Tamr vs. Toad Data Point

Toad Data Point is the clear tool of choice if the end-user is interested in reports that are relatively simple to build using SQL code and export to Excel. It is less useful if the analyst also needs to run statistical models on the data and visualize the data for those functions I usually use RStudio or Jupyter Notebook which incorporates those features much more seamlessly.

Incentivized

• Ease of use. It is a very easy product to use without any particular training.
• Multiple data source connection. It easily connects to multiple data sources which allows you to use different data sources to run reports.
• Seamless application. Once you set everything up-- whether it is an FTP or export of data-- you can set it and forget it!

Incentivized

• The program can error out when reconnecting to a database from a timeout but that is easily fixed by restarting the program.
• If you aren't familiar with database tools the UI can be overwhelming to some.

Incentivized

I find Toad Data Point easy to use for both the novice and the experienced business analyst. If all you desire is to access data and create spreadsheets...this is a snap. Toad Data Point actually has cool data analysis features built into it. The newer workflow interface makes automating steps a snap

Incentivized

TOAD excels at connecting to divergent data sources, but appears geared more to DBAs than to regular query users. Microsoft's offerings excel against Microsoft SQL Server, but sometimes struggle with other data sources. However, SSMS and vs code excel at many developer productivity/workflow enhancements. vs code, in particular, has a lively extension system that allows it to be tailored for development/querying/model building/etc. That flexibility comes at a cost - the learning curve is steep for new users. The tradeoff between complexity and power may not be good for some environments/users/situations.

Incentivized

• It is the least common denominator - not particularly optimized for our environment or workflows.
• Hangs or slowdowns add anywhere from 5% - 7% for projects utilizing large/complicated data setts. (This could be due to other IT-imposed constraints and not entirely due to TOAD.)
• Trying to perform some operations requires reading documentation and experimenting in order to figure out the TOAD-specific approaches and commands.
• It just works (when we understand it). Updates don't break things and things don't suddenly start behaving differently. Best of all, we don't mysteriously lose functionality.

Incentivized