Looker Contract Negotiation and Implementation
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, data-driven decision-making is key to business success. This article highlights our work with a client who wanted to enhance their web application hosted on GCP and Heroku. The client had two primary objectives: to create internal dashboards and to integrate customer-facing dashboards within their web application, with a strong emphasis on privacy and security.
Challenges and Objectives
The client's requirements were twofold. Firstly, they needed internal dashboards for in-depth business analytics. Secondly, they wanted to extend this capability to their customers through embedded dashboards within their web application. A crucial concern was ensuring data security and privacy, needing a solution that offered centralized permission management and eliminated data discrepancies, or multiple versions of the truth.
Leveraging Looker for Advanced Reporting
Our solution leveraged Looker for its advanced data visualization and reporting capabilities. One of the critical steps was negotiating with Google to obtain startup credit, enabling the client to use Looker free of charge for at least one year. We then meticulously set up permissions and groups, ensuring robust data security and privacy. The LookML layer was crafted to provide consistency in metrics calculation, effectively eliminating multiple versions of the truth.
Integration and Dashboard Creation
The creation of dashboards was twofold: we developed comprehensive dashboards for internal use and created modular 'looks' using the Looker API. These 'looks' were programmatically integrated into the client's web application, allowing for seamless, real-time data visualization for their customers. Additionally, we collaborated closely with the client's developers to implement secure customer filtering for the in-app dashboards.
Outcome and Impact
We delivered a robust reporting infrastructure that the client could trust and rely on. Questions like "Is this data accurate?" became obsolete. Internal teams gained access to reliable, timely insights for strategic decision-making, while customers enjoyed personalized data experiences within the web application. This dual dashboard solution not only enhanced the client's operational efficiency but also added significant value to their customer offering. The cost savings of not developing this in-house was tremendous.
Conclusion
By integrating Looker with BigQuery, we provided our client with a powerful, secure, and scalable data reporting solution. This project shows how strategic data modeling and intelligent use of technology can transform a business's approach to data analysis and customer engagement.
