MicroStrategy vs Looker

Comparative matrix for evaluating vendors

Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
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 MSTR vs. Looker: 10 Things to Remember
Differentiator MicroStrategy Looker

• MicroStrategy offers row-level, column-level, and object-level • Looker supports row and some column-level security, but not object-
Security
security. level security. Coding is needed to achieve column-level security.

• MicroStrategy enables organizations to leverage in-memory

In-Memory • Looker does not support a proprietary in-memory engine, instead
cube technology, which increases performance by reducing the
Architecture always relying on accessing data in the database.
need to access data directly from the data warehouse.

• Looker claims it natively supports data prep but provides little

• MicroStrategy offers user-friendly data preparation including
Data Preparation documentation on how to do so. Looker has partnerships with third-
advanced data wrangling and history list recording.
party data prep and wrangling tools like Trifacta and Unifi.

• Looker’s refers to Looks as reports, though they are more of a

• MicroStrategy offers pixel-perfect reporting as well as banded hybrid of bookmarks and dashboards than traditional reports.
Reporting
reports, bursting, and more. Looker does not have a true enterprise reporting solution
(paginated, banded, etc.).

• MicroStrategy offers one, highly customizable mobile • Looker does not support a native mobile app. All mobile analytics
Mobility application with support for offline, write-back, caching, and have to be executed in a browser, which Looker acknowledges can
more. lead to issues scaling and rendering Looker content.

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 MSTR vs. Looker: 10 Things to Remember
Differentiator MicroStrategy Looker

• MicroStrategy APIs and SDKs allow customers to rebrand and • Looker SDKs are used for authentication, parameter serialization,
White-Labeling white label Library, web applications, mobile applications, and response serialization, and other use cases, but do not support
more. white labeling. The platform cannot support a mobile app rebrand.

• MicroStrategy differentiates itself by combining the ease-of-use • LookML requires a deep understanding of SQL. Performing tasks
Self-Service Data of data exploration with enterprise capabilities including like describing dimensions, calculations, and data relationships all
Discovery scalability, performance, security, and governance, in a single involve using LookML, a proprietary coding language specific to
platform. Looker.
• Looker does not support as many connectors as MicroStrategy, in
• MicroStrategy natively supports 100s of the most popular data
fact it claims that BI tools supporting 100s of connectors is a sign of
Connectivity sources, from Excel spreadsheet to relational databases, cloud
inefficient use of resources and time. Instead, they provide an
systems, HDFS and more.
partner list, including Fivetran, Stitch, Informatica, for data access.

• These are not natively supported capabilities. Looker has partnered

• MicroStrategy offers Python and R integration without requiring
Advanced Analytics with numerous third-party tools for AI, machine learning, and
an R Server.
predictive analytics (e.g. DataRobot and Jupyter Notebooks)..

• MicroStrategy Cloud can deploy distributed and redundant

Global Availability systems in over 42 AWS Availability Zones in 16 geographic • Looker’s geo coverage is limited to the US and Europe.
regions around the world.

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Detailed Comparison

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 Enterprise Platform: Object Oriented Reusability
An object-oriented architecture catalogs every aspect of the business in a central location

• MicroStrategy offers a centralized metadata repository VS. • Project Import, an experimental Labs feature, allows for users to
that is built with and contains objects, as defined by import files from other projects. This means that objects can be
developers, and can be reused across the BI project. reused across projects, but since this feature is classified as
• Objects can be combined to create higher level objects ‘experimental,’ Looker cautions that it may or may not remain
(e.g., attributes and metrics make up a report; reports, part of the platform in the future.
filters, and prompts make up a document; documents, • Users can set up LookML projects, or collections of LookML files, to define
and other reports can be embedded into a document - all table relationships, measures (metrics), dimensions (attributes), and more.
Models, Explores, Joins, Views, Dimensions, Measures, Field Sets, Looks,
of which are stored as "metadata objects"), and this
Dashboards, and Visualizations are all dependent on projects.
together delivers a single BI project or a data model.
• LookML projects typically include model files, data files, and more.
• The model not only includes dimensions and metrics, but
• JSON files used in a given project are stored in the data files section.
also covers filters, reports, prompts, custom groups,
reports, dashboards, and documents - making it possible • The Substitution Operator tool allows users to reuse LookML
to flexibly reuse all of these objects multiple times code to reference tables, dimensions, measures, etc.
across any application and BI project. • Doing so requires advanced LookML knowledge and is therefore
limited to a subset of Looker users,
• Changes or modifications made to any object in the
metadata automatically proliferates to all other • Extends allow users to reuse objects by essentially combining two sets of
code and letting one set ‘win.’
dependent objects. The reusable model enables objects
across the BI deployment to be securely reused hundreds
of times by users across the enterprise, without any
duplication of effort, maintaining a single source of the
truth.
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Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Platform: Data Governance
Unique definitions to every dimension and metric bound together by strict rules and a logical model

• The MicroStrategy metadata model makes it possible for VS. • Looker provides some level of data governance control to
anyone with the right privileges to promote new and developers with some caveats:
external content to the Server and tie it to a certified • Looker projects use Git for version control purposes.
data model, all with easy workflows. Developers edit project files in Development Mode and then use
• It is possible to map the metadata at the dimension level, Git to ‘Commit’ and ‘Push’ changes out to all other users.
as well as the cube level, giving users the flexibility to • After changes are made, developers can leverage the Content
control the data that is published to the model. Validator tool to make sure updates are pushed out to all
• The platform supports governance for data from dependent content without causing any errors.
disparate sources, even external non-certified • Content Validator is a Looker Labs feature that has to be manually
sources, that helps build a system of record that users enabled.
can trust--while also delivering flexibility to end users.
• Looker advises users to exercise extreme caution when fixing
• Beyond the ability to govern external data sources, the errors using Content Validator.
platform offers granular security features that allow • The feature has no undo button, and changes can impact a lot of
project owners and data stewards to grant Looker content.
permissions and privileges to the right people. This
• Accidentally deleting a Space can result in the loss of
delivers data security and also personalizes reports and
significant amounts of content that is not likely to be
dashboards to end users.
recoverable. Even if it is recovered, the content will be returned
to individual content creators rather than to the Space from which
it was accidentally deleted.

