Yellowfin 7.3 Targets Data Analysts

Yellowfin 7.3 Targets Data Analysts

Yellowfin this week announced the latest version of its business intelligence (BI) platform. Although previous versions focused on the business user, version 7.3 is dedicated to the data analyst. Integrated data preparation is the keystone of the announcement along with new set analytics and visualization features.

“Yellowfin has always been a good dashboard vendor,” says Wayne Eckerson, founder of Eckerson Group and director of its business analytics practice, “but embedded data preparation and set analysis help transform Yellowfin into an analytics vendor.”

Integrated data preparation embeds data access, profiling, and transformation functions inside a BI tool, providing a one-stop environment for self-service BI. According to Glen Rabie, cofounder and CEO of Yellowfin, integrated data prep enables data analysts to “prepare data for analysis in less time, while allowing IT to easily govern that data.”

The new data preparation capability includes an improved fields view page, which contains all the data in one preview panel and a field settings menu for formatting, along with the data profiling function, which automatically determines what actions are possible to optimize the view. Also new is the ability to switch between viewing the formatted and raw data, so users can clearly see changes the data has undergone. Last, is the group data tool that can suggest optimal groups and the create date function for transforming date fields.

The set analysis feature enables users to compare two metrics or data sets side by side within Yellowfin’s charting tool. The new content creation canvas makes it easier to build and format content. New features include adjusting canvas properties like gridlines, guidelines, canvas size and canvas design. Users can also now drag and drop widgets and charts, which are both customizable.

With these upgrades, Yellowfin expects users to have an easier time modeling their data, attain faster query performance and analysis, and create better infographics and reports.

All upgrades are included in a standard Yellowfin license.

Henry H. Eckerson

Henry Eckerson covers business intelligence and analytics at Eckerson Group and has a keen interest in artificial intelligence, deep learning, predictive analytics, and cloud data warehousing. When not researching and...

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