Carto - Detailed Review
App Tools
Carto - Product Overview
Carto Overview
Carto is a comprehensive geospatial platform that offers a range of tools and services, particularly in the App Tools and AI-driven product category. Here’s a brief overview of its primary function, target audience, and key features:
Primary Function
Carto is essentially a cloud-based service that provides map visualization, geospatial analysis, and application development capabilities. It is divided into two main components: the CARTO Engine and the CARTO Builder. The CARTO Engine is the software that performs the visualization and analysis of data on a web server, while the CARTO Builder is a user-friendly web interface that allows users to control and customize their maps and analyses.
Target Audience
Carto is aimed at a diverse range of users, including businesses, researchers, and developers who need to work with geospatial data. It is particularly useful for those involved in location marketing, urban planning, environmental studies, and any field that requires spatial data analysis and visualization.
Key Features
Data Upload and Formats
Carto supports the upload of various data formats, including shapefiles, making it versatile for different types of geospatial data.
Visualization and Analysis
It offers strong tools for creating attractive and functional visualizations, including point maps and choropleths. The platform also includes advanced geospatial analysis tools that can handle both small and large datasets.
Integration Capabilities
Carto provides JavaScript APIs for web integration and Android and iOS SDKs for mobile app development. This allows users to seamlessly integrate Carto’s features into their own applications.
Data Access and Library
Users have access to a library of data and can leverage cloud-native geospatial features, especially when integrated with data warehouses like Google Cloud’s BigQuery.
Dynamic Data Aggregation
Recent updates include new options for dynamic point data aggregation using H3 Spatial Indexes or grouping points, enhancing the platform’s analytical capabilities.
Mobile App Capabilities
Carto.app, built on the 3DGIS mobile framework, allows users to manage, collect, and access geospatial data in the field. It includes features like geometry editing, linear referencing, and campaign-backed data collection.
Pricing and Support
Carto offers a range of pricing tiers, from free accounts to enterprise-level service and support, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
Overall, Carto is a powerful tool for anyone needing to visualize, analyze, and work with geospatial data, offering a combination of user-friendly interfaces and advanced analytical capabilities.
Carto - User Interface and Experience
User Interface of CARTO
The user interface of CARTO, a cloud-native Location Intelligence platform, is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, catering to a wide range of users from beginners to experts in spatial data science.CARTO Builder
The CARTO Builder is a web-based user interface that allows users to control visualization and analysis. It provides a convenient and attractive web interface for designing and analyzing maps. Users can upload various data formats, including shapefiles, and utilize a drag-and-drop interface to create interactive maps and dashboards.Ease of Use
CARTO is built to be accessible for users with varying levels of experience. The platform offers a no-code visual model builder called CARTO Workflows, which enables users to build complex spatial analyses and data preparation workflows without writing code. This feature makes it easier for those with limited exposure to geospatial tools to get started quickly.Drag-and-Drop Components
The platform includes over 100 ready-to-go analysis components that can be used through a drag-and-drop interface. This intuitive approach simplifies the process of data preparation, analysis, and visualization, making it easier for users to focus on their specific tasks without needing extensive technical knowledge.Visualization Tools
CARTO allows users to visualize billions of data points with ease, using advanced visualization tools that leverage WebGL and WebGPU technology through deck.gl. This ensures that the visualizations are performant and interactive, even with large datasets.Collaboration and Sharing
The platform facilitates collaboration and sharing by enabling users to create and share dashboards securely or embed them in their own applications. This feature enhances the overall user experience by making it easy to disseminate insights and visualizations across teams and organizations.Support and Resources
CARTO provides extensive documentation, training sessions, and a responsive support team. Users have praised the support team for their reactivity and helpfulness, which contributes to a positive user experience. Additionally, the CARTO Academy offers easy-to-follow guides and tutorials to help users get started and build their first use cases.Customization and Flexibility
Developers appreciate the flexibility of CARTO’s APIs, which allow for custom map products that can be tailored to specific user needs. The platform supports various development frameworks such as vanilla JavaScript, TypeScript, Vue, React, and Angular, giving developers the freedom to choose their preferred tools.Conclusion
Overall, the user interface of CARTO is designed to be intuitive, flexible, and highly scalable, making it an excellent tool for both beginners and experts in spatial data science. Its ease of use, coupled with extensive support resources, ensures a positive and productive user experience. Carto - Key Features and Functionality
CARTO AI Agents
Features and Functionality
- Conversational Interface: AI Agents provide a conversational interface that allows users to interact with maps using natural language, making spatial analysis more intuitive and accessible to users of all technical backgrounds.
