What makes Astrato different?

Astrato is a no-code, Cloud-native, Business Intelligence tool for building powerful data visualizations and custom, interactive web-based data applications. But who is it for? In this blog, we will highlight what makes Astrato different, and who can benefit from using it.

Who is Astrato for?

Astrato is for any organization looking to get the most out of its Cloud-based data. Whether they use Snowflake, Dremio, Amazon Redshift, Big Query, or PostgreSQL, Astrato can surface actionable insights through advanced analytics and its Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration. The intuitive user interface makes it accessible to business users, encouraging both data-driven business decisions and user engagement throughout an organization.

Here’s an overview of how Astrato compares to some of the legacy BI platforms:

Astrato vs Power BI

Astrato vs Tableau

Astrato vs Looker

That’s an overview of how Astrato measures up against other BI platforms. Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the key features that sets Astrato apart:

Feature 1: Direct query

What is it?

Direct query allows users to retrieve data from the source and present it, be it in an app or a dashboard. But every BI platform has some kind of direct query. So what makes Astrato’s different?

The value

Standard direct query features work fine until the existing data model isn’t suitable for the business question that has been asked. At this point, the data engineering team has to curate a new model, compromising data access.

One workaround is employing clever Machine Learning (ML) models, built in platforms like Snowflake’s Snowpark. This can be an effective solution, but it means business users have to ask data scientists to continually run scripts with new inputs. The time to insight is extended and it also presents data access issues.

Astrato is different: it generates queries to create virtual data models, connecting tables, creating new calculations and incorporating a semantic layer to label dimensions and measures in plain english. The original data isn’t moved or edited. The query creates a virtual copy which the script then uses. This is all done without the user having to write a single line of code, meaning less strain on data engineers and faster time to insights for the business.

Feature 2: Actions

What is it?

Actions are interaction and time driven functions, filters, writeback, and automations which enable the use of end-to-end data products. The value is more precise analytics-driven BI and customized interactions based on events, as well as offering traditional guided analytics use cases.

These advanced analyses use historical data to make forecasts, recommendations for action, and more sophisticated visualizations. Advanced analytics adds value by offering greater functionality to an organization’s data assets. More specifically, it can add detailed insight into more complex business questions.

The value

So where does Astrato Actions add value? A user wanting to ask a new business question via conventional BI platforms would have to ask a data analyst to alter the program. Actions uses the existing program to make a new query of the data.

So business users can benefit from advanced analytics without consulting a data scientist. The intuitive drag and drop interface makes Actions even more accessible.

Feature 3: AI Insights

What is it?

The Astrato AI Insights feature produces AI-generated data analysis and data visualization. The insights are the product of advanced analytics, generated through Astrato’s integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

 

The value

The addition of Astrato Insights makes data analysis and visualization even more accessible. Business users can reveal trends, detect anomalies, generate forecasts, conduct causality analysis, and offer recommendations in just one click. This not only reduces the burden on dedicated analytics teams but allows business users to use their specific knowledge to interrogate the data. The insights can then be shared directly from Astrato, either via email or Slack, encouraging organizations to be more data-driven and facilitating collaboration.

What’s next from Astrato?

For Q3, the Astrato team is working on adding Databricks as a new supported data connection. We’re also building on our AI integration, adding a copilot – an AI-powered assistant – for defining measures and dimensions through natural language. Users will also be able to design their dashboards using manual data to create mockups, encouraging a design-first approach. These are just a handful of the things you can expect from Astrato for the rest of the year.

Ready to make Astrato your Cloud native BI platform? Book a demo with one of our product experts here. You can also follow us on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest news from Astrato.