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Databricks vs Looker comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM SPSS Statistics
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Data Mining (3rd), Data Science Platforms (10th)
Databricks
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Data Science Platforms (1st), Streaming Analytics (1st)
Looker
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Embedded BI (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Data Science Platforms
Embedded BI
 

Featured Reviews

AbakarAhmat - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 21, 2023
Enhancing survey analysis that provides valued insightfulness
I use it to analyze questionnaire surveys related to a product, solution, or application, such as open data services, which I provide to consumers and end-users. These surveys contain evaluation assessments, and I use SPSS to analyze the responses The most valuable feature is its robust…
Dunstan Matekenya - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 10, 2024
Process large-scale data sets and integrates with Apache Spark with notebook environment
I primarily use Databricks to process large-scale data sets with Apache Spark. My main use case is processing large data sets, such as 600 GB or 800 GB Databricks integrates natively with Apache Spark, which I use as a processing engine for large-scale datasets. This native integration is one of…
Subramani R - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 5, 2022
The APIs are exposed at every level, so it's highly modular
Looker doesn't connect to Excel, which is a huge disappointment because a lot of data is presented in Excel. Also, it can't consume data directly from REST APIs, which is necessary. Looker needs to expand its horizons when it comes to data sources. The inability to connect to different data sources is hampering our use cases. Currently, it only has an ODBC connection that connects to a database. It needs to connect to other data sources, such as Excel, APIs and different platforms. You can't create very attractive visuals with the built-in features, but I think they're providing some extensions to develop different visualizations. Looker can't create multiple sheets. You can only create one dashboard. It's not that you're able to toggle through different sheets to navigate different visuals. It's just one and people have to scroll through the dashboard. So scrolling is not something that people generally like to do, rather than segregating them in multiple tabs of sheets.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable features are the small learning curve and its ability to hold a lot of data."
"The SPSS interface is very accessible and user-friendly. It's really easy to get information in it. I've shared it with experts and beginners, and everyone can navigate it."
"The software offers consistency across multiple research projects helping us with predictive analytics capabilities."
"The most valuable features mainly include factor analysis, correlation analysis, and geographic analysis."
"It has helped our analyst unit deliver work with more transparency and confidence, given that we can always view the dataset in totality, after each step of data transformation."
"It has the ability to easily change any variable in our research."
"SPSS can handle whatever you throw at it, whether your data set contains 10,000, 100,000, or a million objects. It's like the heavy artillery of analytical tools."
"in terms of the simplicity, I think the SPSS basic can handle it."
"We like that this solution can handle a wide variety and velocity of data engineering, either in batch mode or real-time."
"Specifically for data science and data analytics purposes, it can handle large amounts of data in less time. I can compare it with Teradata. If a job takes five hours with Teradata databases, Databricks can complete it in around three to three and a half hours."
"The capacity of use of the different types of coding is valuable. Databricks also has good performance because it is running in spark extra storage, meaning the performance and the capacity use different kinds of codes."
"It is a cost-effective solution."
"Databricks allows me to automate the creation of a cluster, optimized for machine learning and construct AI machine learning models for the client."
"The solution offers a free community version."
"The solution is easy to use and has a quick start-up time due to being on the cloud."
"The built-in optimization recommendations halved the speed of queries and allowed us to reach decision points and deliver insights very quickly."
"The stability of Looker has been good since I have been using it. However, it depends on what components are being used."
"From a developer's perspective, the way the functionality's being handled is great."
"It's quite effortless to navigate through various applications and review their updated data in real-time."
"The product is easy to use."
"Looker allows you to generate the most optimal SQL queries in a DC through UI actions. We had signed a contract with Google Cloud to use BigQuery. That was the primary reason we adopted Looker. It works better with BigQuery than any other BI platform. We also like how this tool was developed. It was designed with an eye toward microservices architecture."
"We can centralize all our data models."
"I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. I didn't face any issues with stability."
"It is a pretty stable solution because it is a cloud-based product."
 

