The Embedded Analytics Blog

Imagine logging into a dashboard that feels like it was built just for you—highlighting the exact metrics you need, structured in a way that makes sense, and fully customizable to match your workflow. That’s the power of a custom dashboard builder.

User-facing analytics is the seamless integration of data-driven insights directly into products, applications, and platforms, designed for end users rather than internal teams.

Tableau has been a dominant force in data visualization for years, offering stunning dashboards and deep analytics. But then there’s Sigma—a newer, cloud-native BI tool designed for teams that live and breathe spreadsheets.

A real-time dashboard is a digital interface that continuously updates data from multiple sources, providing users with live insights into key business metrics.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know—from choosing the best SQL dashboard tool to the top platforms that make analytics effortless. Let’s dive in.

So, if you’re on the fence about Sigma—or just curious about what else is out there—let’s explore the best Sigma alternatives and find the one that truly works for you. 

Looker has been a go-to BI tool for organizations looking to build data-driven workflows, embedded analytics, and advanced reporting. However, as businesses evolve, many are seeking alternatives that better fit their needs, budgets, and operational efficiency.

Business Intelligence (BI) tools have become indispensable for companies that rely on data-driven decision-making. Metabase has long been a popular choice for open-source BI, offering an easy-to-use interface and strong SQL-based querying.

Data is no longer just a byproduct of business operations—it’s the driving force behind success. In 2025, companies that fail to harness enterprise analytics will struggle to compete.

In this guide, we’ll break down why SaaS dashboards matter, which metrics actually drive growth, and six real-world examples to help you build one that works.

Whether you’re a startup, mid-sized company, or enterprise, open-source BI tools provide the flexibility to analyze data efficiently while cutting costs. In this guide, we’ll explore the 20 best open-source BI tools of 2025, categorized by ease of use, advanced analytics, and enterprise readiness—helping you find the perfect fit for your business. 

This article breaks down Looker’s pricing, licensing options, hidden costs, and negotiation tips—so you can decide if it’s the right fit for your business.

We look at some ways embedded analytics can help your business and customers

AI and BI can complement each other to create a stronger, more data-driven strategy. Let’s explore their differences and how they work together.

This article explores the best data visualization tips to ensure your charts, graphs, and dashboards communicate insights effectively and accurately.

Embedded Business Intelligence Has Become a Core Tool to Make Better Data-Driven Decisions.

A Sales Activity Dashboard solves this by centralizing key sales data, providing real-time insights into team performance, deal status, and revenue trends.

This is where SaaS reporting tools come in, transforming complex data into clear, actionable insights.

Discover the power of fleet management dashboards and ditch the spreadsheets. Gain real-time insights, track vehicles, analyze fuel consumption, optimize routes, and more. Upgrade your fleet management today!

With DevOps becoming the backbone of modern software delivery, a dashboard isn’t just a luxury—it’s a necessity. But what exactly makes a DevOps Dashboard so powerful, and how can it transform your workflow? Let’s dive in.

The Future of Embedded Analytics - an Interview with New Explo Head of Sales, Francis Paras

In this article, we’ll explore what an HR dashboard is, its core functions, key metrics, top tools, and best practices for building an effective HR analytics system.

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, businesses can’t afford to make decisions based on outdated reports. Markets shift, customer behavior changes, and operational disruptions occur in real-time.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to choose the best real estate analytics software, the top tools in 2025, and the benefits of using data-driven solutions

In this article, we’ll explore what white-label analytics is, its benefits, key features, and how to choose the right solution.

Have you ever struggled to present data in a way that’s both engaging and easy to understand? That’s where embedded charts come in.

This article explores what embedded reporting is, how businesses use it, its key elements, and why it’s essential for modern enterprises.

In this article, we’ll break down what performance analytics is, how it works, its real-world applications, and best practices for using it effectively in your business.

In this article, we’ll explore what embedded dashboards are, how they work, and what makes them a powerful tool for businesses.

Whether you’re a business owner, data analyst, or developer, understanding analytical applications can give you the edge you need to make smarter, faster decisions.

Utilize Data to Improve Your Customer’s Experience. Here’s How.

