People, Product, and Progress: The Pulse of Countly's 2023

This year, our fully remote team turned every corner of the world into an office.

Zoom calls? More like daily digital adventures, where we navigated projects in our home-office havens (extra points for the coolest virtual backgrounds and accidentally matching outfits).

Coffee catch-ups took a global twist, with us sipping our favorite brews in different time zones – talk about a 24/7 café vibe!

We welcomed many new Countliers to our family, each one dialing in from exciting new locations, bringing diverse flavors to Countly.

And the code, oh the glorious code! We crafted hundreds of lines to polish your favorite product analytics tool.  

As 2023 rolls to a close, we're high-fiving across time zones, celebrating a year of incredible remote synergy.

The People, aka. Countliers: The Heart of Countly

As we reflect on 2023, let's celebrate this collective spirit that continually inspires our mission and shapes our vision.

• A Parade of New Faces: What a ride it's been with 14 sparkling new Countliers joining the family! Each one brings their own splash of color and zest, making our team more diverse than ever.
• Stories from the Heart: Our very Countliers, along with our CEO, turned into storytellers, weaving passionate tales about our journey in the product analytics realm. It's not just writing; it's sharing pieces of our soul, making our work an open book of inspiration and dreams.

Dive into 'The Product Led Story' by Onur, our CEO at Countly. Discover the vision and drive that propels our product forward. Read Onur's Insights.

Delve into "Rediscovering the Human Essence in Design" by Antonin Kus, Head of Design at Countly. His article challenges the norms of data-driven design and champions intuition. Read His Insights.

• Discord: Our Cozy Digital Campfire: Our Discord community is blooming like a wildflower meadow, almost hitting the 300 mark! It's our go-to spot for curious minds to mingle, ask questions, and share insights. Join the community here.
• Izmir Adventures: Jetting off to our new Izmir office was like diving into a treasure chest of new experiences. Some of us connected not just through Slack and Zoom calls, but over heartwarming dinners and the clink of Turkish raki glasses.
• Survey Says: Joy!: Our annual people survey sparkled with a 4.5/5 happiness score – a high-five moment for our HR and head of remote stars! It's not just a number; it's the echo of our laughter, the warmth of our teamwork, and the comfort of being where we truly belong.
• Dress to Express: Oh, and let's talk about the latest fashion hit – our new company shirt! It's a stylish blend of green and white, sporting the Countly footprint. It's more than just apparel; it's our team spirit woven into fabric, a badge of our shared journey.

The Product: Countly's Blueprint of Innovation

Announcing Countly Flex: Bridging the Analytics Gap

2023 brings the strategic launch of Countly Flex, adeptly filling the gap between our Lite and Enterprise editions. Tailored for mid-sized businesses, growing startups, tech-savvy SMEs, agile organizations, enterprises seeking pilot solutions, and innovators, Flex offers the perfect mix of power, scalability, and customization. It's designed for those needing more than Lite but not ready for full Enterprise features.

As Countly continues evolving Flex, we're committed to delivering adaptable, future-ready analytics solutions for a diverse and dynamic market.

Become an early user of Countly Flex by signing up here.

Major Product Releases

Countly version 23.03

The 23.03 release includes the following updates

• "Begins with" Operator: Introducing a new operator that allows the construction of queries with a "begins with" filter on string properties, enhancing features like Drill, Cohorts, Funnels, Formulas, and Flows. This operator offers a performance-friendly alternative to the "contains" operator.
• New Array Type for Properties: Implementation of a new "array" type for custom user properties and event segments.
• Dynamic Date Filters: A new "in the last" filter for date type properties, applicable across Cohorts, Drill, Funnels, Formulas, and Flows.
• Expiring User Properties: The ability to expire (unset) user properties after a session or a set time period.
• Enhanced Survey Query Experience: Improved query functionality for Surveys/NPS, displaying widget, question names, and values in a user-friendly format.
• Data Manager Enhancements: Enhanced display of property values in Data Manager for Array, List, Big List properties to better monitor data health.
• Improved Feature Management: Rapid enabling/disabling of features directly from the Management section for an improved feature (plugin) management experience.
• New Note Widget in Dashboards: Introduction of a Note widget with a WYSIWYG editor for rich content creation in Dashboards.
• Graph Annotations UI: Addition of graph annotations, including public, private, and shared notes, applicable to all time series graphs across the user interface.
• Cohort Filtering Enhancements: Enhanced differentiation between user-created Cohorts, favorites, and all Cohorts during filtering processes across the user interface.
• Revenue Data Visualization: Introduction of a number visualization type specifically for Revenue data in Dashboards.
• Updated Settings Search in Management: A new and improved search experience in the Management > Settings section.
• Country Logging Control Setting: A new setting to enable or disable the logging of country information of application users, allowing control over the saving of city and country information.
• Persistent Column Order in Tables: The setting of persistent column order across all tables in the user interface for consistency.
• Survey Review Screen: A new survey review screen to thoroughly review all details of surveys before their launch.

