For decades, if you wanted to combine datasets, the only way to do it was with data joins. But data joins have always been a complicated language to understand and are usually best left to developers to build and execute. They were meant as a way for IT departments to prepare and store data, not for end users to analyze it. Enter Data Links, a new tool for your analytic toolbox that’s only available on the Qrvey platform.
Traditional data joins are great tools for preparing data, particularly when working with structured, transactional data that needs to be normalized. However, data joins come with many limitations. Joins are both rigid and inflexible, and best used with predictable, structured datasets. If you don’t know exactly how to structure your data join, bad things can happen fairly quickly. They also come with a high cost when it comes to performance. Nothing grinds a database to a halt faster than a poorly executed data join. That’s why data joins are primarily used for preparing data, where they can be performed in a consistent, systematic way with few variations or changes. They can be built, optimized and used for years without issue.
But when it comes to analytics, and in particular self-service analytics, you never know exactly which combinations of data sources, fields and information your users will need. And these combinations are constantly changing, both from user to user and from day to day. This new use case requires more than just a data join. It requires Data Links.
Data Links allow everyday users, not just programmers, to combine data from any data set, whether its structured, semi- or unstructured, quickly and easily using a simple, no-code interface. These datasets don’t even need to reside in the same location. Links can be made between local, cloud and even third-party systems as needed. Data links can be added, updated, and removed with just a click, making them perfect for data discovery, exploration and analysis. And when it comes to performance, Qrvey’s Data Links really excel. They’re built using the power and flexibility of the modern cloud and Elasticsearch, allowing them to instantly scale to meet your company’s demanding requirements.
By combining data joins for data preparation with data links for analysis, Qrvey simplifies analytics on AWS even more with new tools and new functionality.
