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I Don't Have a SQL Database

If you don't have a SQL database for doing analytics, consider the below scenarios:

I use NoSQL databases

Our bias is that NoSQL databases in general are not well-designed for analytics purpose. We recommend you to set up a SQL data warehouse, and use an ELT tool to load data into the warehouse.

I only have Excel CSV files and/or Google spreadsheets (no other database)

If you only have Excel/Google sheets data, Holistics might not be the best options for you. You can consider other reporting tools that work better with Google sheets/Excel like: Google Data Studio, PowerBI.

However, if you have other SQL databases and want to combine Excel/Google sheets data with them, then Holistics is a good choice. Check out our guide on working with Google sheets in Holistics.

I have a SQL database used for production

You have 3 options:

  1. (Least recommended) Connect directly to your SQL production database. This is quick, but it will have impact on your app performance as your BI load increases.
  2. Connect to a replica database if you have any.
  3. (Recommended) Spin up a data-warehouse and load your SQL data into it.

How can I spin up a SQL data warehouse quickly?

If you don't have a SQL database, refer to below to spin up one quickly for data warehousing purposes.


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