Semantic layers are a game changer, allowing organizations to define metrics and business logic in one, centralized location. Because business users can trust that their data is built on a single source of truth, the semantic layer also empowers self-service analytics. Looker Modeler has become a leader among semantic layers, allowing users to seamlessly layer on top of their business data.

ThoughtSpot users can easily create content with data using our intuitive, AI-powered search experience. However, business users sometimes find themselves asking a critical question: which content should I trust and use for my specific business use case? For example, if there are ten “Sales Performance” Liveboards created by different authors, you may wonder which is the golden version—the Liveboard that is reviewed, approved, and consistently maintained.

In a survey by the Harvard Business Review, 87% of respondents stated their organizations would be more successful if frontline workers were empowered to make important decisions in the moment. And 86% of respondents stated that they needed better technology to enable those in-the-moment decisions. Those coveted insights live at the end of a process lovingly known as the data pipeline.

I’m calling it now. The next battleground for analytics adoption among business users will be the productivity suite. Let’s unpack that statement by considering these two examples: Traditional BI has always forced you down a one-way street for answers—drop what you are doing, login to the BI tool, and pray to the data deities that you can find the answer you’re looking for.