Building Powerful Modern Solutions with Retool: A Reflective Look from Splintered Glass Solutions
At Splintered Glass Solutions, our mission has always been clear: leverage technology to deliver data-driven solutions tailored to our clients' unique needs. We thrive on creating impactful, custom-built systems that solve real problems, whether it's streamlining operations, centralizing data, or building applications that users love. Over the years, we’ve worked across diverse tech stacks, guiding organizations that operate with 15–20 disparate systems or more. And we’ve faced a familiar challenge: how to unify these ecosystems without reinventing the wheel.
This is where Retool has become indispensable to our workflow.
Why Retool Works for Our Clients—and Us
When we first came across Retool a few years ago, it felt ambitious—almost too good to be true. A platform that promised to reimagine how developers build applications? That’s a bold claim. But fast forward to today, and after delivering close to 20 Retool projects, we’re firm believers. Retool has become our agency’s secret weapon for building cost-effective, scalable, and maintainable solutions for our clients.
Here’s how we’ve seen Retool transform our work and why we think it’s such a powerful tool for modern development:
Screenshots from client custom portal
Unifying Disparate Systems with Ease
Most of our clients operate across fragmented systems—HR platforms, inventory management tools, accounting software, project trackers, and more. These silos create inefficiencies that slow businesses down.
Retool shines here. It provides a cohesive platform to centralize and connect all these systems together, either through direct integrations to databases and APIs, or by creating custom data ingestion pipelines such as forms or dynamic workflows.
For example, we can use Retool’s native PostgreSQL database to keep things simple for less complex projects while saving costs. And for larger, more demanding applications, we can pair it with a MongoDB backend, giving us the flexibility to handle diverse client needs without compromising performance.
Example of Retool Workflows
All-in-One Power: Storage, Workflows, AI, and Beyond
Retool isn’t just about app development—it’s an engine to power businesses. We leverage everything from its native storage to its visual workflow automation, enabling us to deliver robust end-to-end solutions.
The standout feature, though, is Retool’s AI-powered functionality. It’s miles ahead of anything else on the market, offering developers tools to not only speed up the development process but also to integrate any AI model directly into client applications. Whether we’re using AI for automation, analysis, or even user-facing features, Retool makes it seamless.
The ability to create both web and mobile applications within a single platform is another game-changer. With Retool, we can quickly prototype, iterate, and deliver polished apps that are accessible on any device. This agility lets us provide features that might otherwise take weeks or months to develop using traditional tools.
I’m consistently impressed by how quickly Retool ships new features we can actually use. Each monthly update gives us new tools that we immediately put into production. Retool’s relentless innovation doesn’t just keep our applications modern and competitive—it inspires us to keep pushing boundaries and delivering creative solutions.
Empowering Clients with Self-Sufficiency
One of our core principles at Splintered Glass Solutions is to empower our clients. We don’t believe in locking organizations into never-ending dependencies on us. Instead, we build solutions that clients can own and maintain themselves—long after our work is done.
Retool makes this philosophy possible. While building a React or Swift app might leave business owners completely reliant on us for updates, Retool’s intuitive interface allows us to train client teams to handle maintenance. With a bit of guidance, clients can make tweaks, implement updates, and add features—all without a full-time developer.
Some might argue this approach isn’t great for business, but for us, it builds trust and long-term relationships. Clients know we’re here to help them succeed, not to tie them down.
Real-World Applications: Success Stories Across Industries
Our partnership with Retool has enabled us to deliver transformative solutions across various industries. Here are some examples of how we've leveraged Retool to meet specific client needs:
1. TAPOS: AI-Powered Wisdom for Churches
In the ministry space, we've developed TAPOS, an AI-driven platform designed to amplify discipleship beyond Sunday sermons. TAPOS harnesses the power of AI to extract personalized, curated insights from a vast repository of Christian teachings, empowering users with wisdom exclusively from their trusted sources.
Key Features:
Content Library AI: Provides a focused, private experience with AI interactions limited to a church's content, ensuring all advice and wisdom are tailored to the community's unique voice and perspective.
Shareable Church Resources: Enables the creation of custom materials, such as prayer guides and study guides, by drawing from the church's TAPOS content.
Community Pulse Reporting: Utilizes cutting edge AI RAG analysis to understand congregational needs and engagement levels.
By integrating Retool's capabilities, we streamlined the development process, allowing for rapid prototyping and deployment of this innovative platform.
2. Real Estate: Unified Data Management and Reporting
In the real estate sector, clients often manage data across multiple systems, leading to inefficiencies and challenges in decision-making.
Our Solution:
Data Integration: Utilized Retool to connect various data sources, creating a unified database that consolidates information from different departments.
Custom Dashboards: Developed interactive dashboards that provide real-time insights into property performance, occupancy rates, and financial metrics.
Automated Reporting: Implemented automated reporting features that generate comprehensive reports for stakeholders, reducing manual effort and enhancing accuracy.
This integration resulted in significant time savings and improved data-driven decision-making for our real estate clients.
3. Oil and Gas: Automated Forecasting and Financial Analysis
The oil and gas industry demands precise forecasting and real-time financial analysis to navigate market volatility.
Our Solution:
Data Pipeline Development: Built robust data pipelines to aggregate forecast and actual data from various sources, including accounting systems.
Real-Time Dashboards: Leveraged Retool to create dashboards that display real-time field data, enabling quick assessment of operational performance.
Process Automation: Automated complex processes that previously required days of manual work, providing clients with timely insights and the ability to analyze data from
Conclusion
Looking to solve difficult technical challenges? Or drive innovation in your company?
Let’s Connect!
Have questions or want to learn more about how Splintered Glass Solutions can help your business? We’d love to hear from you!
📧 Email: preston@splinteredglass.solutions
📞 Phone: 832-465-0621
🌐 Contact Us: splinteredglass.solutions/contact
