Overview of Oracle Analytics Cloud
Oracle Analytics Cloud (OAC) is a comprehensive and integrated analytics platform designed to meet the diverse analytical needs of organizations, from small teams to large enterprises. Here’s a detailed look at what the product does and its key features.
What Oracle Analytics Cloud Does
Oracle Analytics Cloud combines existing and new services to deliver a unified analytics solution that integrates governed, centralized analytics with self-service analytics. This platform is built to support the entire analytics workflow, enabling users to connect to data, prepare and enrich data, model, visualize, and collaborate on insights. OAC aims to make organizations more analytics-driven by leveraging machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) throughout the process.
Key Features and Functionality
Data Connectivity and Preparation
- OAC allows users to unify data sources using a wide range of out-of-the-box data connections, including JDBC for legacy systems. It supports ingesting data from various sources, such as Excel, CSV, and other personal data sets. The platform includes robust data preparation capabilities, enabling users to ingest, profile, cleanse, and transform data using various algorithms.
Data Modeling and Governance
- The platform features a semantic layer that abstracts physical data sources and query languages from business users, ensuring a consistent view of business-critical data. This layer supports governed reporting and analytics, ensuring trusted numbers across the enterprise. Users can develop and share self-service data models, and the platform provides enterprise-class semantic modeling for reporting and analysis.
Data Visualization and Discovery
- OAC offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface for generating data visualizations, enhancing competencies in data exploration. Users can visualize and explore data on any device, whether on-premises or in the cloud. The platform supports advanced data visualization, including automatic visualizations and data storytelling, making complex ideas engaging and easy to understand.
Business Scenario Modeling and What-If Analysis
- The platform includes a robust modeling engine for self-service, multidimensional, and visual analyses. This allows users to create business scenarios and perform what-if modeling, facilitating better decision-making.
Mobility and Proactive Insights
- OAC features a mobile application that proactively delivers contextual insights based on users’ daily activities and routines. The mobile app, integrated with the platform, learns users’ patterns and delivers intelligent recommendations for further analysis or data exploration.
Security, Management, and Collaboration
- The platform provides robust enterprise-level reporting, governance, and security features. It includes granular security, data-level access control, and the ability to share reports while ensuring users see only the data they have access to. OAC facilitates collaboration by allowing users to share data and visualizations easily, without the need to manage multiple versions of spreadsheets.
Advanced Analytics and AI/ML Integration
- OAC embeds AI and ML throughout the platform, offering capabilities from no-code, 1-click analytics to customizable algorithms trained for specific use cases. This integration helps organizations go beyond being data-driven to become analytics-driven.
Scalability and Service Management
- The platform is built on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and offers flexible service management capabilities, including fast setup, easy scaling, patching, and automated lifecycle management. It scales easily across the organization, from personal use to enterprise, and adjusts to meet peak demands.
In summary, Oracle Analytics Cloud is a powerful, cloud-native analytics solution that integrates comprehensive analytics capabilities, advanced AI and ML, robust governance, and seamless collaboration tools. It is designed to support all roles within an organization, ensuring that users can derive and share data insights efficiently and securely.