ParaSQL Reviews (real ones!)

[ParaSQL Support]

If you are a ParaSQL customer, people would love to hear what you think!

Posting your Review to this thread will make it easy for others to find.

(To post a review, just click the Post Reply button at the top of this page.)

Thank you!

ParaSQL Support

[Joshua V]

LOVE IT!  Five stars across the board!

2 weeks ago I had only ever heard of SQL and today I am already making queries, sub-queries, and reviewing triggers!  This is beyond easy to use, beyond powerful, and beyond useful.  The support has been wonderful, they have patiently walked me through the entire process and never speak down to me.  Right now I am making a report in ParaSQL that I would have had to do in Excel a month ago, I would have had to INDEX/MATCH two or three tables, wait for it to load, hope it doesn't crash, get the relevant data, make a pivot table, and hope that the data speaks for itself, in less then 20 minutes I had the report put together, a nice chart to visualize the data, and gave control over to the end user to drill down and analyze the data.  This is the BIGGEST time saver I have ever encountered.  Many people over promise and under deliver, this service OVER DELIVERS in EVERY respect.  LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

[banne]

IT'S AN AMAZING TOOL!!!

One of my ventures is a software development company and we have around 100 developers. We love ParaSQL for several major things.

We automate our internal process and use it as a custom ERP. From a CRM stand point we collect leads from multiple outside sources, we turn them into prospects, then projects, then work orders, then once the work order is done we get a report out and then the report turns into an invoice that is sent to the client. Employees are tied to different projects and we are able to track the per project profitability and resource allocation. In the same time we track affiliates and how much each affiliate made per month across multiple referrals. It is a great tool across the board and it is custom to our needs and it costs a fraction of what off-the-shelf middle-tier ERP costs. On the other hand, we use it to prototype other bigger projects. It allows us to create DB-driven prototypes in just couple of hours and some of them actually end up being a ParaSQL-only projects while others remain using ParaSQL for that DB section.

They are very suited for building internal automation and partner facing business apps. But, ParaSQL is not perfect, its not designed for building website or public facing services even though it does have the ability to embed an app and make it public to share certain specific part of your database publicly, such as inventory data etc... They definitely have certain pieces that its missing, but I'm very happy that they listen to my needs and are trying to accommodate and add it to their roadmap and help us out. Heck, they better do, I'l writing this long testimonial, lol

 

They gave us our own dedicated server with our own root access. so we can integrate ParaSQL with just about any other system. The way we do that is by utilizing the full programability of their database triggers, stored procedures, custom functions, scheduled events (like cron jobs to run batches, etc)... which makes the back end fully programmable (variables, branching, looping) using ANSI SQL, which is pretty cool. 

One very productive tip: If you have a clever young kid on the team, have them do a screen share with the ParaSQL guys and go trough the learning curve and get trained right there so that you can do most things in-house. If you don't have the clever kid you can always learn a new tool, it is very easy to learn it.

Tell them I sent you, you may get a discount, lol!

[ParaSQL Support]

Take a look at the comments section at the bottom of this QuickBase review for a comparison of ParaSQL with QuickBase and other competing systems.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2414979,00.asp

------ COPIED FROM THE COMMENTS IN THE ABOVE LINK -----

Mike Moeller • (from late 2014)

A year ago I was looking for a cloud based database for my online marketing company. I found QuickBase to be the best solution available at the time. Before I started using QuickBase, I tried Zoho, Trackvia, Knack, & Caspio. When I did my original search, ParaSQL didn't come up in my search results. After a few months of QuickBase not having the flexibility and power that i was looking for, I did another search. This time I found ParaSQL in the results. After a couple of weeks trying it out, I closed my QuickBase account and am up and running in ParaSQL. The main reasons I switched were flexibility and power.

ParaSQL has much more flexibility in laying out screens for data input which is a very important element of a user friendly application. Many of the applications limit you to 1 or 2 columns of information in a record. ParaSQL allows complete freedom to the layout of records and sub-records. The downside to that is that the screens are not responsive to different screen sizes. The ParaSQL solution... create an optimized screed for your phone or tablet. Even the best responsive screen doesn't work well on a phone. But with ParaSQL you can create the ideal interface and have it tied to the same data tables.