- Map Interactions: Users can perform various map interactions through conversations, such as searching and zooming to locations, extracting widget values, filtering data via widgets, and switching layers on and off.
- Insight Extraction: AI Agents can extract text-based insights and perform direct map interactions, such as retrieving map coordinates and analyzing data from widgets.
- Automation of Tasks: The AI Agent can temporarily control the map to perform tasks like filtering, zooming, or switching layers, streamlining the data exploration process.
Benefits
- Accessibility: AI Agents democratize access to spatial analytics by providing a simple, conversational interface, eliminating the need for advanced geospatial expertise.
- Efficiency: They enable quick and intuitive interactions, helping users derive actionable insights from maps more efficiently.
- Integration: AI Agents are integrated with the OpenAI APIs using the GPT-4-o model, with plans to include additional AI providers and models in the future.
Limitations and Quotas
- Usage Quotas: Each organization has a monthly quota for AI Agent usage, including limits on threads (250 per month) and tokens per thread (250,000 tokens).
- Widget Value Extraction: There are caps on extracting widget values (20 for Category widgets, 50 for Histogram and Time Series widgets), and Table Widget data extraction is not supported.
BigQuery ML Extension Package
Features and Functionality
- Machine Learning Integration: This extension allows users to build, train, and deploy machine learning models directly within CARTO Workflows using BigQuery ML capabilities.
- Predictive Models: Users can create predictive models such as customer churn prediction or sales forecasting with minimal coding required.
- Custom Models: Users can either train their own models or import custom models trained outside of BigQuery and run predictions, evaluate model performance, and perform targeted spatial analysis.
Benefits
- Seamless Integration: The BigQuery ML Extension Package integrates machine learning models into automated pipelines, enabling seamless integration of ML into spatial analysis workflows.
- Low-Code Environment: This tool operates in a low-code environment, making it easier for users to leverage machine learning without extensive coding knowledge.
- Scalability and Security: The integration ensures speed, scalability, and security by running entirely within the BigQuery data warehouse.
Real-World Applications
- Automated Pipelines: Users can automate data-driven decisions and drive better outcomes through machine learning, all within the simplicity of CARTO Workflows.
- Spatial Analysis: The extension enables real-world applications such as predicting customer churn for telecom providers, enhancing spatial data analysis with AI-driven insights.
In summary, CARTO’s AI-driven tools, including AI Agents and the BigQuery ML Extension, significantly enhance the platform’s capabilities by providing intuitive conversational interfaces, automating tasks, and integrating machine learning into spatial analysis workflows. These features make spatial analytics more accessible and efficient for users across various technical backgrounds.
