It's great for the accumulation and assimilation of various data formats to be channeled into a single end-point, whether that be a table or a report. It reminds me so much of SPLUNK in that regard. The application is also very easy to use and has been configured in such a way that it is appealing and productive for both novice and expert users. I was able to pick up the basis after a solitary day's training. We've mainly used it to create bespoke dashboards and visuals, thereby allowing for effective report writing. This was a major consideration from Senior Management before the application was purchased. There haven't been any real drawbacks with the software thus far.
Looker Studio is well-suited for those wanting to analyze web/site data and performance quickly. It is simple enough to learn/use for quick report-building or drilling into data. Looker Studio is easier to use/understand than the GA4 console and thus has a better UI/UX. It is an efficient tool for fast, simple data needs—especially for team members with limited analytical capabilities and knowledge.
It is the simplest and least expensive way for us to automate our reporting at this time. I like the ability to customize literally everything about each report, and the ability to send out reports automatically in emails. The only issue we have been having recently is a technical glitch in the automatic email report. Sadly, there is almost no support for this tool from Google, but is also free, so that is important to take into consideration
It is not ideal and requires time and dedication to understand how to work with it. Also, it has a lot of limitations around data it can accept. But in most cases, this tool is sufficient for everyday tasks of product and marketing departments. I wouldn't say that the interface is very user-friendly, but for people who regularly work with analytical tools, it must be ok.
I give it a lower support rating because it seems like our Dev team hasn't gotten the support they need to set up our database to connect. Seems like we hit a roadblock and the project got put on pause for dev. That sucks for me because it is harder to get the dev team to focus on it if they don't get the help they need to set it up.
InetSoft is a more cost-effective option that offers the same functionality, features, and usability. It is a great option, especially for SMEs. It also has top-notch customer service/support which is a key factor in selecting any agency or tool. I recommend using InetSoft especially for small businesses
The free version of Looker Studio is still better than the leading enterprise-embedded BI tools, despite its weaknesses. The leading embedded BI platforms have terrible visualizations that can be spotted a mile away. They are also primarily locked to a grid, making it very hard to fully customize. The price point is also a major deterrent, since users end up paying for lots of features they might never use. Looker Studio has weaknesses on the blending and modeling side, but we've been able to get by via connection to GBQ and transformation done in dbt.
