See Why Data Teams Choose Holistics Over PowerBI Cloud
Holistics frees data teams from the constraints of a Microsoft-centric environment and introduces enhanced maintainability with intuitive SQL-based data modeling, analytics as-code, and git version control.
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If you’re currently using or evaluating PowerBI cloud as your BI tool - you might face the following problems:
- Heavily Microsoft-Centric: PowerBI is not compatible with non-Microsoft operating systems like Linux or MacOS, and users can’t create reports or perform data analysis without installing PowerBI on their computers.
- No Git Version Control: PowerBI’s workflow is not designed to have code checked into Git repository, making it difficult to manage changes, perform code branching, and maintain the accuracy of analytics logic.
- Steep Learning Curve: PowerBI’s DAX is powerful, but it can be challenging to learn for both technical and non-technical users which can further limit self-serve data exploration and dampen analysts’ productivity.
No Microsoft Constraint
Holistics is accessible on all devices while PowerBI is limited to Microsoft stack and requires installation for full analysis and reporting capabilities.
Version Control with Git
Analysts define data models as code, and check them into Git version control - making analytics process more maintainble and governable.
Soft Learning Curve
Everyone explores data without writing SQL. Analysts leverage Holistics's intuitive AMQL for better reusability and development productivity.
How does Holistics work?
With Holistics, data teams manage a central definition of business metrics and data logic in a code-based modeling layer.
Business users build their own reports and get accurate analytics in a curated environment, without having to learn SQL. Dashboards and data logic can also be serialized into code and checked into Git version control repository.
Why Holistics Is A Good Alternative To PowerBI Cloud: A Breakdown
| Aspect | PowerBI | Holistics |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting and Visualization | ||
| Report Creation done via | More desktop based than browser-based. You cannot create reports or do data analysis without installing PowerBI on your computer. | Cloud; 100% browser-based, works perfectly on all OS (Mac, Linux, Windows) |
| Data Sources | Desktop Spreadsheets, SQL, and a large number of application connectors. | Cloud SQL databases(s) |
| Learning Curve | Steep learning curve. Require a dedicated analyst with a proprietary PowerBI/DAX skillset. | SQL-based modeling language makes it easy for any SQL analyst to learn Holistics modeling. |
| Visualizations | A good variety of visualizations. However, the development speed is slow - essential visualizations like KPI cards or Period-over-Period comparisons are not natively available. | All essential chart types with standard customization options. Custom charts via Vega-Lite are available for more complex visualizations (Histogram, Box plot, etc) |
| Mobile Access | Available, but mobile dashboards are not responsive. | Responsive dashboards designed for mobile web browsers. |
| Data Delivery | ||
| Shareable links, without any login (Restrict views to specific email addresses), with password protection and permission control | Not available. To view dashboards online, viewers need to log in with their own accounts. | Shareable links can be created and shared easily with external stakeholders without a Holistics user account. Viewers easily add filters and interact with shared dashboards. |
| Slack Delivery | Yes, but requires a complicated setup using 3rd part connector as it’s not native in PowerBI. | Available natively within Holistics. |
| SFTP export schedule | Yes, but requires a complicated setup using 3rd part connector as it’s not native in PowerBI. | Available natively within Holistics. |
| Data Analysts’ Experience | ||
| Data Modeling | “In-memory” data modeling. Data is loaded into the computer’s memory and then manually manipulated to create the relationships. | Provide a centralized semantic modeling layer built on top of SQL. This allows data teams to transform raw tables into reusable data models and manage different data logics centrally. |
| Skillsets needed for Data Modeling | Needs PowerBI developer skill sets to use it well (which is not transferrable). Typically requires technical DBA to set up and prepare database tables for querying. | Anyone can use Holistics as long as they know how to write SQL queries, without extended engineering knowledge. |
| Version Control | Workflow is not designed to have code checked into Git repository. | Yes, supports Git integration as part of the default workflow. |
| dbt integration | Not available. | Integrated deeply with dbt, allowing metadata from dbt to be surfaced to the BI layer. |
| Embedded Analytics | ||
| Ease Of Creating Embedded Reports | Not ideal when analysts need to produce various embedded reports for multiple clients/user groups. Have to start from scratch (source data, transform it, visualize it, and start again). | Holistics’ AML (analytics modeling language) makes it easier to define reusable data models that can be replicated as code to create embedded reports for different user groups/ clients. |
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if you guys won't shut down in the future?
How do I extract my report definitions data out of Holistics in the future?
Is Holistics EU-compliant? Do you guys have GDPR?
We also have a standard Data Privacy Agreement provided upon request, please email [email protected] for more information.
Is Holistics SOC2 compliant?
How easy is it to learn Holistics? Does it require advanced training or can users pick it up quickly within few hours?
For Data Consumers: zero learning curve. They can create their own charts and dashboards without writing SQL, using a drag-and-drop interface.
For Data/technical teams: just SQL knowledge is needed in terms of skills.
What SQL data sources do you support?
I'm based in the US/Europe. Will customer support be a problem?