Carto - Performance and Accuracy
Performance
CARTO has made significant strides in enhancing its performance through various upgrades and innovations. Here are some notable aspects:Cloud-Native Architecture
CARTO is built on a cloud-native platform, which allows for seamless integration with cloud data warehouses like BigQuery, Snowflake, and Databricks. This architecture ensures speed, agility, and limitless data scale without the need for code, data duplication, or complex ETL processes.Performance Improvements
Recent upgrades have resulted in substantial performance gains. For example, rendering times for map tiles have been reduced by up to 26%, significantly enhancing the user experience. Specifically, rendering times for map points, lines, and polygons have seen reductions of 18%, 26%, and 20% respectively.Efficient Data Loading
CARTO Builder optimizes data loading by using progressive loading for smaller datasets and pre-generated tilesets for very large datasets, ensuring high-performance visualizations even with extensive data volumes.Accuracy
CARTO’s accuracy is bolstered by its advanced AI and spatial analytics capabilities:AI Agents
CARTO’s AI Agents enable users to derive actionable insights from spatial data through intuitive, natural-language interactions. These agents eliminate the need for coding or specialist geospatial knowledge, providing instant and insightful responses to spatial queries. This ensures that the insights are accurate and relevant to the user’s needs.Adaptive Reasoning
The AI Agents offer adaptive reasoning, providing insights that are adapted to user queries and dynamic reasoning about map data. This ensures that the responses are precise and relevant, enhancing the accuracy of the spatial analysis.Engagement
CARTO enhances user engagement in several ways:Intuitive Analytics
The platform offers intuitive analytics components that are accessible to users of all technical backgrounds. This includes drag-and-drop components for data preparation and analysis, making it easier for everyone in the organization to engage with spatial data.Interactive Visualizations
CARTO allows users to build performant, interactive map visualizations without any limits on data volumes. This interactive approach keeps users engaged and facilitates better decision-making.Limitations or Areas for Improvement
While CARTO has made significant advancements, there are a few areas to consider:Dependency on Cloud Infrastructure
The performance and functionality of CARTO are heavily dependent on the cloud infrastructure it integrates with. Any issues with the cloud data warehouses or network connectivity could impact CARTO’s performance.User Adoption
While the platform is designed to be user-friendly, there might still be a learning curve for some users, especially those without prior experience in spatial analytics. However, CARTO’s AI Agents and intuitive interface are designed to mitigate this issue. Overall, CARTO’s performance and accuracy are well-supported by its cloud-native architecture, AI-driven insights, and efficient data handling mechanisms. These features make it a strong contender in the AI-driven product category for spatial analytics. Carto - Pricing and Plans
CARTO Pricing Overview
CARTO, a cloud-native location intelligence platform, offers a structured pricing model that caters to various needs, from individual users to large enterprises. Here’s a breakdown of their pricing structure and the features included in each tier:Free Trial
CARTO provides a free 14-day trial that gives access to all components of the platform, including demo datasets, maps, and a CARTO Data Warehouse instance. This trial allows users to fully evaluate the platform’s features without any financial commitment.Enterprise Plans
CARTO’s pricing is primarily based on custom quotations for enterprise users. Here are the key features and tiers:Basic Enterprise Plan
- Starts from 15 Viewers: This plan includes 180,000 usage units, usage metrics, audit logs on-demand, Single Sign-On (SSO), groups, and custom branding.
Mid-Tier Enterprise Plan
- Starts from 50 Viewers: This plan includes 600,000 usage units, along with the same features as the basic plan.
Advanced Enterprise Plan
- Unlimited Editors and Viewers: This plan includes 3,000,000 usage units, self-hosted options, unlimited API access tokens, and machine-to-machine authentication. It also features usage metrics, audit logs on-demand, SSO, groups, and custom branding.
Elite Enterprise Plan
- Unlimited Editors and Viewers: This plan includes 30 million operations, unlimited API access tokens, and machine-to-machine authentication. It also offers all the features from the advanced plan, including self-hosted options, usage metrics, audit logs on-demand, SSO, groups, and custom branding.
Key Features Across Plans
- Usage Metrics and Audit Logs: Available across all plans to track usage and ensure compliance.
- SSO and Groups: Enable secure access and user management.
- Custom Branding: Allows organizations to personalize their platform.
- Developer APIs: Facilitate the creation of map-centric applications without scalability limits.
- Data Observatory: Access to a curated catalog of public and premium spatial datasets.
No Free Plan
Unlike some other platforms, CARTO does not offer a free plan beyond the 14-day trial. Instead, it provides custom pricing based on the specific needs and usage of the organization.Additional Options
- Cloud Deployment: A fully-managed Platform-as-a-Service offering.
- Self-Hosted: Allows hosting within a secured network environment.
- Add-on Options: Users can upgrade their CARTO Data Warehouse resources to meet specific demands.
