6 April, 2020

Introducing the BigQuery connector for CARTO

For businesses, data has become a near living and breathing capability in the decision-making process. The management of data, its storage, its retrieval and how it is crunched down to show impact and inform management decisions has become a lightning fast and simplified process thanks to cloud data-warehousing options. 

One such option for organisations is Google Cloud’s BigQuery, a serverless, highly scalable and cost-effective cloud data warehouse. BigQuery enables customers to run queries on datasets as large as 100 trillion rows. And now, you can better leverage your location data by performing spatial queries in the self-contained mapping platform, CARTO, through the use of the BigQuery connector for CARTO. 

The connector is currently in Beta however, potential users can gain access through getting in touch with the Liveli team.

What does the connector enable users to do?


The BigQuery connector for CARTO enables you to connect directly into BigQuery tables and query large datasets to derive insights and create a compelling visualisation of your data. 

CARTO allows you to connect to various data sources to kick off your spatial analytics journey. Google’s massive data warehouse, BigQuery, can be one of those sources. 

With the help of the connector, you run a basic SQL query, it extracts the relevant data out of your BigQuery table and pushes it directly into your CARTO database - where it can then be used in CARTO’s location intelligence platform.

Why use the connector? 


For organisations already investing in the power of BigQuery, the connector allows you to take advantage of CARTO to bolster your spatial analytics capability, share compelling insights and obtain big data insights on the fly.

The connector is also an alternative to Google’s Geo Viz sandbox tool which, while providing a simple way to play around with location data from BigQuery tables, suffers from a lack of production-ready features that CARTO offers off the shelf such as rich data styling, spatial analysis, interactive widgets and secure sharing. 

Minimal coding is required to access your BigQuery data and plot it onto a CARTO interface. Users can simply visualise and analyse their BigQuery data sets using CARTO’s intuitive Builder interface. 

Being a serverless product, the connector requires almost no management from an IT team and will be attractive to businesses looking to visualise their big data with a simple tool while saving on costs. 

Who is the connector suitable for? 


The BigQuery connector for CARTO is a valuable tool for industries and organisations that may be grappling with large quantities of spatial data and wish to visualise it for analysis and reporting purposes.

For example, businesses can use CARTO’s time-series animation function to visualise changes to large datasets over space and time. Check out the Westport Leach Highway time-series map here: 

Want to get started? 

Liveli is the CARTO master reseller in Australia and New Zealand and can help you get a CARTO license and access to the BigQuery connector. 

Get in touch with the Liveli team for a no-obligation chat about your project.

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