TU5.9 - What's new in the AppSheet world? A chat with AppSheet Engineering Lead Mike Procopio

Audio only (podcast)

Key Moments:

0:05 Introduction & AppSheet's Rise

This chapter introduces the hosts, Martin and Charles, and their guest, Mike Procopio, an Engineering Lead at AppSheet. They discuss the growing popularity of AppSheet and the increasing interest in no-code application development.


1:06 The Power of AppSheet & Citizen Development

The conversation explores how AppSheet empowers users of all technical levels to build applications and automate workflows. Mike emphasizes the value of citizen development and how AppSheet enables individuals closest to the problems to create solutions.


4:04 Mike's Journey: From Drive to AppSheet

Mike shares his career journey at Google, starting with his work on Google Drive, where he witnessed the early days of cloud-based file systems and real-time collaboration. He explains his passion for developer tools and how it led him to AppSheet.


7:27 The Transition to AppSheet & Its Unique Culture

Mike delves deeper into his transition from Drive to AppSheet, highlighting his desire to return to a more hands-on engineering role. He praises AppSheet's start-up like culture and its ability to integrate within Google while maintaining its agility.


10:34 Mike's Contributions to AppSheet & Workspace Integrations

This chapter focuses on Mike's specific contributions to AppSheet, such as the integration with Google Workspace tools like Sheets, Drive, Chat, and Gmail. He emphasizes the importance of reducing barriers to entry and empowering users through seamless integrations.


19:07 Understanding AppSheet: Target Users and Use Cases

Mike explains what AppSheet is and who it's for. He emphasizes its ability to help individuals and businesses automate processes, even those that are informal or undocumented. He also discusses how AppSheet caters to both small businesses and large organizations with governance needs.


26:12 Governance and Monitoring: Empowering Responsible Citizen Development

This chapter delves into the crucial topic of governance and monitoring in AppSheet. Mike shares advice for organizations looking to embrace citizen development while maintaining control and oversight. He introduces the new AppSheet Admin Console and its features for monitoring app usage and implementing policies.


30:32 - Demo: AppSheet Admin Console

Mike showcases the new AppSheet admin console, highlighting its features for monitoring app usage, managing licenses, and implementing policies for governing app behavior. He emphasizes the console's role in providing transparency and control for administrators.


36:42 Meeting Users Where They Are & The Future of AppSheet with AI

The conversation explores AppSheet's vision of "meeting users where they are" through contextual integrations and automation. Mike showcases the newly launched "Create an App with Gemini" feature, which utilizes generative AI to build applications from text prompts. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the future of AppSheet and its commitment to innovation.


52:56 - Demo: AppSheet's AI Integration with Gemini

Mike demonstrates the newly launched AI integration with Gemini, allowing users to create AppSheet applications using text prompts. He showcases the ability to generate app structures, tables, and data based on natural language descriptions, providing a powerful starting point for app development. 


Show Notes

Broadcast Date: 01 May 2024

In this episode, we will welcome Engineering Lead Mike Procopio from the Google AppSheet team. Mike has in-depth knowledge of Google Workspace, you can thank Mike for simpler file upload in Google Drive launched in 2011.

As part of the session we will be asking Mike about implementing lightweight governance strategies using AppSheet policies, ensuring security and control while enabling creativity and fostering a thriving citizen development culture.

We’ll also take a look at some of the new features that are coming soon to AppSheet, including a new admin console which will be available to Core and Enterprise customers for monitoring app usage, manage user roles, and refine governance policies, as well as AppSheet’s new Google Forms integration which will soon be in public preview.

Finally, and not least, we will explore how you can harness the power of AI in AppSheet, looking at the latest AI features, including AI-assisted app creation and the “extract” capability with Gemini, to streamline development and enhance functionality.

Episode Links

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