Carto - Integration and Compatibility
Integration with Geospatial Visualization Tools
CARTO has a significant integration with Kepler.gl, Uber’s open-source geospatial data visualization tool. This integration allows Kepler.gl users to share and save maps privately using CARTO’s cloud storage. Users can create maps in Kepler.gl, share them via public URLs, save them to their CARTO accounts, and load them back into Kepler.gl for further editing. This integration streamlines the workflow by enabling users to manage all their maps in one place.Compatibility with Data Warehouses and Databases
CARTO integrates smoothly with major cloud data warehouses such as Google BigQuery, Amazon Redshift, Snowflake, Databricks, and PostgreSQL-compatible databases. This integration eliminates the need to move data into CARTO, allowing users to access and visualize spatial datasets directly from their existing data warehouses. The platform uses deck.gl to provide a geospatial backend storage and to visualize large datasets efficiently.Integration with Workflow Automation
CARTO is also integrated with workflow automation tools, such as those provided by Snowflake. The Workflows feature in CARTO allows users to design, execute, and automate various analysis components, including geospatial processes. These workflows can be visualized in the Builder tool and shared as interactive dashboards or embedded in spatial apps.Authentication and Existing Applications
For existing applications with their own login systems, CARTO supports machine-to-machine (M2M) OAuth authentication. This allows developers to generate API access tokens with fine-grained permissions based on user groups, ensuring that users see only the data they are authorized to access. This integration involves creating backend endpoints to handle user authentication and token generation, making it possible to add geospatial components to existing applications without compromising security.Cross-Platform Compatibility
CARTO’s cloud-native architecture ensures that it can be accessed and used across various devices and platforms. Whether you are working on a desktop, laptop, or mobile device, CARTO’s web-based interface and integrations with other cloud services make it highly accessible and compatible.Conclusion
In summary, CARTO’s integrations with geospatial visualization tools, data warehouses, workflow automation, and existing applications, along with its cloud-native design, make it a highly versatile and compatible platform for a wide range of spatial analysis and visualization needs. Carto - Customer Support and Resources
CARTO Customer Support Overview
CARTO offers a comprehensive range of customer support options and additional resources to help users make the most of their location intelligence platform.
Customer Support Options
- Phone Support: Customers can contact CARTO’s customer service via the phone number (917) 463-3232. The customer service hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern Time (ET).
- Email Support: Support issues can be submitted via email, with different email addresses depending on the support package. For example, enterprise account users can contact enterprise-support@carto.com.
- Support Packages: CARTO provides various support packages, including Standard, Premium, and Elite. These packages offer different levels of support coverage, such as business hours in one or two regions, or 24/7 support for critical issues. Each package includes services like onboarding, quarterly business reviews, and technical advising services.
Issue Classification and Response Times
- Support issues are classified into three severity levels: P1 (critical issue), P2 (significant operational impact), and P3 (limited operational impact). The response times vary based on the support package and issue severity. For instance, Elite support package users get a 1-hour response time for P1 issues, while Standard package users get a 4-hour response time for the same severity level.
Additional Resources
- Customer Success Managers (CSMs): CSMs provide geospatial expertise and hands-on guidance to help customers apply location intelligence to their business needs. They act as a liaison between customers and other CARTO teams.
- Documentation and Help Center: CARTO offers extensive documentation and a help center that includes FAQs, user manuals, and guides on how to use the platform effectively.
- Onboarding and Support Access: Admins can authorize CARTO’s support team to access their organization for troubleshooting and onboarding. This access can be enabled for a specified duration and can be revoked at any time.
- Community and Resources: CARTO has a growing spatial community and offers various resources, including blogs, webinars, and the option to request a demo to understand how to use spatial analysis in your organization.
AI-Driven Tools and Integrations
- CARTO integrates with BigQuery ML, allowing users to build, train, and deploy machine learning models directly within their workflows. This integration enables seamless use of AI in spatial data analysis, such as predicting customer churn or sales forecasting, all within a low-code environment.