The other reason I switched was the power of ParaSQL. Joining, linking, and many other fundamental database actions were all easy to do. You drag and drop to establish joins and to create sub-forms. There are also event buttons and HTML buttons that allow you to automate many routine tasks.

ParaSQL uses database standard terms for tables, fields, records, reports, joins and most of the other terminology. Some of the companies try to rename things thinking it will make it easier for a non database programmer to understand. But it is more confusing. But ParaSQL also makes it easy for a non programmer because you don't have to write any code to build a very comprehensive application. But if you have some programming ability you can use javascript to accomplish even more.

There are still things that ParaSQL needs to add to strengthen the power of their product, but they are very responsive to things that improve their product and have implemented many of them over the last few months.

ParaSQL is new to the cloud database market, but has learned from any of the established companies and created a product that outperforms them all.

[Laura Grimes]

A very small non-profit in my area needed help in creating an application to capture information about their clientele.  Their current solution resides on a single individual's desktop.  They lacked the ability to have multiple data entry volunteers.  Data (yes, there was personal information) was being passed around on a flash drive.  

As a database architect, I know a lot about database structures but absolutely nothing about Java or creating user interfaces.   I spent weeks trying to find a solution that provided flexibility.  I needed something that was budget friendly because every dollar spent for technology means that those dollars aren't being spent on food and clothing for those in need.  The ParaSQL solution gave me the tools I needed to create a robust cost efficient secure user interface AND support all of the reporting needs.  I liked that the trial version provided enough functionality that I could create a quick Proof of Concept.  The non-profit was thrilled at the functionality. 

The ParaSQL support group has been extremely efficient in responding to my questions and providing guidance as needed.  I definitely recommend this solution!

[ParaSQL Support]

Mini Q&A with Paul Cowan, CEO of ProPiercing Inc. [posted with permission of interviewee]

                            

ProPiercing is a multi-channel e-commerce retailer of body jewelry, fashion accessories & fine jewelry founded in 2002.

Their database has hundreds of tables and millions of rows of data and is automatically refreshed from external databases several times per day.

 

What kinds of business problems have you been able to solve with ParaSQL?

 

"ParaSQL has allowed us to build custom user interfaces to interact with our data in a number of ways, and automate processes that used to be labor intensive and error prone. Examples include a purchasing application to automate inventory restocking, and reporting tools to assess product sales by supplier or product line.

 

How did you manage the process prior to using ParaSQL? 

 

"Previously our restocking was done via spreadsheets in excel. We had to export sales data from various sources, and manually compile purchase orders. This was very time consuming.

  

"ParaSQL eliminated all of the labor involved in this process. We are able to generate a Purchase Order by clicking a button in our app. We are able to define rules on when to restock at the SKU level. The result has been fewer errors, less labor, and better results.

 

What has it been like working with ParaSQL?

 

"Working with ParaSQL has been a liberating experience. We feel that we have an inexpensive means of building effective, scalable solutions for our business. Unbelievably fast turnaround time and level of commitment to our account. We have been very impressed.

 

How have you found things like reliability and uptime?

 

"Perfect. We have had no issues.

 

Would you recommend ParaSQL to other ecommerce businesses?

 

"I think ParaSQL is a powerful tool that can be used in many ways by all types of businesses. The possibilities are really endless. If you use excel to do anything manually, ParaSQL will change everything.

 

Thank you Paul.

[Curtis]

ParaSQL has been a huge asset for our company. Our company had been using Google Sheets and Excel to accomplish our reporting. The reporting worked as it should, however sheets wasn't built for heavy sheets linking and querying the data. Which caused constant maintenance on my end to keep everything up and running.  

I was given the task of better reporting and knew SQL was the answer but which direction should I go? The answer came while reading a Google Forum which mentioned ParaSQL. They had a risk free trial and after watching their tutorials on their site, I knew this was the answer.

After the trial period I was able to convince our executives we needed this ASAP.  We went with the dedicated server route to be able to have the custom functions and control over our server.  We have a very odd data set on a daily basis and how we wanted to use ParaSQL was new to them. They embraced our business and every time I had a question or request it was answered quickly. Our requests/questions have not been easy one so it usually required thinking and problem solving on their part. 

With ParaSQL your data is easily visible within hours if not minutes.  We have been able to operate our business across the country with more pinpoint accuracy on financial decisions since being able to visualize the data and manipulate it quickly.

[Alistair Kelman]

This is a really great easy to use application - with wonderful support.

