Data analytics startup Looker released a new analytical suite for Amazon Web Services (AWS) users that aims to help them optimize cloud performance and monitor spending in the cloud.
Looker’s core technology allows users to connect to databases — regardless of location — and aggregate data across multiple databases. Its platform includes a set of tools that customers can use to perform sophisticated data manipulation.
Additionally, it has partnerships with a handful of big-name database companies including Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Amazon, Cloudera, Databricks, Hortonworks, Treasure Data, HP, Teradata, and Google.
Specifically, the Looker Blocks Suite allows users to drill into Amazon metadata to analyze workload patterns to improve query performance and throughput. It links Amazon Redshift performance to individual queries so admins can optimize distribution and customize Amazon Redshift performance to their specific needs.
AWS already provides tools like its management console to help users get a high level of understanding. But many users have follow-up questions that are more specific, and that’s where these new features come into play, wrote a Looker spokesperson in an email to SDxCentral.
The suite also gathers billing data from AWS and helps users identify opportunities to understand usage and reduce spending. It shows users total cost, data usage, and spend optimization as well as things like user security and authentication notifications.
“Amazon Redshift and AWS already make all this data available to customers, but many don’t take advantage,” the spokesperson said. “With Looker, that is ridiculously easy.”
Looker’s services are comprised of Looker Blocks, which are analytic templates that make it easy for data analysts to build custom data applications specific to their business requirements. The company has a directory with more than 75 blocks and data applications built by users from AWS, Google, Segment, and Salesforce.
It’s worth mentioning the company recently closed an $81.5 million Series D funding round led by CaptialG, Alphabet’s growth equity investment fund. The company has raised a total of $177.5 million since 2013. The Santa Cruz, California-based startup has more than 350 employees.