Blog > Datascience & AI in Marketing in Retail > English Version: Data Studio is now called Looker Studio, what has changed?

English Version: Data Studio is now called Looker Studio, what has changed?

von Mona Makinian

15. November 2022

Lesedauer: 4 Minuten

Management Summary

Looker studio is the new name for Data studio. It is the same as Data Studio with the same features. What has changed is a new connection between Looker and Data Studio. You can now connect Looker to Looker Studio. This connection is created so that Data Studio users also can have the benefits of Looker, for example agile and self served functionality. The Looker Studio announcement highlights just how important Looker is to Google Cloud. Looker Studio will remain free of charge.

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What is Looker Studio?

Looker Studio (previously known as Data Studio) is the newest Google Product with an additional connection to Looker, therefore, the difference between Looker Studio and the old version Data Studio is only valid for companies who have access to both Looker and Data studio. They can now connect these two tools in order to get the best out of both tools.

Looker is a business intelligence software and big data analytics platform that helps you explore, analyze and share real-time business analytics easily. Looker is part of the Google Cloud Platform.

e-dialog is a certified Looker Partner

Contact us. As a Google Cloud Partner, we set up optimized, certified and future-proof systems.

Data Studio users wanted to have the backend capability of Looker, set the model up in Looker and build it in Data Studio. Business Intelligence (BI) users like self served functionalities. They want to work with all data and not wait for any team to write queries and make reports for them. On the other hand, leaders like governed BI. They would like to avoid trust or security issues when they don’t know by whom and how the report is made.

When you connect Looker to Looker Studio, you get the benefits of the model behind Looker in Looker Studio, meaning you define the model (business logic) in Looker and use it in Looker Studio in the form of tables. Because you are connecting to a model, Data Studio tables and charts behave like in Looker. For example when you filter a table in Data Studio, all tables that are related (through a mapping relationship and joining in Looker) will be filtered too.

The connector between these tools is built on Looker API. Looker Studio talks to Looker and Looker talks to data warehouse.

Google Connectors in Looker Studio (Quelle: e-dialog)

Connecting your Looker instance to Looker Studio is through filling out a form and sending it to Google. If you don’t see the Looker connector option in your Data Studio, you need to request it from Google.

After connecting your Looker instance to Looker Studio, you can change frequency of data refresh in Looker.

Data freshness settings in Looker Studio (Quelle: e-dialog)

If you make changes to the data source in Looker Studio, it won’t affect Looker. You can’t break the Looker model by playing around with looker studio.

Benefits of connecting Looker and Looker Studio

Looker users would like to

have drag and drop option for visualizations
access data directly from more than 600 connectors
be able to blend looker with other data sources such as CSV files, Google Sheets and ads.

Looker Studio users would like to

have a central model and business logic to build trust in the queries and visualizations
develop version-controlled models through Git
build applications and within product integrations

Connecting Looker Studio and Looker makes all of the above possible.

Supported Use Cases

With connecting Looker to Looker Studio, the following use cases will be supported;

Users can use Looker model and create highly customizable dashboards in Looker Studio
Data in Data Studio can be blended with data from Looker to create insights
Users can collaborate with users outside of the company and create real-time dashboards

Pricing of Looker Studio

Looker Studio is available at no charge and it will remain free for creators and report viewers. Looker Studio Pro is a paid version of Looker Studio. If you upgrade to Looker Studio Pro, you will receive support and administrative features, such as improved content management, new team collaboration capabilities, and access to technical support.

What`s next

Looker Studio plans expansion of the product in the following aspects:

Looker Studio will improve to fully represent the Looker model
Looker admins will have insights on API activity in Looker studio
Trust between Looker and Looker Studio will further improve

Conclusion

If you have access to Looker instance, you can connect Looker to Looker Studio and get the benefits of both BI tools combined together. If you don’t use Looker in your company, Looker Studio is the same as Data Studio with the same features and free of charge. However, Looker Studio Pro is a paid version with more features in content management, technical support and team collaboration.

Looker has in product live support. But we are also here to help if you have any questions in defining or developing the business model and dashboards. Please contact us at kontakt@e-dialog.group.

If you are new to Looker and are interested to learn more about how to get started with the tool, please send us an email to kontakt@e-dialog.group.

If you are interested to learn more, please check out my blog on 10 Features that make Looker stand out from other BI tools!

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