Alteryx Designer Reviews

We use Alteryx Designer to enable business users to automate their workflows so they don't have to spend time in Excel doing things like pivot tables, VLOOKUPS, or HLOOKUPS. Instead, they can spend more time on analysis than being a spreadsheet slinger.

At my last company, our national account team would need to go to a system to get information on various accounts. They would then need to compile it with the information we have in our system. They would download information that we had in our system into an Excel workbook and the information from the external system into a workbook. They needed to combine each client to find all the information for a single client. That manual manipulation used to take six hours of one person's week, and then that person would need to compile it and send a summary of activities from both systems for our clients. They would then need to publish it for our management to consume. Now, what they're able to do is Alteryx was able to use the API from the external system that they needed information for. They were able to connect that to our system to create one single workbook. In Alteryx, they could do all of the data cleansing preparation and transformation they needed. They were also able to set up an automatic email that was sent out. This ended up saving across the organizations about 2,000 hours a year. With Alteryx, they could find a single source of truth for the clients and could download everything automatically. They could pivot it out and summarize it at the level it needed for our executives to consume.

Workflow automation, in general, is valuable. Likewise, the solution is easy for someone familiar with Excel. Alteryx's user-friendly interface is its number one advantage. We trained over 150 business users, who were primarily salespeople and not necessarily data people, to use this tool for their workflow.

Alteryx's data science and machine learning capabilities are where it loses out to DataIQ. Also, the fact that the server and designer are separate is very frustrating. And, as somebody who needed to assign licenses to people, it was very difficult to collaborate with others and show who has licenses for Alteryx without having to use a third-party process to visualize that.

I would love to see an improvement to the user admin privileges in being able to assign and transition licenses to people more easily. That is something that needs to be key. There's a software called Server Pal that Anypoint has, but I know some other things out there to help people with the server admin piece. One of the most frustrating pieces is that there's not something inherent to Alteryx for administration purposes.

Moreover, Alteryx has some opportunities to improve collaboration as well.

I've used Alteryx Designer for almost a year now.

I rate Alteryx Designer's stability a nine out of ten. I remember the solution being fairly stable.

I rate Alteryx Designer an eight out of ten because it is very scalable.

For the most part, Alteryx was straightforward to deploy. We just had some bandwidth constraints for how long it took with competing priorities.

I think the difficulty with scalability comes in the license cost with Alteryx. It is not a cheap product. Each license is something like $4,000.

DataIQ is an alternative, and its number one thing over Alteryx is its data science and machine learning capabilities. Being able to share workflows and have other people collaborate on the same workflow is another thing that DataIQ has over Alteryx. However, I wouldn't necessarily rate DataIQ over Alteryx. They both have their use cases and their strengths and limitations. But the lack of collaboration is one thing holding Alteryx back.

When choosing Alteryx Designer, reach out to the community because it has a robust community. Leverage all of that for what you can. The Alteryx community is one of its biggest strengths.

I rate Alterx Designer a solid eight out of ten.

The main use case is regarding the finance field, due to its ability to efficiently extract, transform, and load data from various sources into a target database. It enables quick migration of data, with added calculations and transformations, resulting in higher performance compared to other tools.

It is an advantageous feature for finance users as it allows them to work with confidential data without requiring extensive coding knowledge. It helps them to create customized workflows, transform data, perform calculations, and consolidate multiple data sources into a target database. It provides good visibility and control over information, enabling the setup of alerts and notifications based on specific thresholds. Additionally, users can send emails directly from the platform, enhancing communication and collaboration within their teams.

It provides flexibility and scalability in terms of deployment. Users can work individually on their desktops or choose to publish and manage their workflows on a centralized server for higher performance. It efficiently handles large volumes of data, providing reliable performance in both desktop and server environments. It provides numerous possibilities for data delivery and sharing, using it as a data source for other applications, generating Excel files, or storing files on SharePoint.

Alteryx Designer supports connectivity with Snowflake, including the use of public and private keys for authentication. While using a general user ID and password is straightforward, when it comes to encrypted key-based systems, users may face complexity in managing the delivery process. Improving the key-based sign-on process and making it more user-friendly would be a benefit.

I have used it for the last five months.

It is generally stable, with little to no issues during monthly Windows patching. When it happens, it is required to investigate and identify the cause and find a resolution. If that is not possible, collaboration with the vendor is sought to address the problem or potentially roll back the patching and reinstall it.

It is a highly scalable solution and there is an option for a cloud deployment, however, we haven't explored that possibility yet.

The limited availability of resources and slower response times contribute to the challenges in troubleshooting and resolving issues.

Neutral

Unlike other tools like Informatica and Netezza, which are more technical and database-focused, Alteryx Designer is created specifically for business users. It enables data integration tasks and data delivery, including aggregations, calculations, reporting, and business logic, eliminating the need for extensive coding knowledge.

The workflow is typically published directly from the desktop application to the server, avoiding the need to download and upload it between environments. This approach helps manage any potential issues in the process. A team usually consists of a server administrator, application support personnel, and an expert resource responsible for maintaining the workflow from the beginning.