Global Datasets are designed to make the dashboard creation and data definition management more efficient, scalable, and collaborative.

In 2025, embedded analytics will be crucial for businesses and software applications to stay competitive. This guide breaks down the latest trends, benefits, and tools you need to know to leverage embedded analytics effectively.

What Every PM, Analyst, and Engineer Needs to Know

At Explo, we are constantly evolving our platform to meet the diverse needs of our customers, helping them create seamless, branded, and functional data experiences. This month, we’re excited to spotlight three transformative updates to our product: Extended Color Palettes, Preview Mode for Report Builder, and Column Fit for Report Builder. These updates are designed to amplify your ability to visualize, customize, and share data effortlessly.

Learn how product teams can use embedded analytics to keep up with analytics requests from end-users.

In today’s data-driven world, product managers are under increasing pressure to deliver powerful customer-facing analytics that not only add value but also drive user engagement and retention.

This guide aims to help product managers understand how to plan for scalable analytics, ensuring their product’s customer-facing features can meet both current demands and future growth.

Dive into how AI virtual assistants are revolutionizing data analysis, making it faster, easier, and more accessible than ever before.

In this blog, we’ll delve into the core principles of data storytelling, offering step-by-step guidance on how to identify the most impactful data, structure a compelling narrative, and visualize insights that drive decision-making.

The 2024 Product Management Toolkit is your essential guide to navigating the evolving landscape of product management, filled with strategies, tools, and best practices for success.

In this article, we’ll break down their unique responsibilities and show how they collaborate to create successful products. Whether you’re choosing a career or aiming to enhance teamwork, understanding UX Design vs Product Management is crucial.

Are you looking to master product management for startups? This guide is here to help. From defining your product vision to achieving product-market fit, we cover key strategies and practices specific to the startup environment.

What is a heatmap? It’s a visual tool that uses colors to represent data on a grid. Heatmaps make it easy to spot patterns and trends in complex data. This guide explores different types of heatmaps, their uses, and how to create them effectively.

Explo is taking a significant step forward by adding translation features on top of existing localization options.

In this guide, you’ll find a 10-step checklist for product launch success, covering everything from market research to post-launch performance review. Follow these steps to streamline your launch and increase your chances of success.

A funnel chart displays the stages of a process, like a sales funnel, in a funnel-shaped graph. This article covers What Is a Funnel Chart, its main parts, and how it’s used.

A Sankey chart is a powerful tool for visualizing the flow of data between different points. By using nodes and links, it makes it easy to see how resources, energy, or information moves through a system. This guide will show you what a Sankey chart is, its key components, and step-by-step instructions on how to create and customize one for your specific needs.

A sunburst chart offers a clear way to visualize hierarchical data structures through concentric rings, making complex relationships easy to understand. This guide will show you when and how to use sunburst charts effectively, explore their benefits, and provide step-by-step instructions for creating them.

This August, we're thrilled to announce three significant updates that will empower you to create even more dynamic and insightful dashboards.

A Pareto chart helps you identify the most important causes of a problem. It combines bars and a line graph to show which factors have the biggest impact. This guide will explain what a Pareto chart is, why it’s useful, and how to create one.

We built a web app powered by Explo, to provide live updates on the 2024 Paris Olympic events, athlete performances, and medals. Explore how we built it and its key features.

This article covers top embedded analytics examples in e-commerce, healthcare, and finance. Discover how these tools enhance user experience and improve efficiency.

A box plot chart visualizes the distribution of a dataset using five key statistics: minimum, Q1, median, Q3, and maximum. This article will guide you on understanding, interpreting, and creating box plot charts.

Read on for info on prioritizing product and service features, streamlining workflow in and out of the office, and enhancing collaborative power between product managers, employees, and customers to quickly bring product visions to life.

This guide will walk you through building a modern product analytics stack, including choosing tools, implementing strategies, and assembling a dedicated team.

We’ve compiled a list of 10 product management KPIs that every product leader should track, from more company wide metrics, to specific product metrics.

Explo received 22 badges in G2’s 2024 Summer report.

