Sigma Computing vs i2 Analyst's Notebook

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Our analysts compared Sigma Computing vs i2 Analyst's Notebook based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Business Intelligence Tools, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Sigma Computing Software Tool

Product Basics

Sigma Computing is an analytics solution that directly connects to cloud warehouses and delivers real-time insights that drive data-informed decision making. With a spreadsheet-like interface, it provides a familiar experience for business users and analysts to utilize formulas to analyze and visualize their data. Through a self-service model, users can explore their data and ask and answer questions for themselves. It streamlines complex data analysis processes and promotes teamwork throughout a business with a balance of collaboration and control.

It is entirely cloud-based and enables data access without the risk of extracting, moving and storing data. Suitable for companies of all sizes, this SaaS runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.

Pros
  • User-friendly interface
  • Affordable pricing
  • Scalable for business growth
  • Cloud-based accessibility
  • Responsive customer support
Cons
  • Limited data analysis features
  • Less powerful than competitors
  • Occasional performance issues
  • Restricted data storage capacity
  • Lower customization options
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i2 Analyst's Notebook is a sophisticated software tool designed to facilitate advanced data analysis and visualization, particularly in the realm of Business Intelligence. It excels in transforming complex data sets into comprehensible visual representations, such as link charts and timelines, which aid in identifying patterns, relationships, and trends. This software is particularly well-suited for analysts in law enforcement, military, and financial sectors due to its robust capabilities in handling large volumes of data and uncovering hidden connections.

Key benefits include enhanced decision-making through clear visual insights, improved efficiency in data analysis, and the ability to integrate data from multiple sources. Popular features encompass advanced search functions, customizable visualization options, and powerful analytical tools. Users often highlight its intuitive interface and the depth of analysis it provides as standout aspects.

In comparison to similar products, i2 Analyst's Notebook is frequently praised for its comprehensive feature set and reliability. Pricing typically varies based on the number of licenses and specific organizational needs, with options for annual subscriptions or perpetual licenses, making it adaptable to different budgetary requirements.

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$300 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
$7,160 Annually
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Product Assistance

