In 1975, The Outlaws released their debut album, best known for the hit, “There Goes Another Love Song.” When we first started talking about the business intelligence (BI) product we wanted to bring to market, I felt like people had a similar refrain running through their heads. They silently hummed, “There goes another startup BI company.” That’s true, in a way. We are another startup BI company, but we set out to build a better solution than the others.
As we've been working on our beta launch, we've gotten affirmation from Gartner BI analyst briefings and from our current and new clients' reactions to what we're building. So, in answer to the question, we think it's time for some improvements. Here are some of the key capabilities we've built into our solution:
- An AutoSQL generator that enables business users to explore analyst-defined datasets without having to go back to the BI team every time they have another question.
- A data modeling language that connects directly to your data warehousing functionality to allow you to talk directly to the database.
- Git-based version control – with bipp you can commit and automatically merge changes right from your browser.
But thinking we know the answer and knowing it are two very different things, so we partnered with Ascend2 to survey data analysts and executives, and here's what they told us they would put into their ideal BI solution:
- 90% of data analysts say their ideal BI solution would include a data modeling language that lets them create reusable data models.
- 88% say it should use Git-based version control to record changes to files, allow them to review history, and facilitate team collaboration.
- 41% of data analysts say data security is a major challenge of their BI platform and 22% say it's the BIGGEST challenge. (Spoiler: Your exec is way more concerned with the security of your data than you think; 55% say it's the biggest BI challenge.)
- SQL Power Users said the three most desirable SQL editor features are the ability to open multiple databases simultaneously, the ability to save and share queries, and the ability to automate chart generation.
The results of the survey clearly show that there is a need for tools that can bridge the concerns of data analysts and executives – one that is secure provides high-quality visualizations and provides analytics that promote collaboration. That’s the song we’re singing.
Download The State of SQL and BI: Analyst and Executive Perspectives. This free, 19-page report covers:
- The features data analysts say are must-haves in their ideal BI platform — and the ones their execs think are important. (Understanding the exec's point of view may be your secret sauce to getting a new solution in place.)
- What automation processes are critical to SQL power users.
- The role collaboration plays in the analytical process – and how a BI platform should facilitate that.
