Zoho Corporation has launched a new version of its self-service BI and analytics platform, Zoho Analytics. The update includes new AI and ML capabilities, enabling diagnostic insights, predictive analysis, and automated report generation. It also includes a custom ML model-building studio, seamless integration with Open AI, and third-party BI platform extensions. The new version caters to more businesses and users than competitors. The adoption of data analytics and business intelligence in Southeast Asia is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 7.25% from 2023 to 2028.

“Zoho Analytics launched in 2009 as Zoho Reports, long before technology had caught up to Zoho’s vision for business intelligence,” said Gibu Mathew, VP Product and GM of Zoho APAC. “Since then, Zoho has made considerable investments around automation, no-code/low-code development, third-party integration, machine learning, and Zia, Zoho’s in-house AI engine. The latest version of Zoho Analytics is one of the first solutions from the company that takes advantage of all of these decades-long investments. The result is a democratized platform that is powerful, intelligent, modern, and simple to use.”

The latest version of Zoho Analytics has advanced across four key areas: Data Management, AI, Data Science & Machine Learning, and Extensibility. Below are notable highlights of the platform across these four categories.

Zoho Analytics has expanded its data management capabilities, adding Stream Analytics, ETL data pipelines, and metrics-layer enhancements to ensure broader access to more accurate data for businesses. Critical data management additions to Zoho Analytics are as follows:

  • Zoho Analytics has added Stream Analytics and 25 new data connectors to its expansive 500+ connector portfolio. Now, businesses may access a central repository of data pulled from a broad host of databases for more precise and efficient analysis, unlocking more insights.
  • Within Zoho Analytics, users can now create and manage complex ETL data pipelines, ensuring data is properly extracted, transformed, and deposited by taking the following actions:
    • Create end-to-end data pipelines using Zoho Analytics’ visual builder
    • ‌Build Custom Transforms and ML models using the platform’s Python Code Studio
    • ‌Transform data using natural language with Ask Zia, Zoho’s AI copilot
    • ‌‌Access an automatic versioning system and a new Sandbox environment
    • ‌Orchestrate data pipelines using Zoho Flow
  • Zoho Analytics’ new unified Metrics Layer enables users to define, standardize, monitor, access, control, and catalog all business metrics in a single pane. The platform also extends to serve in a Headless BI mode, allowing data apps to consume the same metrics in real-time for consistent and dependable insights.

Zoho Analytics has introduced Generative AI capabilities across the BI platform to accelerate the adoption of insights for a broad spectrum of user personas. The following AI-powered enhancements deliver more efficient, contextual, accessible, and intelligent insights and actions to the platform:

Diagnostic Analysis: Zoho’s AI-powered, automated insights engine, Zia Insights, now provides diagnostic analytics contextually, bringing decision intelligence into the platform.

Zoho Analytics has added Auto Analysis, enabling AI-powered automated metrics, reports, and dashboard generation.

Zoho Analytics’ seamless Open AI integration—enabled by Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)—drives more relevant and accurate query responses. Using Open AI APIs with Bring Your Key (BYOK), users can more easily find public datasets and create formula & SQL queries. 

Zoho Analytics now features the DSML Studio, allowing users to quickly build custom machine learning models, such as analyzing or predicting customer churn. DSML Studio includes Code Studio, the platform’s new integrated Python code environment where users can create custom ML models and import Python models or externally built libraries, which can be executed within the platform.

Zoho Analytics is more extensible, allowing businesses to sync and standardize data stored across multiple tools and platforms for comprehensive analysis and insights. Zoho Analytics is a composable platform on which any analytical solution can be built. The following are additional key extensibility developments:

  • New BI fabric enables businesses to consolidate insights from multiple BI platforms, such as Power BI and Ta.bleau, onto one easily accessible and searchable analytics portal. Access to the portal can be controlled with fine-grained access permissions.
  • Within Zoho Analytics, users can trigger actionable workflows, including URL and Webhook actions. The platform integrates seamlessly with Zoho Flow, enabling 500+ app triggers.  
  • No-code data connector builder, allowing users to create custom connectors to bring data from any custom application. Partners can also build data connectors that can be published and sold on Zoho Marketplace.

The new Zoho Analytics release features over 100+ updates, including new visualizations, enhanced dashboard building, audit and admin controls, revamped mobile apps, Right-to-Left (RTL) support, and more.

The New Version of Zoho Analytics is available immediately. For information on pricing, please visit: http://www.zoho.com/analytics/pricing.html