Alation announced Connected Sheets. The feature allows Alation Data Catalog users to import reliable, up-to-date data into spreadsheets.
Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel are popular tools for key reports and insights. However, according to Alation, the data used are rarely accurate. Information is frequently copied between files and imported from unknown sources.
Alation wants to tackle the problem with Connected Sheets. The add-on for Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel allows users of Alation Data Catalog to create more reliable spreadsheets. Connected Sheets will be available from early 2023 onwards.
Connected Sheets
The add-on allows users to import data from Alation Data Catalog into spreadsheets. Data Catalog is Alation’s flagship product. Companies use the software to manage data from various data sources in a centralized environment.
Among other things, Data Catalog helps users assess and indicate the reliability of data. With Connected Sheets, users can quickly find reliable datasets in Data Catalog and import them into spreadsheets.
Data Catalog was originally developed for analytics professionals and other specialists. Connected Sheets extends the solution to business users who use spreadsheets to analyze data instead of SQL queries.
Alation
“Business users routinely rely on the simplicity, power, and ubiquity of spreadsheets to do their jobs”, Alation CPO Rai Gossain said. “But the data that powers spreadsheets is typically copied from other sheets or downloaded into CSV files, creating real risk for every business.”
“Alation Connected Sheets combines the power of trusted, governed data with the ease of use of the spreadsheet. Now spreadsheets can be a trusted enterprise data asset instead of an invisible liability, empowering every business user with the best data the enterprise has to offer.”
Tip: Data processor Alation expands with €120 million in growth capital