Alteryx Adds In-Database Blending

The latest release of an analytics platform combines data “blending” with predictive analytics tools intended to help combine large datasets with databases rather than just subsets of data.

Alteryx Inc. said Thursday (January 15) its Analytics 9.5 release aims to allow data analysts to progress beyond spreadsheets by leveraging in-database blending tools to draw insights from large datasets in Microsoft and Oracle databases.

The company claims its approach is “faster than hand crafting code, even when taking advantage of an entire database.”

The latest release aims to replace traditional SQL coding that is complex and time-consuming. That, Alteryx claims, will reduce processing time for users of Microsoft and Oracle databases.

The 9.5 release also includes updated visualizations for Alteryx R-based predictive analytics tools. That feature, the company adds, will make it easier for analysts to share workflows or macros aimed at solving specific analytics problems.

The company cited statistics highlighting the fact that delays in creating the required datasets translate directly into missed business opportunities. Alteryx President and COO George Mathew added in a statement that in-database blending is much faster and efficient than hand crafting code. The upgraded approach also speeds performance when an entire database is used, Mathew claimed.

In October 2013, Alteryx and Revolution Analytics announced a multiyear partnership that gave Alteryx customers access to Revolution’s R-based statistical functions, including in-database functions running in Teradata data stores. Those functions could run directly from the Alteryx user interface. Alteryx has supported the open source R language in its analytics suite since early 2013.

Still, data analysts utilizing R are often forced to use static visualizations to understand how their models have performed. New visualizations in the 9.5 release are designed to make it easier to understand the results of predictive models with the goal of accelerating data analysis and decision making.

Initially, Alteryx said, visualizations for AB Analysis, Contingency, Frequency and Association tools will be available, with future support for other tools. The vendor did not specify a date.

Alteryx said its latest platform stresses the shift from spreadsheets and local databases to corporate databases and managing multi-structured datasets with Hadoop. The 9.5 release is intended to intended to help leverage very large datasets within these databases while eliminating the need for manual SQL coding.

The new in-database tools will be initially available for Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle databases, the company said.

Alteryx is also betting that there is a continuing requirement within many organizations to cope with growing amounts of data managed or stored in traditional repositories like data warehouses, analytical databases and appliances. Hence, it argues that adding in-database blending to its platform helps to combine diverse data sources while aiding data analysts in makeing sense of ever-more complex data that is broader in scope.

Alteryx said a product upgrade is available here.

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