We are in the edge of data science where data is being used to take most of the decisions. In the 21st century, we are generating data in each second and that data is being used for generating insights by data scientists. Data scientists are using various data analytics tools to get the insights from data. Among all the data analytics tools, Alteryx is one of the smartest tool to play with data and get insights out of that. If you are thinking that what is Alteryx and what are the advantages of Alteryx then you are at the right place.
Table of Contents
What is Alteryx?
Alteryx is a self-service & advanced analytics tool to create workflow for the first time and from next time onwards you need not to spend time to do the same work, only you need to import the data and run the workflow, Alteryx will work for you and give desired output. Alteryx make ETL process (Extract, Transform & Load) more simpler where more than one data sources can be used to import the data. Not only data blending but also report generation, complex & statistical analytics, descriptive analytics, predictive analytics and special analytics can be performed.
Why Alteryx?
For data analytics, many tools are being used for data mining, data blending and generating insights where R and Python is mostly used tools by data scientists but there is a need of coding and it is time consuming. Also there is a greater chance of error.
Alteryx is a drag and drop tool for data scientists where no coding is required and consume less time to create workflow and get output.
Advantages of Alteryx
Alteryx has many advantages that’s why it has created the competitive position among crowded market of analytical tools. One of the major advantage is the alteryx community support. Suppose you could not able figure it out to create a workflow or don’t now how to do certain operations. In that case alteryx community is the great help for you to get ready made and expert answers. Other benefits which differentiate alteryx are mentioned below.
1. No coding Knowledge required as it is drag and drop tool
2. Quickly create data model and workflow
3. No duplication of work though workflow can be saved and reuse with updated input files
4. ETL process make easy
5. No chances of error
6. Easily identification of error. Error visibility and guided solution available based on tool
7. Less RUN time for large files and it can handle large files proficiently
8. Alteryx Community support on the tool
9. Predictive analytics made simple with Alteryx
Alteryx Products
1. Alteryx Designer, basic & self-service Alteryx product to create workflow and process automation
2. Alteryx Intelligence Suite, for machine learning & Natural Language Processing (NLP)
3. Alteryx Server, cloud based Alteryx platform
4. Alteryx Analytics Hub, collaborative analytics and central based platform
Alteryx Company Profile
Alteryx is a software company which was founded in 1997 in California, America.
Alteryx was founded by D. Stoecker, O. D. Adams & N. Harding.
Alteryx is listed in U.S stock market on March 2017.
There are more then 1,290 employees work for Alteryx worldwide (2019).
On 2019, Alteryx has generated 41.8 Crore USD revenue.
How much does Alteryx cost?
Alteryx is costly but many organizations are using the tool because it is saving time of employees and in that perspective, license cost is worthy.
1. Alteryx Designer cost is $5,195 USD/ year/ user
2. Alteryx Server cost is $78,975 USD/ year/ user
3. Alteryx Analytics Hub cost is $72,000 USD/ year/ user
4. Alteryx Intelligence Suite cost is $2,300 USD/year/ user
How to get Alteryx free license?
There are two options available to get Alteryx free license.
1. Alteryx Designer free trial for 30 days [Need to register to get 30 days free license]
2. Alteryx Designer free license for students/ teachers, valid for 1 year [Need to register and upload proof documents for student/ teacher license]
Alteryx written in which language?
Alteryx tool is written in C# & C++ language.
Alteryx integration with other tools
Alteryx can be integrated with the following tools along with the advantages to integrate with server in terms of import and export data.
R
Python
Tableau
Power BI
SAP
Sharepoint
Salesforce
Github
Microsoft Azure
Create your first workflow in Alteryx
To create your first workflow in Alteryx, you need to open Alteryx designer then drag and drop the required tools in the workflow window.
“Input Data” tool– To build any workflow in Alteryx, first need to input the data set by using “Input Data” tool. After including the tool, need to import data. So, in the upper left side, there is an option as “Connect a file or Database”. Click on the dropdown arrow and one pop-up window will open to select data or database as per the requirement.
“Select” tool– It is always better to have select tool after data input so that required columns can be selected, and data types can be changed. So, add “Select” tool in the workflow. If data type of a specific row needs to be changed, do it from the left side where field, type, size and rename are visible. Use the type column and select the required data type from drop down as shown below.
“Summarize” tool– Suppose the objective is to create a summary or pivot table, summarize tool needs to be added in the workflow. To create a pivot table, select the column name and action whether it should be group by or sum or count and so on.
“Browse” & “Output Data” tool– Browse tool is used to check the data output or save the output in a required format. Also “Output Data” tool can be used to save the output in a specific folder or location.
Workflow visibility & Run workflow– This is how the workflow looks like. To get file output, “RUN” the workflow by clicking on the “RUN” button in the tor right corner. Every time, RUN button should be used while making any changes in the workflow so that the change should reflect in the output.
Example of Alteryx vs Excel working
Let’s say for an example, you are working on a data set where you need to create a summary report from two data sets by cleaning and joining the data sets located at different sheets.
Process in MS Excel
1. First, clean the data sets in terms of remove null values, remove duplicates, remove outliers (It will take time to use remove duplicates, delete/replace null values and remove outliers for two data sets).
2. Merge two data sets/sheets by using XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP/HLOOKUP with the help of unique key.
3. Create a report in Pivot table.
Process in Alteryx
1. Use “Input Data” tool to import the data set.
2. Use “Data Cleansing” tool to clean the data in terms of remove null values, duplicate values and outliers.
3. Use “Join Tool” to connect two data sets.
4. Use “Summarize” tool to create pivot table/ summary.
5. Use “Output Data” tool so that desired output gets auto saved in the predefined folder.
Need to create a workflow in Alteryx for the first time and from next time, only import the input data and run the workflow. Your job is done.
