Saying analysts have a love/hate relationship with their data is like saying golden retriever puppies are cute. It’s a given to the point where it hardly rates mentioning. So where does the stress in the relationship come from? Well, data can be awfully messy. It can make you question its worth. And it can, at times, feel suffocating.
How would you rate your relationship with your data?
Hopelessly complicated? Running on fumes? Totally on the rocks?
If it’s fraught or joyless, we have a few ideas on how you can rekindle the relationship and make your data lovable again. Think of these three “Dear Data” letters as Valentines you could send to the data you can’t seem to live with – or without.
1. Dear Data, why are you so messy?
You’re high maintenance. You leave the toilet seat up, you never clean the kitchen and you’re fragmented across silos. Thank goodness I’m letting Alteryx into my heart. (At least for the last of those three.) They’ll help me streamline data integration so I can get a better, more cohesive view and stop nagging IT all the time.
I am lovestruck by how Alteryx:
- Helps me combine data discovery, transformation and validation into one interface
- Integrates with a wide variety of handsome data sources like databases, cloud platforms, APIs and flat files
- Lets me blend structured and unstructured data from different silos into one dataset
- Creates scalable, reusable workflows that automate my integration processes
Are you listening, data? This is what a healthy relationship sounds like.
2. Dear Data, why do you always waste my time?
I never have time for hobbies anymore and I haven’t been to the gym in ages. All these manual tasks are taking a toll on our relationship. Spreadsheets are fine for small stuff, but data cleaning and validation are taking up like 80% of my time. Even after all that, they’re still prone to errors. No bueno.
Fortunately, Alteryx is chivalrous enough to speed up the manual steps and automate things from here on out. One and done baby. It not only says thank you and please, it radically speeds up data prep and frees up my time for more romantic pursuits like deep data exploration and strategic problem-solving. Bliss.
I am especially falling for the way Alteryx:
- Automates laborious tasks like data cleaning, transformation, and validation and provides drag-and-drop tools to streamline workflows
- Includes pre-built analytic functions and machine learning models that slash my time spent creating models from scratch
Alteryx is thoughtful that way.
3. Dear Data, how can I introduce you to my parents if you don’t even make sense to my boss?
Mom and Dad have really high standards. What are they going to think when we go out for Thai food and you start rambling endlessly about some anomaly you found. At least Alteryx will help me present you to my non-technical stakeholders in a way that is concise and approachable.
How will it do that? Glad you asked.
- First of all, having automated so many of my processes, I’ll have more time to prepare and refine my presos. Is there anything more romantic than clear, actionable insights?
- I’ll use Alteryx to create visual workflows that help me “show my work” and be more transparent while also being more visually attractive.
- Alteryx will automate reports for me that are so executive-friendly, they’ll practically swoon when they see them.
- The C-Suite will have a love affair with my interactive dashboards and visualizations that update in real-time.
My relationship with the executive team is about to enter a honeymoon period. I’ll be able to share incredibly complex things in a way that will look simple and direct. They’ll adore that.
Ready to fall back in love with your data? Start an Alteryx free trial today.