OK - where to begin? I am a lawyer by training with a bit of experience in developing automated templates to eliminate the need for lay people to employ lawyers (See Epoq.co.uk where I was Head of Content for many years) . I am not a database guru and I needed a to make a "proof of concept" database to illustrate the operation of my granted patent in protecting children from viewing inappropriate content on the web. Searching with Google I quickly realised that I needed something like an SQL engine which could work seamlessly with Google Apps - my chosen web tool.

I set up an account and deployed the App. Spent about 30 minutes viewing the video tutorials. (https://www.parasql.com/about/videos.jsp )

Then it was easy. I created an App based on their  Samples Orders App template. Worked through this, viewing the examples in the videos and seeing what the template had done. Created my own content. And then I got stuck ...

The problem was that the package had been developed since the videos has been produced. I wanted to link to YouTube videos and couldn't work out the right syntax. Bugger !

So I emailed Robert Dyers saying "Help" and gave him Administrator access to my account. Within just a few hours he had looked at what I had done and told me that that I needed to use the "embed" term in the HTML widget to put a video within my database. Minutes later I had an All Singing, All Dancing 100% working "proof of concept" product. Just right for my funding meeting this week with a multi-billion pound company.

Alistair KELMAN

CEO and Founder of Cachebox TV Limited

Cachebox TV Limited

A Safe Harbour for On-Demand TV and Video

http://www.cachebox.co.uk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cachebox_TV

[Wayne TLC]

We are a small biotech company (less than 10 people), most of our activities are in R&D and we do not have a dedicated IT staff.  I myself have some experience in MS Access, but MS Access does not serve multiple users simultaneously in our internal network.  And I prefer to have web access, which requires SharePoint for MS Access.   I found ParaSQL by google search and took the advantage of their free trial offering.  After the trial, I decided to sign up for their SMB. We have a designated consultant (Robert Dyas) who helps us for the initial setup and regular maintenance.  Rob's response is fast, mostly within 24 hours, it feels like he is our in house staff.  ParaSQL's front end interface is very easy to use, which allows me to do low-level tweaking myself to save time and cost.  When I require more complicated programming, Rob can always provide the solution promptly.  In summary, ParaSQL provides a perfect solution for us.

Wayne Liao, Ph.D.

Director, US Operation

TLC Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

[henke...@gmail.com]

FIVE STARS!!!!

I came across parasql after searching around to find a tool that will store around 250k rows of data.  More importantly I wanted it user friendly and easy for Medical Sales and Marketing team to navigate and find what they are looking for.   This tool exceeded my expectation and continues to do so. 

1. Customer Support is excellent. Even for items not currently supported, the representative was very good understanding what we are looking for and delivering exactly how we want it.  A+

2. The tool is very easy to use.  The same is little scary at first, was trying to see if I needed to get a good SQL book.  But not even needed.  Anyone can do it.  The video tutorials are the best.  Spend the time to go through them.

3. Once the data is in the query/filtering etc is super easy.  In addition, the capability to create charts/ maps/reports is very easy.

4. Love I can customize the user access by role.

Strongly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a quick way to create a database application.  

[Kim Sokil]

As a transportation company - finding appropriate software for a medium size company was an extremely difficult task. After months of searching I could not find what we needed in the price range we could afford.  We decided to write our own applications - and started the search for an application development tool.

With little time to learn a new tool, limited developers and no requirements - this became a situation I had seen before.  A recipe for a disastrous implementation.

When I found ParaSQL - I knew that we could put out a top notch application, quickly and within our budget.  The learning curve was manageable, development and testing was quick, and we could work through requirements using a proto-type approach.  

Users were amazed at how fast we got applications working.

ParaSQL support has been incredible - helped us get through the learning curve and always answered my emails and calls.

The updates always include some new feature, and we look forward to expanding our applications to include them.

As we move forward with our application and technology roll-outs we will start to integrate with other applications - like Electronic Driver Logs, ParaSQL will be part of our solutions.

Some of the key features we like when developing is the ability to link files together (parent - child relationships), creating buttons, drag and drop reports, free format screen layout, triggers, multiple development languages (Java, SQL...), testing, and lots more.

We have found the up-time and stability where it needs to be - backed by the Google infrastructure.  

We no longer have to think or purchasing hardware, networking or special software to build and maintain our applications.