What is Looker?
Looker is a business intelligence and analytics platform that enables organizations to:
- Analyze governed data
- Deliver business insights
- Build AI-powered applications
It leverages Google's AI capabilities and cloud infrastructure to provide an intelligent BI solution with:
- Foundational AI
- Cloud-first architecture
- Industry-leading APIs
- Flexible semantic layer
Key Features
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Universal semantic modeling layer - Provides a single place to curate and govern key business metrics
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AI-powered analytics - Uses Gemini AI to accelerate analytical workflows like visualization creation, formula building, data modeling, and report generation
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Powerful embedded capabilities - Allows building custom data experiences and applications with interactive dashboards and robust APIs
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Visual and self-service analytics - Offers enterprise dashboards and ad-hoc reporting through Looker and Looker Studio
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Google Cloud integration - Seamlessly integrates with Google Cloud's secure ecosystem
How It Works
Looker acts as a "Google for your business data", making organizational information accessible and useful. It enables:
- Data analysis
- Insight delivery
- Custom application building
- Storytelling with data visualizations
Common Use Cases
- Reducing cross-cloud spending
- Analyzing marketing data
- Creating custom data/AI applications
- Monetizing business data
- Enhancing collaboration
- Powering analytics with BigQuery
Pricing
Looker pricing has two components:
- Platform pricing - Cost to run a Looker instance
- User pricing - Licensing costs for individual users
Specific pricing requires contacting sales for a custom quote. Different editions are available:
- Standard
- Enterprise
- Embed
User license types include Developer, Standard, and Viewer.
Helpful Tips
- Start with the free trial to explore capabilities
- Leverage pre-built content in the Looker Marketplace
- Use Looker's semantic modeling to ensure consistent metrics
- Take advantage of embedded analytics to build custom data apps
- Integrate with other Google Cloud services like BigQuery