Nov 6, 2019
The explosion of data generated by SaaS applications is fundamentally changing the data and analytics industry. IDC1 predicts that the collective sum of the world’s data will grow to 175 ZB by 2025. To put this in perspective, if each gigabyte in a zettabyte were a brick, we could build the Great Wall of China (made of 3,873,000,000 bricks)... 258 times!
This data volume and complexity is something we would not have envisioned just a few years ago, and it has been a driving force behind advancements in data and analytics technologies in recent years. Data is no longer isolated in a single monolithic software suite. It is spread out across multiple applications in the cloud. Modern databases are more powerful, faster and cheaper. The traditional ETL paradigm is giving way to data transformation on demand.
But it’s not just tools and technologies that have evolved. We’re also seeing a profound change in the way companies use data. The first generation of the digital and internet native workforce has an expectation to leverage data in their day to day work. Forward-looking organizations no longer see data simply as something that’s displayed on a screen to be analyzed. These companies and their workforces want data integrated into everyday business workflows.
According to Gartner2, “spending and focus on traditional query and reporting BI environments will shift dramatically to analytics integrated into business operations and digital solutions.” In other words, unlocking the full potential of data consists of broadening its use from informational to operational.
This doesn’t mean that our beloved BI dashboards will disappear. These tools are and will always be essential to inform our understanding of our business. What it does mean is that traditional BI is becoming just one of many ways to interact with data.
Today, there are already many other ways in which companies use data beyond traditional BI.
These are just some examples of companies whose use of data is not limited to reports and dashboards. They are transcending traditional BI by infusing what we call “data experiences” into day-to-day tools and workflows, using the abundance of available data for closing the gap between discovering insights and taking action.
Forrester3 writes “insights-driven businesses harness and implement digital insights strategically and at scale to drive growth and create differentiating experiences, products, and services.” This is the vision behind our next major product release. To better support the new era in data and analytics by building a platform where companies can create any number of data experiences imaginable. Looker 7 is that platform.
Looker 7 delivers new and enhanced capabilities in three key areas:
We are excited to announce this new major release of our platform and to continue furthering the vision of data experiences.
Learn more about Looker 7 or join in for our Looker 7-launch webinar with our Looker Chief Product Officer, Nick Caldwell, on November 20th.
1 IDC: Expect 175 zettabytes of data worldwide by 2025, Andy Patrizio, December 3, 2018
2 Gartner 100 Data and Analytics Predictions Through 2022, Douglas Laney, Guido De Simoni, Rick Greenwald, Cindi Howson, Ankush Jain, Valerie Logan, Alan D. Duncan, May 21, 2018
3 "Insights-Driven Businesses Set The Pace For Global Growth,” Forrester Research, Inc., December 14, 2018