Spreadsheet interface makes analytics accessible for average user

Many of us have attempted to organize our lives through spreadsheets, whether it be cataloging our expenses or keeping track of applications. Now Sigma Computing Inc. is enshrining the universally accessible spreadsheet interface.

Sigma’s cloud analytics platform connects to Snowflake Inc.’s Data Cloud with a spreadsheet-like interface, creating a customizable and embedded experience for customers, such as PrismHR, a software platform for payroll and human resources.

Sigma’s Mike Palmer and PrismHR’s Brad Falk talk about bringing data analytics to the average user.

“More than a billion people globally have licenses for spreadsheets. We did the magical thing of taking that skill that everybody has and just applying it to just a massive backend of data inside a company,” said Mike Palmer (pictured, left), chief executive officer of Sigma. “One of the things that Sigma brought as an innovation to this ecosystem was the ability to add data into Snowflake as an average person.”

Palmer and Brad Falk (right), principal architect at PrismHR, spoke with theCUBE’s Rebecca Knight and Dave Vellante at Data Cloud Summit, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed Sigma and Snowflake’s collaboration with PrismHR. (* Disclosure below.)

A spreadsheet interface that serves the average person

One of Sigma’s features is making data and algorithms accessible to the average user, who can then bring their own expertise into the equation. This flexibility is ideal for PrismHR, which services hundreds of different payroll providers.

“[What] really attracted us to Sigma was their embedded analytics feature. We’re able to now provide self-service reporting for our customers in an embedded experience that matches the rest of our applications,” Falk said. “We can package up a lot of reports and dashboards that we deliver out of the box. Our users can just use them how they are, they can customize those to whatever they need, they can build whatever they need from scratch and then they can package that up as an offering to sell to their customers.”

PrismHR is rolling out an updated software platform based on partnerships with Snowflake and Sigma on July 1. The platform maintains PrismHR’s user interface while using Sigma’s spreadsheet interface on the backend and Snowflake’s data power underneath.

“We are looking to bring forward everything that Snowflake makes available in the core platform and make that relevant to an end user,” Palmer said. “We never move data out of the warehouse. So, we’re part of a long-term evolution of better security, better governance, moving away from legacy practices like extracting data to end users so they can finally use it.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage of Data Cloud Summit: 

(* Disclosure: Sigma Computing Inc. and PrismHR sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Sigma, PrismHR nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE