How DataCentral cuts BI complexity at scale

Streamlining the data sharing process

“DataCentral addresses a universal problem,” says Kristjánsson. “How do you address the pain points around the user experience, licensing, compliance, and authentication when sharing data at scale?”

Companies typically use a range of Business Intelligence (BI) tools, such as Power BI, Tableau, or Google Data Studio. Each of these platforms comes with its own interface and access management systems, which complicates the user experience. Even within a single platform like Power BI, the interface can be confusing to navigate.

“Our solution addresses this challenge by acting as a thin layer on top of any BI system,” Kristjánsson explains. “By logging into our platform, users are presented only with the reports that have been shared with them, removing unnecessary distractions and streamlining access.”

“Our solution integrates seamlessly with your existing environment,” he adds, “so there's no need to make any changes. Importantly, data never passes through our servers; data residency stays the same.”

Removing licensing headaches

Traditionally, granting someone access to a Power BI report requires them to have an assigned license, which can be restrictive. DataCentral removes these end-user constraints.

“To give you an example,” says Kristjánsson, “we have a client – an official Land Rover dealership – which previously purchased a set number of end-user licenses to access reports. After implementing DataCentral, they shifted to assigning end user licenses only to team members generating reports, while everyone else accesses data through DataCentral without needing individual licenses. This achieves significant economies of scale by allowing reports to reach many more people without increasing license costs.

“You will bring down licensing cost, but that is not what matters most. Removing the license cost consideration ramps up your data distribution. This is why companies need DataCentral.”

Sandboxing data projects

Another distinctive feature of the platform is its ability to create dedicated “data projects”. Each data project serves as an isolated tenant within the broader solution, designed for a particular data sharing purpose.

One use case for this is airport operations, where various partners and organizations coordinate to manage passenger flow and improve efficiency. “These groups are usually separate entities with strict security policies that prevent external users from accessing their directories, making data sharing challenging,” says Kristjánsson. “DataCentral addresses this by respecting these security rules while enabling outbound data sharing for specific projects and stakeholders.”