on a project for a client with such users, for whom direct access to the backend was not a viable alternative, it became clear that he needed a different solution to the problem.
SeaTable: convincing UI, API and on-premises version #
Cloudvox initially relied on AirTable, but switched to the alternative NocoDB after repeated price adjustments and limitations with the API. Here too, however, the API did not meet the requirements and finally, after much frustration, Livadaru came across SeaTable - and can no longer imagine working without the no-code solution.
The decision in favor of SeaTable was based on several key factors:
- An intuitive user interface
- The ability to use SQL for API queries
- On-premises variant
- Support for webhooks and scripts
- Easy integration of n8n
The implementation of the on-premises variant of SeaTable also went smoothly, or in Cristian Livadaru’s words: “SeaTable + Docker = instant love”. A decisive criterion for the one-man entrepreneur.
An indispensable all-rounder #
Today, SeaTable is used at Cloudvox in various areas, including the :
- Management of incoming invoices with automated data extraction via AI
- Monitoring periodic tasks
- Creation and management of feedback forms
- Automatic processing of XML account statements for accounting
- Rapid app prototype development for customers and iteration in combination with n8n
This versatile use brought measurable improvements. Livadaru no longer needs to worry about UI or data outputs, as he can easily edit and transform data in SeaTable at any time. This significantly reduced his own workload for programming new tools.
SeaTable saves time and increases efficiency - and is fun to use #
In addition to the pure time savings, however, it is also important for him to emphasize a qualitative aspect of working with SeaTable: “Enjoyment. There’s nothing more frustrating than having a dump of hundreds or thousands of lines on the console and having to categorize them somehow. I can now do that in SeaTable.”
His remarkable success so far: for one customer, data from the customer database had to be combined with data from two other sources and several Excel files. A task for which he used to have to program something himself. With SeaTable, however, the migration went smoothly and without a single line of extra code.
Optimized processes for Cloudvox and its customers #
Cristian Livadaru is so happy with his choice that he is now actively recruiting new SeaTable users. He also sees potential in his company and plans to build his own CRM based on one of the SeaTable templates. While he makes intensive use of scripts, SQL queries, the API and third-party integration with n8n, among others, he has not yet tested the possibilities of the Universal App Builder for his company.
In addition to optimizing and accelerating his own processes, the introduction of SeaTable also brought a decisive leap in quality in the collaboration with his customers. By using a well thought-out, stable data management tool with an understandable user interface, he was able to bridge the gap between the technical possibilities of data processing and a user-friendly presentation, thereby also advancing the digital transformation on the customer side.
TAGS: Digital Transformation Data Management & Visualisation IT Processes