Cons

"One of the areas that should be similar to Minitabs is the use of blogs. The Minitabs blog helps users understand the tools and gives lots of practical examples. Following the SPSS manual is cumbersome. It's a good, exhaustive manual, but it's not practical to use. With Minitabs, you can go to the blogs and find specific articles written about various components and it's very helpful. Without blogs, we find SPSS more complicated."
"In some cases, the product takes time to load a large dataset. They could improve this particular area."
"This solution is not suitable for use with Big Data."
"If there is any self-generation data collection plan (DCP), it would be helpful in gathering data. It would also be useful if there is a function to scale it up to, let's say, UiPath and have it consolidate and integrate into a UiPath solution."
"Technical support needs some improvement, as they do not respond as quickly as we would like."
"Needs more statistical modelling functions."
"IBM SPSS Statistics could improve the visual outputs where you are producing, for example, a graph for a company board of directors, or an advert."
"I would like SPSS to improve its integration with other data-filing IBM tools. I also think its duration with data, utilization, and graphics could be better."
"There is room for improvement in visualization."
"The Databricks cluster can be improved."
"Databricks requires writing code in Python or SQL, so if you're a good programmer then you can use Databricks."
"The integration of data could be a bit better."
"CI/CD needs additional leverage and support."
"Databricks would have more collaborative features than it has. It should have some more customization for the jobs."
"I would love an integration in my desktop IDE. For now, I have to code on their webpage."
"I believe that this product could be improved by becoming more user-friendly."
"The integration with different databases must be improved."
"Integrations with other BI tools could be better."
"Stability needs improvement."
"The product does not have documented material."
"The visualization capability of the product is limited."
"The main area of concern in Looker is probably related to blending the data from the different sources, including the data present internally in the company and on the cloud."
"Looker doesn't connect to Excel, which is a huge disappointment because a lot of data is presented in Excel. Also, it can't consume data directly from REST APIs, which is necessary. Looker needs to expand its horizons when it comes to data sources. The inability to connect to different data sources is hampering our use cases. Currently, it only has an ODBC connection that connects to a database. It needs to connect to other data sources, such as Excel, APIs, and different platforms."
"It needs to be more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"More affordable training for new staff members."
"It's quite expensive, but they do a special deal for universities."
"If it requires lot of data processing, maybe switching to IBM SPSS Clementine would be better for the buyer."
"SPSS is an expensive piece of software because it's incredibly complex and has been refined over decades, but I would say it's fairly priced."
"Our licence is on a yearly renewal basis. While pricing is not the primary concern in our evaluation, as products are assessed by whether they can meet our user needs and expertise, the cost can be a limiting factor in the number of licences we procure."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"While the pricing of the product may be higher, the accompanying service and features justify the investment."
"We think that IBM SPSS is expensive for this function."
"The basic version of this solution is now open-source, so there are no license costs involved. However, there is a charge for any advanced functionality and this can be quite expensive."
"The solution is based on a licensing model."
"Price-wise, I would rate Databricks a three out of five."
"We find Databricks to be very expensive, although this improved when we found out how to shut it down at night."
"I am based in South Africa, where it is expensive adapting to the cloud, and then there is the price for the tool itself."
"The billing of Databricks can be difficult and should improve."
"I'm not involved in the financing, but I can say that the solution seemed reasonably priced compared to the competitors. Similar products are usually in the same price range. With five being affordable and one being expensive, I would rate Databricks a four out of five."
"Databricks is a very expensive solution. Pricing is an area that could definitely be improved. They could provide a lower end compute and probably reduce the price."
"It is cheap."
"The price of Looker usually depends on the solution's provider, but it is usually cheaper than the other products in the market. Looker is offered at different prices for different companies."
"Looker is expensive and could be made better by reducing it."
"I do not have to make any payments to use the solution."
"It's not cheap, but it's not expensive for big companies."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
University
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
Educational Organization
35%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM SPSS Statistics?
The software offers consistency across multiple research projects helping us with predictive analytics capabilities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM SPSS Statistics?
While the pricing of the product may be higher, the accompanying service and features justify the investment. However...
What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Statistics?
In some cases, the product takes time to load a large dataset. They could improve this particular area.
Which do you prefer - Databricks or Azure Machine Learning Studio?
Databricks gives you the option of working with several different languages, such as SQL, R, Scala, Apache Spark, or ...
How would you compare Databricks vs Amazon SageMaker?
We researched AWS SageMaker, but in the end, we chose Databricks. Databricks is a Unified Analytics Platform designe...
Which would you choose - Databricks or Azure Stream Analytics?
Databricks is an easy-to-set-up and versatile tool for data management, analysis, and business analytics. For analyti...
What do you like most about Looker?
With Looker, I have experienced benefits in terms of usability and shareability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Looker?
I do not have to make any payments to use the solution. In the beginning, Looker may work fine for its users. If adva...
What needs improvement with Looker?
The visualization capability of the product is limited. From an improvement perspective, the product should have more...
 

Also Known As

SPSS Statistics
Databricks Unified Analytics, Databricks Unified Analytics Platform, Redash
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

LDB Group, RightShip, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Capgemini Consulting, TEAC Corporation, Ironside, nViso SA, Razorsight, Si.mobil, University Hospitals of Leicester, CROOZ Inc., GFS Fundraising Solutions, Nedbank Ltd., IDS-TILDA
Elsevier, MyFitnessPal, Sharethrough, Automatic Labs, Celtra, Radius Intelligence, Yesware
Yahoo!, Etsy, Kohler, Hipcamp, Hubspot, Kickstarter, Venmo, Dollar Shave Club, 600+ customer
Find out what your peers are saying about Databricks, Knime, Microsoft and others in Data Science Platforms. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.