Item: ThoughtSpot
Rating: 8
Author: Hailing Xu

Usability

At least in our case, there is a lot of work to do before ThoughtSpot can be used more frequently and widely across the organization. The underlying data integration and data preparation work is NOT handled by ThoughtSpot. However, ThoughtSpot does provide a very fast query engine that is faster and more reliable than multi-tiered BI systems.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are setting it up as a quick-answer tool. First we will roll it out to BI and data analysts so they don't need to build ad-hoc queries and reports for data requests. Next, we will roll the product out to some data-savvy marketing and sales users to enable self-service for them.

Pros and Cons

Fast search results for large data sets
User friendly interface for search
Data Aware: For example, uses column names, data values

Visualization fine tuning/customization
Data integration options are limited
Data join features are very limited to leverage data from different sources

Return on Investment

Still piloting. Too early to tell

ThoughtSpot Time to Value

For existing reporting developers, it is very quick. For new reporting consumers, it takes more time, and there is a limited number of things they can do without admin/tech support's help.

ThoughtSpot Accuracy

The answers are as accurate as underlying data and data integration setup, and as timely as the scheduled data loading the admins can support.

ThoughtSpot BI Team Impact

Not yet. We are trying to do that.

Likelihood to Recommend

Q/A system for a well structured data set is highly . We use ThoughtSpot to get quick answers, which in this scenario will reduce the number of reports and ad-hoc queries for well defined data sets. It can also replace custom UIs to interact with well-structured data for internal apps, as well as websites.

Still in the early stages... High Hopes for the future

Overall Satisfaction with ThoughtSpot