Google Introduces Tables, a New Work-Tracking Tool Competing with Airtable

Google's innovation workshop, Area 120, has announced the release of a new work-tracking product called Tables. The tool aims to improve task management efficiency by leveraging automation to streamline various project-related activities. Tables is designed as a direct competitor to Airtable, a prominent player in the no-code, spreadsheet-based database platform market.

Traditionally, project tracking involves handling notes and tasks across multiple documents that must be manually updated by team members. However, Tables allows users to utilize bots for functions such as rescheduling email reminders, sending messages to chat rooms when new form submissions are received, migrating tasks across different work queues, and updating tasks when their statuses change. Tables caters to a broad range of use cases, such as project management, IT operations, customer tracking and CRM, recruiting, product development, and more.

Tables' GM, Tim Gleason, shared his motivation behind the ambitious service in a statement. Gleason had experienced challenges with project tracking throughout his decade-long career at Google. He further elaborated that using various documents for tracking purposes often led to outdated information and required manual data synchronization between them. Tables, however, helps eliminate these manual processes, with the goal of reducing the time spent coordinating team members' tasks and statuses.

The new tool is fully compatible with Google's existing technology, making it an ideal choice for those committed to using Google's ecosystem, including online documents and contacts. Tables enables users to import data from Google Sheets or CSV files, share data with Google Groups, and assign tasks to people found in Google Contacts. Additionally, users can choose from a set of pre-built templates to simplify the onboarding process.

Automated actions are performed by bots, while data can be presented in various formats, including grid views, record lists, kanban boards, and maps. Forms allow data collection without granting direct access to tables, further enhancing security and control.

Prior to its public debut, Tables underwent rigorous testing with thousands of active users working on task tracking and team collaboration. Tables is among the few Area 120 projects to launch with a paid business model. The free individual plan supports up to 100 tables and 1,000 rows, while the paid version, priced at $10 per user per month, accommodates up to 1,000 tables and 10,000 rows. The paid plan also includes enhanced features such as larger attachments, additional actions, and advanced history, sharing, forms, automation, and views.

This initiative clearly aims to capitalize on the rising demand for no-code, spreadsheet-driven database platforms. Airtable, a leader in this space, recently raised $185 million in Series D funding, bringing its post-money valuation to $2.585 billion. Although Google has the advantage of offering an integrated solution rather than a standalone product, the Tables website reveals that the product can also work with Slack. Tables is currently available in the US, offering both free and paid plans.

The release of Tables aligns with the growing popularity of no-code and low-code platforms, such as AppMaster. The AppMaster platform also provides a robust and efficient no-code environment for creating web, mobile, and backend applications. With technology companies like Google joining the race, the market for no-code solutions is projected to expand rapidly.