Countly Version 23.06

The 23.06 release includes the following updates

Key New Features

• Dashboards Enhancement: Introduction of a new time series type specifically designed for the Technology section and inclusion of SDK statistics widgets for more detailed analytics.‍
• Events Module Upgrade: Enhancement of the Events feature with capabilities for comparing events based on average duration, along with improved search functionality within available segments and visibility of previously omitted segments.‍
• Push Notifications Revamp: A comprehensive update to the push notification system, featuring a new structure and a variety of types to cater to diverse communication needs.‍
• SDK Improvements: Significant advancements in the SDK with the addition of remote configuration options and enriched SDK statistics for better tracking and management.‍
• User Management Optimization: Enhanced user management functionalities, including the ability to clear failed login attempts and search for specific feature permissions efficiently.

Principal Enterprise New Features

• A/B Testing Advancements: Major improvements to A/B testing, such as allowing customer period running tests for indefinite durations, resetting experiments easily, and introducing new APIs for managing test variants more effectively.‍
• Drill and Data Management: Significant enhancements to the Drill feature, including a new meta structure and the ability to add drill options to Events, coupled with a reorganization of data manager permissions for more efficient data handling.‍
• User and Survey Tools: Introduction of new tools for downloading user debug information and enabling logs for individual user data, along with the addition of diverse logo options and a 'show always' feature for surveys.

Important Fixes and Enhancements

• Database and Crash Management: Optimizations in database management to reduce error display timeouts and improvements in handling large crash group documents.‍
• Enterprise-Specific Fixes: A set of targeted fixes for enterprise features including improvements in A/B testing interfaces, resolution of Safari redirect issues in attribution, enhancements in crash symbolication processes, and updates to the Drill feature for more accurate data representation.

Countly version 23.11

The 23.11 release includes the following updates

• Effortless onboarding in every way: The intuitive in-UI Countly Guides and streamlined onboarding process make discovering Countly straightforward and enjoyable. These guides, offering quick and helpful insights, simplify the learning journey. The enhanced onboarding experience, integrated with the Data Populator, allows new users to quickly immerse themselves in visualizations and reports for a smooth initiation into Countly.
• Advanced A/B Testing tools: The latest enhancements in our A/B Testing tools push the boundaries of testing strategy. Features include an opt-out API, precise variant selection, detailed variant retrieval, customizable test durations, and a convenient reset function for all A/B testing data.
• Built-in SDK Management: The new SDK Manager provides a comprehensive view of SDK versions, request, and health data, while our remote SDK configuration offers unparalleled control and customization.
• App version adoption visualization: Our new visualization tool offers insights into app update rollouts, helping to strategize and maintain a competitive edge.
• Unified visual settings for feedback widgets: The new visual settings ensure brand consistency across all feedback tools, maintaining your brand’s style and coherence with a professional look.
• Efficient querying with Drill snapshots: The Drill view experience is now smoother with intelligent caching of data in Drill snapshots, which enhances consistency and efficiency in data analysis.
• Enhanced Cohort analysis with OR operator: The improved support for an OR operator in user properties in Cohort analysis offers more flexibility and depth, facilitating the building of powerful behavioral cohorts.

These releases focus on enhancing user experience, streamlining data management, and providing more robust and flexible tools for analytics and user engagement.

The Progress: A Decade of Countly, a New office, and Much More!

This year marks not just a reflection on our past achievements but also an exciting new chapter with several key developments

• One Decade of Countly: It's been an incredible journey of innovation and growth over the past ten years. Countly has consistently pushed the boundaries in analytics, and we are proud to commemorate this decade-long journey of remote work and success.
• New Office in Izmir: In line with our expansion and growth we are thrilled to announce the opening of our new office in Izmir- as mentioned above. This move signifies our commitment to growing our global footprint and enhancing our capabilities to serve our clients better, all while have a “home” to gather at.
• Homepage Revamp and Blog Engagement: We have recently revamped our homepage, showcasing our dedication to continuous improvement and elaborate design skills. Alongside, we maintain active communication through our blog, which covers a diverse range of analytics-related topics. From discussing the business impact of product analytics to delving into the technicalities of engineering, our blog is a valuable resource for all industry enthusiasts.
• Launch of Countly Flex: Yes, Countly Flex launch is more than a product update to us. It’s a significant shift in perspective, and a challenge we’re surely up for!  As mentioned earlier, this new product is designed to meet the ever-changing and growing analytics needs of SaaS. Flex journey has only started, and we’re excited to uncover what 2024 has in store for us.

As the author of this article and a member of the Countly team for over a year, my experience has been richly diverse. I've witnessed firsthand the company's resilience through its highs and lows, product evolutions, and team-building activities that make our remote work environment vibrant and nurturing. The attention to detail and unwavering commitment to making every team member feel valued and appreciated truly stand out.

Our countless Zoom calls and Slack conversations have not only strengthened our team's bond but also deepened our sense of belonging.

Using Countly for our internal analytics has been enlightening, affirming our commitment to the products we create. As a Marketing specialist, having confidence in the products I represent is crucial. With Countly, this confidence extends beyond its functionality as a tool; it encompasses a deep appreciation and respect for the human dimension of the company. To say that I have confidence in Countly is to do more than just endorse its technical excellence; it's to recognize and value the company's ethos and the incredible team behind it.

With that being said, we’re looking forward to see what 2024 has in store for us!