We witnessed a return on investment, but it didn't meet initial expectations.

The licenses are expensive, making it difficult to consider acquiring additional licenses to the existing ones. The cost of a single license is around four thousand dollars, which is costly. I would rate it seven out of ten.

Although is on the expensive side, some companies with specific budgets and requirements may find value in investing in it. I would recommend to carefully evaluate the business needs and the cost structure before deciding to implement the solution. I would rate it eight out of ten.

I use Alteryx Designer as an ETL for extracting data, transforming it in my flow, cleaning it up, joining it with other data sources, and then applying it to my business logic, which envisages a Tableau dashboard. 

The way that Alteryx Designer has helped our organization is by helping us connect to various data sources, extract the data, join it (because it comes from different sources) clean it, and then apply a logic where I have to look up a few other text files if I need to. I then push the data to either a Vertica or Alteryx database or to just a simple Excel file that I can share with my team, my co-workers, and my business users.

The features I found most valuable are the preparation features – the Join and the Transform. I haven't used Alteryx as a data science tool. I haven't used the predictive, and the prescriptive features of Crystal. All that I have used are documentation and transform features and I have used this mostly as an ETL tool, not as a data science tool.

I would like to be able to include small snippets of code inside of the solution. The tool has only drag-and-drop features to make it easy to use, but sometimes I feel like this makes it more complicated. For example, even with a small calculation, I need to do four drag-and-drops, which makes the tool and workflow look very complex. I would be happy with the ability to run a small SQL query or Python script.

I have been using Alteryx for over four years now.

I would rate the scalability of this solution a seven out of ten, with one being not scalable at all and 10 being very scalable.

I didn't have much experience with Alteryx support.

Neutral

The initial setup was very straightforward. The deployment took a couple of hours and we did it in-house with two people. We just applied for the license, downloaded the software, installed it, and started using it.

We have seen a positive ROI as we just bought it as an ETL tool.

My advice is if you're looking for just a simple ETL tool, then this is a good solution for you.

There are about 30 to 35 users of this solution in our company and we are not planning on expanding because we are moving to a code-based solution and Alteryx is more for people who are not into coding.

In general, I would rate Alteryx Designer solution an eight out of ten, with one being bad and 10 being excellent. 

My main use for Alteryx Designer is automating routine daily tasks by creating predefined workflows that run on databases. I use it primarily for data preparation, blending, and simplifying complex tasks into streamlined processes.

I find Alteryx Designer's versatility and variety of tools valuable for my use cases. Specifically, I have found the time series analysis tool and the formula tool quite useful because they are versatile and allow me to manipulate and analyze data effectively. For my daily analytics needs, the entire Alteryx Designer platform is beneficial. 

While Alteryx Designer is a great product overall, its cost can sometimes be a drawback.

I have been working with Alteryx Designer for six months.

I would rate the stability of the product as an eight out of ten.

I would rate the scalability of Alteryx Designer as a four out of ten. While it is good for cloud usage, the limitation of one license per Designer restricts scalability, requiring additional licenses for more users.

The tech support for Alteryx is quite good. When we encounter issues, we email them and typically receive a prompt reply within a day or two.

Before choosing Alteryx Designer, we evaluated other options including open-source software like Orange. However, we opted for Alteryx because it offered enhanced security, a wide range of features including predictive analytics tools, and the potential for future use as our analytics needs evolve.

I would rate the easiness of the initial setup as a six out of ten. Setting up Alteryx Designer initially can be challenging because it is typically handled by the IT team, leaving me with limited control as an end user.

Deploying Alteryx Designer took about a week overall, with the initial setup taking around a month, including procurement. However, the installation itself was quick, taking just a few days. As an end user, my involvement mainly consisted of convincing management of the need for the software, while the IT team handled procurement and installation.

I would rate the return on investment from working with Alteryx as close to 100% since it has significantly helped the business.

I would rate the pricing of Alteryx Designer as an eight out of ten in terms of costliness. Licensing costs vary based on negotiation and increase with the number of licenses needed. There are no additional costs for features or services; you choose from bundled packages based on your needs.

The drag-and-drop interface in Alteryx Designer makes workflow creation quick and easy, boosting my productivity.

The learning curve for new users of Alteryx Designer depends on their background knowledge. Since we haven't added many new users, there hasn't been a significant increase in usage or users. It mainly involves users with existing knowledge, but there is room for improvement in onboarding new users.

My advice for new users would be to clearly define your use cases and requirements before implementing Alteryx Designer. Map out the features you need to solve those use cases and determine if the software aligns with your needs.

Overall I would rate Alteryx Designer as a seven out of ten.

My use case related to Alteryx Designer begins when, in my company, we need our output data in Excel only. One of the use cases of the tool stems during times when you want to do some data manipulation or automation by connecting Alteryx Designer with APIs and by using a lot of tools to turn your raw data into finished data to get the final data in the form of structured tables in Excel. In our company, when we don't need any sort of Excel output, we use other tools like Power BI to prepare the dashboard. When in our company, we need output in Excel only, then we use Alteryx Designer.

