Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - Is your data stack usable? Why self-service analytics drives high ROI (ANT102)

Summary

Alex Gneibus from Alteryx discusses the challenges of modern data stacks being undriveable for business users due to their code-based nature.
Many companies have low cloud resource utilization, underused software licenses, and struggle to extract value from data.
Alteryx offers a no-code, drag-and-drop interface that integrates with AWS, enabling business users to perform analytics without technical expertise.
Alteryx covers all stages of the analytics journey, including data science, machine learning, and geospatial analytics, powered by their AI features.
The platform offers seamless integration with AWS services, push down processing with Amazon Redshift, and can be deployed on EC2 instances.
Alteryx Server and cloud-native applications provide options for sharing, collaboration, and orchestration, with robust security and governance.
A hybrid approach is supported, allowing workflows built on desktop to be executed in the cloud, maintaining flexibility as data stacks evolve.
Nielsen's case study is highlighted, showing how they scaled analytics across the company while maximizing their AWS investment.
A Formula One-themed use case demonstrates how Alteryx Designer can be used to analyze data and render geospatial insights without coding.
The session concludes with an invitation to visit the Alteryx booth for a McLaren simulator experience and a happy hour event.

The modern data stack's complexity and code-dependency create barriers for non-technical business users, leading to underutilization and missed opportunities for data-driven decision-making.
Self-service analytics platforms like Alteryx can bridge the gap between technical infrastructure (AWS) and business users, increasing ROI by enabling more stakeholders to engage with data.
Alteryx's integration with AWS and its no-code interface democratize data analytics, allowing business users to perform complex tasks without coding skills.
The emphasis on a consistent user interface (UI) across evolving data stack technologies suggests a trend towards maintaining operational continuity and user experience despite underlying changes.
The Formula One analogy used throughout the presentation underscores the importance of usability and performance in data analytics tools, likening them to the steering wheel that connects drivers to their engines.
The session's focus on real-world applications and customer success stories, such as Nielsen, provides tangible evidence of the benefits of self-service analytics in a corporate setting.
The mention of a hybrid approach to data analytics, where on-premises workflows can be scaled to the cloud, reflects the ongoing transition many companies are making towards cloud-based solutions while still leveraging existing investments.