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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Fast Integration: Without coding experience, users can securely and directly connect to data warehouses and get started without wasting valuable time on importing their data. Analysts can lay the foundation for the entire organization to succeed with data in hours, rather than days.
  • Ease of Use: Users work with a familiar spreadsheet-like interface and formulas to generate insights, no code required. The system automatically translates all the front-end actions input by users into SQL on the back-end.
  • Real-Time Access: Users can leverage the power of the cloud to query data directly where it lives, allowing for live analysis of massive datasets and insights in real time. 
  • Keep Data Safe: Sigma never moves, stores, copies or caches users’ data, instead running queries against the data warehouses and passing the results back to the system, ensuring that data remains secure with robust data governance and platform security that exceeds industry standards. It complies with data privacy guidelines SOC 2 Type II, CSA, GDPR and CCPA.
  • Improve Collaboration: The system eliminates BI bottlenecks and inaccurate analyses by establishing a single, reusable and accessible source of truth for all users to query. Sigma transforms the data modeling process into a collaborative one; users can edit tables and create visualizations together, enabling better communication and decision making by forging a bridge between data teams and business users.
  • Self-Service BI: Users have the freedom to explore ad hoc analysis without waiting for IT teams to update models.
  • SQL Authoring: Users with SQL technical knowledge can create and edit reusable analyses to activate with one-click parsing.
  • Free Trial or Demo: Interested customers can try out the full platform for free for 14 days, or request a demo of the solution to try with their own data warehouse.
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  • Enhanced Data Visualization: Transforms complex data sets into intuitive visual formats, making it easier to identify patterns and relationships.
  • Improved Decision Making: Provides actionable insights through advanced analytics, aiding in more informed and timely business decisions.
  • Streamlined Investigations: Facilitates quicker and more efficient investigations by consolidating disparate data sources into a single, cohesive view.
  • Increased Collaboration: Enables teams to share and collaborate on data and findings in real-time, fostering a more integrated approach to problem-solving.
  • Enhanced Security: Offers robust security features to protect sensitive information, ensuring that data integrity and confidentiality are maintained.
  • Customizable Workflows: Allows users to tailor workflows to their specific needs, enhancing productivity and operational efficiency.
  • Scalability: Supports large volumes of data and can scale with the growth of your organization, ensuring long-term usability.
  • Reduced Operational Costs: By automating routine tasks and improving data accuracy, it helps in reducing the overall operational expenses.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Assists in meeting regulatory requirements by providing comprehensive audit trails and documentation capabilities.
  • Time Savings: Speeds up data analysis and reporting processes, allowing teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than manual data handling.
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  • Data Warehouse Connectivity:  Sigma connects directly with many popular data warehouses, including Snowflake, Google Big Query, Amazon Redshift and PostgreSQL, or users may pull their data from other partners like Matillion, Fivetran, Alooma and Stitch to create their central source of truth by indexing all the tables in those sources. 
  • Dataset Preparation: Sigma creates reusable datasets from individual or joined tables using one or more data sources. These Datasets can be edited either with a no-code worksheet-based interface, or with Sigma’s SQL Runner. 
  • Links: Users can add context to their Datasets by setting up the relationships between datasets in a guided, contextualized way. Non-technical users can preview and create pre-model joins without needing knowledge of the join creation process. The system also pulls pre-existing relationships in databases upon connection with a data warehouse.
  • Data Visualization: Users can create assorted kinds of charts and graphs from their worksheets, including bar charts, line graphs, pie graphs, tables and more. These visualizations can be formatted in various ways. 
  • Object Badges: Users can flag datasets and worksheets as Endorsed, Warning or Deprecated, guiding others to the most accurate and relevant data with a glance.
  • Shareable Workspaces: The platform has both individual and team workspaces, allowing for collaboration on data analysis. These workspaces can be shared externally, providing access to insights to partners or third parties who may benefit from them. The system also has an organization-wide workspace that everyone can search and explore through filters, descriptions and file names.
  • Role-Based Permissions: The system has tiered permission levels from highest to lowest for admins, authors and viewers, to allow different permissions and access settings on a role-by-role basis. Permissions may be granted on an individual or team level, allowing for organizations to add and remove users from access levels based on function, department or other categorization.
  • Data Security: In addition to role-based access control, the platform provides single-sign-on (SSO) and row-level security to ensure safe data analysis. The application has a secure infrastructure, with firewalls, credential and vulnerability checking, peer review, static code analysis, threat and anomaly detection and encryption in transit.
  • JSON Support: The visual interface enables business users to create views with JSON that unlock the value of semi-structured data. These strings of JSON can be stored, referenced and reused for analyses and visualizations across the ecosystem. 
  • Third Party Integrations: The system integrates with Slack and Google Sheets for enhanced collaboration.
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  • Data Visualization: Transforms complex data sets into intuitive visual charts and graphs, making it easier to identify patterns and relationships.
  • Link Analysis: Allows users to map and analyze connections between entities such as people, organizations, and events, facilitating deeper insights.
  • Temporal Analysis: Provides tools to create timelines and sequence events, helping to understand the chronological order and causality.
  • Geospatial Analysis: Integrates with mapping tools to visualize data geographically, aiding in the identification of location-based trends and patterns.
  • Data Integration: Supports the import of data from various sources including databases, spreadsheets, and other software, ensuring comprehensive analysis.
  • Search and Query: Offers advanced search capabilities to filter and query data efficiently, enabling users to find specific information quickly.
  • Social Network Analysis: Analyzes social networks to uncover hidden relationships and key influencers within a network.
  • Customizable Workspaces: Allows users to tailor their analysis environment to their specific needs, enhancing productivity and focus.
  • Reporting and Presentation: Generates detailed reports and presentations directly from the analysis, facilitating clear communication of findings.
  • Collaboration Tools: Enables multiple users to work on the same project simultaneously, promoting teamwork and information sharing.
  • Pattern Analysis: Identifies recurring patterns within data sets, which can be crucial for predictive analysis and decision-making.
  • Data Cleansing: Includes tools to clean and standardize data, ensuring accuracy and consistency in analysis.
  • Entity Extraction: Automatically extracts entities from unstructured data, such as text documents, to streamline the analysis process.
  • Integration with Other Tools: Seamlessly integrates with other IBM i2 products and third-party applications, enhancing its functionality and versatility.
  • Security Features: Implements robust security measures to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
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Product Ranking

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#270

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User Sentiment Summary

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Excellent User Sentiment 2 reviews
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100%
of users recommend this product

i2 Analyst's Notebook has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 100% when considering 2 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

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5.0 (2)

Awards

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i2 Analyst's Notebook stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

