What is Amazon QuickSight?

Amazon QuickSight is a cloud-based business intelligence service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is designed to build visualizations, perform ad-hoc analysis, and quickly get business insights from data. QuickSight can process and analyze datasets up to 1TB, making it suitable for large-scale data exploration.

Performance

QuickSight utilizes an in-memory calculation engine called SPICE (Super-fast, Parallel, In-memory Calculation Engine) to ensure quick, responsive query performance and data visualizations. This feature underpins its speed and performance capabilities.

Functionality

While QuickSight offers various data visualization options, it has limitations in performing advanced calculations. This constrains users who require complex data manipulation and analysis.

Reliability

Users have reported that QuickSight has more bugs than expected, which may affect the service's reliability and user experience.

What is Amazon QuickSight?

Amazon QuickSight is a cloud-based business intelligence service supported by AWS. It provides data analysis and insight generation capabilities by connecting to cloud data sources. The service utilizes an in-memory engine known as SPICE to deliver fast performance.

Browser Support

Users can access QuickSight through multiple browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari, making it versatile for different user preferences.

Analytics and Data Types

QuickSight can handle a variety of data types, offering analytical capabilities that can publish and share analyses with built-in security. Collaborative analytics are supported, catering to team-based data exploration.

Accessibility and Security

Available from a range of devices, QuickSight provides a flexible solution for data analysis on the go. It includes granular permissions and row-level security, ensuring secure data access.

Cost and Multi-Tenancy

The service is designed with a low total cost of ownership in mind, featuring pay-per-session pricing. Multi-tenancy features are available for value-added resellers, making it suitable for diverse business models.

Amazon QuickSight vs DataHero

Dataset Handling Capabilities

Amazon QuickSight demonstrates robust data handling capabilities, with the ability to process datasets up to 1TB. This allows for analysis of large volumes of data without significant performance degradation.

Performance

QuickSight leverages its Super-fast, Parallel, In-memory Calculation Engine (SPICE) to ensure rapid data processing and visualization, offering a speed-enhanced analytics experience.

Advanced Calculations

While QuickSight provides a suite of analytics tools, it has constraints in performing advanced calculations, making it less suitable for complex data analysis scenarios.

Software Reliability

Users have reported a higher incidence of bugs in QuickSight than is generally expected for such services, which may impact user experience and data analysis workflows.

SourceTable: A Streamlined Alternative for Data Analysis

SourceTable emerges as a proficient alternative to Amazon QuickSight, offering a unified platform that simplifies data aggregation. Unlike QuickSight's metric comparison computation feature, which necessitates a dimension in the Time field and at least two measures in the Values field, SourceTable streamlines data manipulation through its intuitive spreadsheet-like interface. This approach is tailored for real-time data querying from multiple sources, ensuring efficient data analysis.

While QuickSight specializes in comparing different measures, SourceTable provides a more flexible environment for data handling. The aggregation of data from various sources into a single spreadsheet format, without the stringent requirement of predefined fields, positions SourceTable as a practical solution for dynamic data interaction. Its capability to process data in real-time enhances its suitability for users seeking immediate insights.

SourceTable's interface leverages the familiarity of spreadsheets, facilitating a smoother transition for users accustomed to traditional data manipulation tools. This user-friendly environment contrasts with the more complex features of Amazon QuickSight, such as the generation of output parameters, appealing to users who prioritize ease of use and accessibility in their data analysis tools.