Explo Joins Forces with Snowflake as a Select Tier Partner, Harnessing AI Data Cloud Power for Enhanced Customer-Facing Analytics Solutions

This month, we're excited to introduce powerful AI-driven tools for optimizing, explaining, and debugging SQL queries in your Explo datasets.

Personalize Your End-User Dashboard Experience

Discover how AI is revolutionizing Business Intelligence tools with real-time insights, predictive algorithms, and advanced analytics techniques.

Discover how to use Copilot for Analytics with this step-by-step tutorial. Copilot for Analytics helps simplify report creation, optimize data models, and empower your team with insightful analytics.

Learn how AI Analytics impacts data analysis with ML and deep learning technologies.

Discover how AI-Powered Analytics revolutionizes data analysis with speed and accuracy. Learn how AI enhances insights and decision-making in finance, marketing, retail, and manufacturing.

Discover top alternatives to Sigma Embedded Analytics for your business intelligence needs. Explore features, scalability, and pricing options for better decision-making.

Discover the differences between Sisense and Explo for embedded analytics. Learn about user-friendly interfaces, scalability, pricing, and more.

Read about the amazing real-time integration between Explo and ClickHouse on Altinity.Cloud!

Discover the ROI of Embedded Analytics with Explo's Calculator. Compare in-house vs. solution costs, save time & money. Make data-driven decisions today!

Compare Looker and Tableau for Business Intelligence. Discover data modeling, visualizations, collaboration features, and more to make informed decisions.

Explore Explo's SQL Playground for powerful SQL tools - Formatter, Explainer, Optimizer, Tutorials. Enhance SQL skills and boost query performance!

Discover how to visualize ParadeDB database using Explo for customer-facing analytics.

Your guide to the top report generator tools of 2024, showcasing software that stands out for its capabilities and user experience.

Compare Looker and Explo for Embedded Analytics and BI

A Comprehensive Review of 2024's Top Embedded BI Software

Explo is named Best Software for Analytics by G2

A Step-by-Step guide to building Embedded Dashboards with SQL & Explo.

Explo has partnered with Cube to provide a simple and scalable solution to providing embedded analytics to customers.

A comprehensive guide for building real-time dashboards on SQL databases

Learn what SQL Analytics is and how it impacts the world of data analysis

Comparing costs across top embedded analytics solutions in 2024

Embedded analytics is revolutionizing how SaaS companies share data with their end-users, transforming their solutions into insightful, decision-making platforms. With the integration of analytics directly into user interfaces, these applications become more than just operational; they become strategic assets,...

What is a dashboard? A dashboard is fundamentally a view that summarizes data, typically through visualizations or statistics. Dashboards not only answer questions, but also...

Learn how to create custom reports with ease using a report builder. Our blog post explains what a report builder is and how it can help you streamline your data analysis. Start building better reports today!

Explo was recognized as a “Momentum Leader” and "High Performer" in the Data Visualization, Analytics Platforms, and Embedded Business Intelligence categories in G2’s annual Winter Report.

The State of Financial Reporting in FinTech

The evolution of data reporting for marketing agencies

Discover how to maximize engagement and impact with customer-facing analytics for your SaaS offering. Overcome challenges and make informed decisions.

Discover how compliance dashboards can enhance your compliance management and reporting. Gain actionable insights and stay ahead of evolving regulations with RiskScout's leading compliance SaaS platform.

Discover how to visualize Materialize database using Explo for customer-facing analytics.

Discover the key elements and best practices for creating impactful CRM dashboards. Improve decision-making, customer satisfaction, and operations.

Optimize sales and profit with E-Commerce dashboards. Gain insights, track metrics, and visualize performance. Choose Explo for AI-backed solutions.

Discover the most important supply chain metrics for enhanced decision making, real-time monitoring, and forecasting. Explore the benefits of using supply chain dashboards.

Discover how embedded analytics is revolutionizing Ed-Tech. Gain insights on student performance, personalized learning, and effective educational management.

Unlock efficiency and growth: strategies for scaling customer reporting in marketing agencies

Harnessing data reporting and analytics for enhanced patient outcomes

Forecast financial outcomes with predictive analytics and reporting