User-friendly interface: Sigma's intuitive design and drag-and-drop functionality make it easy for users with limited technical expertise to get started and create insightful reports.
Affordable pricing: Sigma offers a competitive pricing model with a free tier for individual users and small teams, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes.
Scalable for business growth: Sigma's cloud-based architecture scales seamlessly to accommodate growing data volumes and user bases, ensuring your BI solution can grow with your business.
Cloud-based accessibility: Access your data and insights from anywhere, anytime with Sigma's cloud-based platform, eliminating the need for on-premise infrastructure.
Responsive customer support: Sigma provides responsive and helpful customer support via email, phone, and live chat, ensuring you get the assistance you need when you need it.
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Visualizations: Users appreciate the ability to create clear and informative visualizations, such as link analysis diagrams, to quickly identify patterns and relationships in data. This helps them understand complex data sets and communicate insights effectively to stakeholders.
Data Integration: The software's ability to integrate data from various sources, including databases, spreadsheets, and text files, is a major advantage. This allows users to analyze data from different systems in a single platform, providing a comprehensive view of their business operations.
User-Friendly Interface: Users find the interface intuitive and easy to use, even for those with limited technical expertise. This makes it accessible to a wider range of users within an organization, enabling more people to contribute to data analysis and decision-making.
Security Features: The software's robust security features, including access control and data encryption, are essential for organizations handling sensitive data. This ensures that data is protected from unauthorized access and misuse.
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Limited data analysis features: Compared to more robust BI solutions, Sigma offers a less extensive range of advanced data analysis capabilities.
Occasional performance issues: Some users have reported encountering occasional performance issues, such as slow loading times and data refreshes.
Restricted data storage capacity: Sigma's free and lower-tier plans offer limited data storage, requiring upgrades for larger datasets.
Lower customization options: While Sigma offers some customization options, its capabilities are not as extensive as other BI platforms.
Less powerful than competitors: Although Sigma excels in user-friendliness, it may lack the power and flexibility required for complex data analysis needs.
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Steep Learning Curve: New users often find the interface and functionality overwhelming, requiring significant time and effort to master. This can be especially challenging for analysts who are new to data visualization and analysis tools.
Limited Data Connectivity: Connecting to various data sources can be cumbersome, especially for less common or specialized data formats. This can hinder the ability to integrate data from different systems and create a comprehensive view.
Performance Issues: Large datasets can lead to slow performance and lag, making it difficult to analyze data efficiently. This can be frustrating for analysts who need to work with large volumes of information.
Lack of Advanced Analytics: While Analyst's Notebook offers basic analysis capabilities, it lacks advanced features like predictive modeling or machine learning. This can limit its usefulness for organizations seeking to gain deeper insights from their data.
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While Sigma Computing receives praise for its user-friendly interface and affordability, some users feel it lacks compared to similar BI tools like Tableau and Power BI. One user noted, "Sigma is great for beginners, but I quickly outgrew its capabilities. It just doesn't offer the depth of analysis I need." Another echoed this sentiment, stating, "The lack of advanced features was a dealbreaker for me. While Sigma is easy to use, it's not powerful enough for complex data analysis." However, others find Sigma's strengths outweigh its weaknesses. One user commented, "For the price, Sigma is a fantastic tool. It's simple to use and allows me to create insightful reports quickly and easily. I don't need all the bells and whistles offered by other platforms." Another user praised its scalability, saying, "Sigma has grown with my business. As my data volume increased, Sigma seamlessly scaled to accommodate my needs." One differentiating factor is Sigma's focus on real-time data and collaboration. One user highlighted this, saying, "Sigma's ability to work with real-time data is a game-changer. It allows me to make decisions based on the latest information, not outdated data." Another user noted the benefits of collaboration, stating, "Sigma's collaborative features make it easy to work with my team on data analysis. We can share insights and brainstorm ideas in real-time." Ultimately, the suitability of Sigma Computing depends on individual needs and priorities. If you're a small business or individual user who needs a basic, affordable BI tool, Sigma is a great option. However, if you require advanced data analysis capabilities or extensive customization options, you may be better served by a more powerful BI platform.

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User reviews suggest that i2 Analyst's Notebook is a powerful tool for analyzing complex data, but it's not without its flaws. Users praise its ability to visualize data and identify patterns, which is crucial for understanding complex investigations. For example, one user highlighted how the software helped them uncover connections between seemingly unrelated events, leading to a successful prosecution. However, some users complain about the software's steep learning curve and clunky interface, which can be frustrating for new users. One user likened the experience to trying to navigate a maze with a blindfold on. Despite these drawbacks, i2 Analyst's Notebook remains a popular choice for law enforcement and intelligence agencies due to its robust features and ability to handle large datasets. The software's strength lies in its ability to connect the dots, making it ideal for investigations involving complex networks of individuals and organizations. For example, it can be used to track the movement of money, identify potential threats, and analyze social media data. However, the software's complexity can be a barrier for users who are not familiar with data analysis techniques. It's not a tool for casual users; it requires a dedicated team of analysts with the skills and training to use it effectively. Overall, i2 Analyst's Notebook is a powerful tool for organizations that need to analyze large amounts of data and identify patterns. However, it's not for everyone. If you're looking for a user-friendly tool with a gentle learning curve, this might not be the right choice. But if you're serious about uncovering hidden connections and gaining actionable insights, i2 Analyst's Notebook is worth considering.

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