Google has announced that it is unifying all its business intelligence tools under the Looker brand. This move will see all existing Google Cloud data analytics programs being included in the Looker Suite and bearing the Looker name. For example, Data Studio is now Looker Studio.
Speaking about the decision, Kate Wright, Google’s Senior Director for Business Intelligence Product Management said: “Looker is the name you’ll hear us use when talking about all of our Google Cloud business intelligence products, as we bring together Looker, Data Studio, and core Google technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning.”
Looker is being launched in Cloud Preview today. The new version will include integrated core cloud infrastructure services, including key security and management services.
Google is continuing to integrate its various business intelligence offerings, following its acquisition of Looker in 2020. The latest development is the integration of Looker Studio with data models from Looker, which will allow users to combine data sources and apply the Looker modeling layer. This unification will allow companies to bring more data into their workflows and applications, so they can make better informed decisions about operations.
Earlier this year, Google launched BigLake and integrated Analytics Hub and BigQueryML into its cloud platform. At the time, Looker was not mentioned. However, Looker Studio will now be available in three tiers, including Looker Studio Pro, which is intended for more advanced users at an enterprise level.
This new Pro version adds additional management features, collaboration tools, and service-level agreements. Google plans to integrate the enterprise version with Dataplex, a data management environment in the future that enables data lineage and metadata visibility.
The features included in Looker Studio Pro are specifically intended for use by large organizations with many employees.