Alteryx Designer's user interface is great, as it is very user-friendly. Alteryx Designer's drag-and-drop options are also one of its good features.

The major concern in Alteryx Designer stems from the high costs attached to the product. I know people who want to use Alteryx Designer, but paying around 5,000 USD for the license makes it a very costly product. The price of the product should go down. In general, the product is good.

I think that right now, if in our company, we have to prepare some interactive dashboards, then we have to link Alteryx Designer with Tableau or Power BI. Even though Alteryx Designer allows you to prepare charts and other such stuff, they don't turn out to be great. If Alteryx Designer can improve the data visualization part and allow for the visualization of data in the form of a dashboard in the tool itself, then it would be a great value addition.

The technical support team of Alteryx Designer takes time to respond, making it a shortcoming of the product that requires improvement.

I have experience with Alteryx Designer for two and a half years.

It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

I rate the technical support a six out of ten.

Neutral

I rate the initial setup of Alteryx Designer a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a difficult setup, and ten is an easy setup.

The solution can be deployed in a week.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

In my company, we have a strong and dedicated system team to take care of the deployment phase of Alteryx Designer.

I rate the price of Alteryx Designer a ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price.

One should have experience with Excel before moving to Alteryx Designer.

I rate the overall product a seven out of ten.

We use the solution for file loading and occasional API integration. While I have experience working with APIs, there are specific use cases that I still need to implement. My projects have involved some data cleansing, although it hasn't been complex.

The solution is user-friendly. Even non-tech users familiar with tools like Excel can quickly get started. Compared to the more complex tools I've used, it's quite user-friendly. Setting up connections is straightforward, and you can create tables easily. So, I can assure you that it's more user-friendly, especially for power users or business professionals looking to perform analytics.

There are a few areas where the solution could be improved. When configuring the Logix, the UA could be improved. Column-to-column mapping can be challenging when integrating from source to target. While designed to be user-friendly, the UI-level configurations could use some enhancements. In my experience using the trial version, I couldn't access detailed configurations like deep table access for updates or inserts in the UI. Additionally, scrolling with the mouse sometimes triggers selecting other filters. There is also a need for more documentation and support, especially when dealing with complex API-level tasks. Overall, there's room for improvement at the UI level.

I have been using the solution for the past two months.

The solution is stable.

The choice to use Alteryx Designer was a business decision made by our engineering managers, not my personal choice. Those in leadership positions preferred Alteryx Designer because it was user-friendly, and manageable, allowing them to oversee the process easily. They also favor this tool because they can understand it well and want to assess numerous complex proof of concept (POC) use cases. Alteryx makes it possible for them to achieve this. I've noticed that managers, in particular, are more drawn to Alteryx Designer than other information tools because it enables them to perform some basic analytics.

The initial setup is straightforward.

I have worked with Informatica PowerCenter.

The solution is easy-to-use and a great platform for analytics. I rate it an eight out of ten.

My company specializes in financial consulting, and we primarily use the product for finance-related processes. 

We use Alteryx Designer for analytics. It's quite helpful because once we set it up, we don't have to manually update or process data repeatedly. It saves time, especially for financial reporting, which is typically done monthly or quarterly. Once we set it up initially, we only need to make occasional updates if necessary.

Several features are valuable in Alteryx Designer, especially for tasks like deal remitting in the banking industry. We often use tools for transforming data and calculating rates. Additionally, we frequently create multiple columns within our workflows to meet various requirements.

The tool's interface is easy to use. We utilize it to some extent for predictive analytics. However, people tend to double-check and manually monitor the results closely.

Based on my experience, the tool could be improved by providing sample reports or pre-configured workflows tailored to specific industries, like finance. It needs to integrate an AI chatbot as well. 

I have been working with the product for a year. 

We haven't faced any issues with the stability of the solution. 

I rate the tool's scalability an eight out of ten. My company has four users. 

We haven't needed to engage with Alteryx Designer's technical support yet. We're at an early stage of implementation and haven't encountered any major issues requiring their assistance. If needed, we would certainly reach out to them for support.

In terms of competitors, AWS Data Pipelines is one option that offers similar analytics and workflow capabilities. However, their services might be a better fit if the data primarily resides in AWS. Similarly, Microsoft also provides comparable features.

The setup process for Alteryx Designer is simple. It usually doesn't require technical assistance, and it can be done by a single person.

I rate the product's pricing a two to three out of ten. 

I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten.

We use Alteryx Designer primarily for ETL processes for dashboard creation, throughput analysis, and integration with SmartOps.

The platform is user-friendly and easy to deal with compared to SSRS.

We have been using Alteryx Designer for three years.

The product is stable. I rate its stability a ten out of ten.

I rate the platform's scalability an eight out of ten.

We use SSIS for integration services. We switched to Alteryx Designer as it is user-friendly.

Alteryx Designer can be deployed on the cloud. It has an easy setup process.

I advise others to use Alteryx Designer rather than other products. I rate it a nine out of ten.