These resources and support options are designed to ensure that users can effectively utilize CARTO’s location intelligence platform and address any issues that may arise.
Carto - Pros and Cons
When Considering the Carto Platform
Particularly in the context of its AI-driven spatial analysis capabilities, here are some key advantages and disadvantages to be aware of:
Advantages
Cloud-Native and Scalable
Carto is built to run natively on top of cloud data warehouse platforms such as Google BigQuery, Snowflake, and AWS Redshift. This allows for highly scalable spatial analysis and visualization capabilities without the need for data migration or ETLs.
Ease of Use
The platform offers a user-friendly interface, including drag-and-drop components and a no-code visual model builder called Carto Workflows. This makes it accessible to users with limited exposure to geospatial analysis.
Advanced Spatial Functions
Carto includes over 100 advanced spatial functions, grouped into modules such as tiler, data, clustering, and statistics. These functions enhance the geospatial capabilities available in cloud data warehouses.
Integration with Machine Learning
The BigQuery ML Extension Package allows users to build, train, and deploy machine learning models directly within Carto Workflows, enabling seamless integration of ML into automated pipelines. This feature helps in predicting outcomes and automating data-driven decisions.
Security and Governance
Carto inherits data and user access controls from the cloud data warehouse, ensuring streamlined security and governance. This simplifies the management of large-scale geospatial data.
High-Performance Visualizations
The platform can handle massive datasets and create performant, interactive map visualizations using technologies like deck.gl and WebGL/WebGPU. This ensures that users can visualize billions of data points with ease.
Disadvantages
Cost
The enterprise version of Carto can be expensive, with pricing options such as the Carto Enterprise Large plan costing $89,000 for a 12-month contract. This may be a significant barrier for smaller organizations or individuals.
Learning Curve for Advanced Features
While the basic tools are user-friendly, leveraging the full potential of Carto, especially its advanced spatial functions and ML capabilities, may require some technical expertise and time to learn.
Vendor Refund Policy
Carto has a strict refund policy, with no refunds except when required by law. This could be a risk for organizations that are unsure about committing to the platform.
Dependency on Cloud Infrastructure
Since Carto is cloud-native, it requires a reliable and robust cloud infrastructure to function optimally. Any issues with the cloud data warehouse can impact the performance of Carto.
Overall, Carto offers significant advantages in terms of scalability, ease of use, and advanced spatial analysis capabilities, but it also comes with some costs and technical requirements that need to be considered.
Carto - Comparison with Competitors
Unique Features of CARTO
- AI Agents: CARTO stands out with its AI Agents, which provide both text-based insights and direct map interactions. These agents can search and zoom to specific locations, extract widget values, filter data via widgets, switch layers on and off, and retrieve map coordinates. This interactive capability enhances user engagement and streamlines data exploration.
- Cloud-Native Platform: CARTO is built for the cloud, integrating seamlessly with cloud data warehouses like BigQuery, Snowflake, and Redshift. This allows for efficient data hosting, processing, and rendering without the need for complex ETL processes.
- Comprehensive APIs and Development Toolkit: CARTO offers extensive APIs and development tools that reduce the time and cost of developing location-based apps. It supports various frameworks such as vanilla JavaScript, TypeScript, Vue, React, and Angular, making it versatile for different development stacks.
Competitors and Alternatives
Mapbox
- Custom Online Maps: Mapbox is known for providing custom online maps for websites and applications. It offers a range of services including geocoding, navigation solutions, and traffic data. While Mapbox excels in custom mapping, it does not have the same level of AI-driven map interactions as CARTO.
- Developer Focus: Mapbox has a strong developer community with resources like a developer blog, stock overflow, and public code repositories. However, its focus is more on the technical aspects of mapping rather than AI-driven insights.
Geoblink
- Location Management Platform: Geoblink focuses on location management, particularly in the retail, real estate, and fast-moving consumer goods industries. It offers analytics tools but lacks the advanced AI Agents and cloud-native integration of CARTO.
- Industry-Specific Solutions: Geoblink’s solutions are highly tailored to specific industries, which might limit its applicability in other sectors compared to CARTO’s more versatile platform.
