Uber resolves issues faster with Google AppSheet and Google Apps Script

“We can replace something with AppSheet very quickly and own it. We can automate something that's been a manual process forever...There are hundreds or thousands of these kinds of opportunities all over the company.” — Sean Patterson, Senior Applications Developer, Uber

Snapshot: Uber continues to redefine the global rideshare industry with its innovative app-driven services. Discover why Uber adopted Google Workspace and how it used Google AppSheet and Google Apps Script to create an app that replaced a previous third-party user interface (UI) layer to the Google Admin console. By developing its own app to provide enhanced administrative functionality, Uber:

• Achieved an almost 98% cost reduction from Uber's previous third-party UI layer to the Google Admin console.

• Implemented automation that reduces time to resolution by more than 95%.

• By replacing the third-party console tool with an AppSheet app, the Business Technology Engineering Team streamlined user access provisioning, saving 2-24 hours per user.

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The mission and the challenge

Millions of people in 10,000 cities across 70 countries depend on Uber for rides and the delivery of food and goods. To sustain its momentum, Uber's technology teams continually improve the digital services that connect customers and drivers as well as global employees.  

Uber’s Business Technology Engineering Team is responsible for making sure that many of these internal processes at Uber go off without a hitch, especially when it comes to guaranteeing that Uber’s employees and contractors can efficiently and securely collaborate. The Business Technology Engineering Team accomplishes this objective by giving internal stakeholders impactful tools that help them achieve their goals, designing system configurations, assisting with third-party app integrations to existing tools, and developing internal automations.

The Business Technology Engineering Team is often called on to assist other teams within the company. For many years, Uber’s Service Desk Team — and, by extension, the Uber employees they support — depended on an additional Google administrator user interface (UI) layer provided by a third-party tool. The third-party console tool for administrators did save time for users, but it was expensive and the tool lacked critical capabilities like the ability to complete bulk actions. Modifying employees' Gmail accounts and more than 100,000 Google Groups involved tedious, manual effort. Additionally, onboarding new console tool users involved complex processes including Google Apps Manager (GAM) access as well as time spent learning administrative commands.

A better way to get there

To solve the challenges it had with its third-party console tool, Uber attended a Google hackathon to see if it could create its own solution using Google AppSheet, a no-code app development tool. Although AppSheet was considered a relatively new product at the time, the Business Technology Engineering Team judged it the best choice for creating a custom app to replace its third-party solution. Not only is AppSheet cost-effective but it's also integrated with Google Workspace and Google Apps Script, a powerful cloud-based scripting platform that Uber could use to develop its app's backend services. “The integration with Apps Script was key. Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish the goals we had set for the project,” says Oscar Gonzalez, senior applications developer at Uber.

In just six months, Uber's Business Technology Engineering Team developed an app that delivers the enhanced Google admin console features Uber requires. With AppSheet, the team was able to easily create the app's front end in a way that eases adoption, improves user experience, and simplifies tasks like onboarding. The team also used Apps Script connector for AppSheet to develop powerful services on the backend with real-time data synchronization processes triggered by events. Data sources include AppSheet's built-in database and Workspace apps, from Gmail to Drive.

Benefits of developing on the Google Workspace platform

By leveraging AppSheet and Apps Script to create a more useful and cost-effective replacement for the company's third-party console tool, Uber has realized significant benefits.

• 98% cost reduction
  By replacing its previous third-party UI layer to the Google Admin console with its own custom app developed with AppSheet and Apps Script, Uber achieved an almost 98% cost reduction. Today, 289 engineers and Service Desk Team members have access to the app and 65 of them actively use it every month.
  

• 95% reduction in time to resolution
  Service Desk Team members now resolve thousands of monthly job tickets 95% faster because they spend less time on manual processes. From Uber's custom app, the Service Desk Team can quickly and easily create, edit, and monitor settings for global Gmail accounts, Google Groups, and thousands of meeting rooms. They can also use automated processes to implement one or more changes in bulk — across global Workspace accounts and Google Groups.
  

• Save 2–24 hours in onboarding new users
  By eliminating the previously complex onboarding and approval process that was required to access GAM and the time spent learning administrative commands, the Business Technology Engineering Team now saves anywhere from 2–24 hours of ramp-up time per user, depending on their level of experience.

Creates more opportunities for improvement 

By adopting AppSheet, Uber now has the ability to develop new Google Workspace features and automations that improve employee experience — faster. “What would have taken us maybe a month before, now takes us a day,” says Sean Patterson, senior applications developer at Uber. 

As Gemini in AppSheet evolves, the Business Technology Engineering Team expects it will become even easier to create additional apps that have a significant impact for both internal and external customers. “I see a lot of potential, especially for teams that aren’t as technical,” says Patterson. “We can replace something with AppSheet very quickly and own it. We can automate something that's been this manual process forever. …  There are these kinds of opportunities all over the company — hundreds or thousands of these micro opportunities that exist. That's where we see AppSheet growing at Uber, both as a product and a platform.”