HERE Technologies
- Location Technology and Spatial Intelligence: HERE Technologies specializes in building, deploying, and scaling location solutions. While it offers a comprehensive platform for location technology, it does not have the same level of AI-driven map interactions or cloud-native integration as CARTO.
- Enterprise Focus: HERE Technologies is often used by large enterprises for complex location solutions, which may not be as accessible or cost-effective for smaller organizations compared to CARTO.
Esri
- GIS Software and Location Intelligence: Esri is a leading provider of geographic information system (GIS) software and location intelligence. It offers end-to-end GIS solutions that are highly comprehensive but may require more technical expertise and infrastructure compared to CARTO’s cloud-native approach.
- Sector-Specific Solutions: Esri serves a wide range of sectors including land management, utilities, and disaster management, but its solutions can be more complex and less AI-driven in terms of map interactions.
Conclusion
In summary, while CARTO’s competitors offer strong solutions in the geospatial and location-based data analysis space, CARTO’s unique features such as its AI Agents, cloud-native platform, and comprehensive development toolkit set it apart. These features make CARTO particularly appealing for users seeking interactive and efficient data analysis and visualization.
Carto - Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about CARTO
Can I login to both versions of the CARTO platform with the same credentials?
Yes, you can use the same credentials to log in to both the old and new versions of the CARTO platform. This ensures a seamless transition and access to your data and projects across both platforms.
Will all my data in the previous platform be readily available when I access the new version of CARTO?
Yes, your data from the previous platform will be available when you migrate to the new version of CARTO. However, you may need to migrate your data tables to the CARTO Data Warehouse in the new platform, and CARTO provides assistance for this migration process.
How does CARTO manage security when a map, a workflow, or an application are shared?
CARTO manages security by ensuring that no copies of your data are made when connecting to the platform. When sharing maps, workflows, or applications, CARTO implements secure sharing mechanisms to protect your data. This includes robust login and password management controls, as well as the ability to set up Single Sign-On integrations.
Can I export the data from CARTO and use it on other platforms?
Yes, you can export data from CARTO to use on other platforms. This flexibility allows you to integrate your spatial data into various applications and workflows outside of the CARTO environment.
How does CARTO integrate with cloud data warehouses like BigQuery, Snowflake, and Redshift?
CARTO is fully cloud-native and extends the native analysis and visualization capabilities of cloud data warehouses such as BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, and Databricks. You can design, run, and scale workflows directly within your data warehouse without needing to duplicate data or perform complex ETLs.
What are the key features of the BigQuery ML Extension Package in CARTO?
The BigQuery ML Extension Package allows users to build, train, and deploy machine learning models directly within CARTO Workflows using BigQuery’s ML capabilities. This integration enables seamless incorporation of predictive models into automated pipelines with minimal coding required. Users can train models, run predictions, and evaluate model performance all within the CARTO platform.
Can I use the Analytics Toolbox from the CARTO Data Warehouse connection?
Yes, you can use the Analytics Toolbox from the CARTO Data Warehouse connection. The Analytics Toolbox provides a suite of functions that can be accessed directly from your data warehouse connection, enhancing your spatial analysis capabilities.
What development tools and frameworks can I use with CARTO?
CARTO supports a variety of development tools and frameworks, including vanilla JavaScript, TypeScript, and popular frameworks like Vue, React, and Angular. Additionally, CARTO provides compatibility with deck.gl for high-performance map visualizations.
How does CARTO handle updates and product releases in a Self-hosted deployment?
In a Self-hosted deployment, updates and product releases are managed by the user. CARTO provides information on the requirements for deploying CARTO as Self-hosted, and users are responsible for implementing updates to ensure they have the latest features and security patches.
What kind of support does CARTO offer for migration to the new platform?
CARTO provides assistance for migrating to the new platform. If you need help with the migration, you can contact CARTO, and they will guide you through the process. You may need to provide some information to facilitate the migration, but CARTO ensures that the process does not interfere with standard service operations.