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Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Platform: User Security
Roles and privileges that assign restrictions ensure the right level of access

• The security model within the MicroStrategy platform is VS. • Looker claims support for row and column-level security, but it
built around users and user groups, which are requires coding to enable column-level security. Object-level
represented as logical metadata objects. This ensures security is not supported.
that data is secured at the most granular levels that goes • Security is defined by users, groups, and attributes.
well beyond Row Level Security (RLS) .
• Users and groups are given specific permissions for accessing folders,
• Security filters based on dimension values help referred to as Spaces, containing Looker content.
ensure that users are restricted to only see data that is • Authentication options include two-factor, Google OAuth, LDAP, SAML, and
relevant to them. This eliminates the need to build OpenID Connect.
multiple copies of the same application, and makes it • Users are cautioned that organizing Spaces introduces room for
possible to optimally scale. error. Users can theoretically lock themselves out of their own
• MicroStrategy has great flexibility on folder structure and content or grant access to content without meaning to.
ACL. With MicroStrategy's tools, administrators can • Accidentally deleting a Space can result in the loss of
apply Access Control Lists (ACLs) to large user significant amounts of content that is not likely to be
groups, restricting the range of data objects they can recoverable. Even if it is recovered, the content will be returned to
access or actions they can perform, and specifying the individual content creators rather than to the Space from which it
scope of their privileges in the environment. was accidentally deleted.
• With Badge, it is possible to provide secure digital • The only way to prevent users from modifying database schema via
authentication options, including geo-fencing and SQL Runner setting up user permissions for the database itself.
time-fencing capabilities, making it possible to restrict
user access based on location and time. • Looker is offering a feature to run queries separately for each
recipient of a scheduled distribution to ensure that permissions are
respected, but it is still in beta only.
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 Enterprise Platform: Scalability
Allow 1000s of users to leverage analytics without sacrificing performance or data size

• MicroStrategy is optimized in its design for enterprise VS. • Scalability especially in the context of the enterprise is subpar.
scale and speed; as such, the platform can support the Looker reports, referred to as Looks, are subject to a row
analytical reporting needs of 100s of thousands of limit of 5,000. To view more rows, the user has to
users across the enterprise. download the data.
• The platform can be clustered with up to 8 nodes with • Looker acknowledges that downloading large amounts of data
work- and user-fencing options to help ensure externally to a spreadsheet software like Excel can be risky.
performance and reliability across the entire user • The risks of downloading large amounts of data includes
population. crashing the app, so Looker admins can limit or remove the
• The platform has no restrictions on data size for either ability of users to download entire query result data sets.
direct or in-memory access to data • Looker can run single-node or as a cluster. The clustered
• MicroStrategy customers are leveraging the platform to option includes load balancing, higher availability, and failover.
store data using in-memory cubes with over 2 billion • Looker recommends the single-node option for
rows while delivering sub-second response times to deployments up to about 50 users.
their end-users.
• Scheduled email content is limited to 15 MB of data.
• MicroStrategy is the only comprehensive analytics vendor
that supports big data analytics with native connectors
to HDFS to access petabytes of data in real time.

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 Enterprise Platform: Performance
Publish and deliver information to end-users with quick response times

• MicroStrategy was among the first BI vendors to support VS. • Looker dashboards are refreshed whenever the page is loaded.
push-down analytical functions across all leading Users can manually refresh data more frequently, but they are
databases. This capability helps drive computations cautioned that doing so can hinder database performance.
intelligently to the database when needed, improving the • Looker customers are also cautioned that multiple users
overall response time to end users. simultaneously accessing a dashboard with auto-refresh
• The platform can create multiple parallel threads to the enabled can impede performance.
database, increasing the speed at which data is fetched • Looker admins can view the Unused Content page to access
from the warehouse. any content that has not been accessed for a given amount of
• MicroStrategy implements self-tuning strategies that time. This way, unnecessary and outdated content can be cut
create caches at key points within the query flow. The out, theoretically freeing up space and maintaining performance.
Server caches data in the following crucial areas: • SQL Runner is a tool for Looker users to view and interact with
Metadata object caching, attribute element caching, the SQL generated by Looker to query databases. Only one
database connection caching, result caching, and query can be run at a time.
document caching.
• Derived tables, a feature allowing users to create tables that do
• The platform is based on an in-memory architecture that not already exist, can be applied to improve query performance.
can partition cubes and process data in parallel,
making it possible to process larger cubes than other • To reduce database workload and improve performance, Looker
vendors in the market. caches previous query results. If a query is run again, Looker
can access the results from the cache rather than starting from
scratch.

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Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Platform: Deployment
Options to deploy on any infrastructure, regardless of size, team, or hardware resources

• MicroStrategy delivers flexible options for deploying VS. • Looker supports cloud and on-premise deployments, though it
analytics across the enterprise with on-premises, cloud, emphasizes cloud deployment over on-premise deployment.
and hybrid options for teams of any size. • Customers electing to deploy Looker in the cloud can choose
• The platform is supported on both Windows and Linux, between Looker-hosted instances and a BYOL model.
and can be clustered with up to 8 Server nodes. • For uses choosing the BYOL model, it is necessary install
• Partnering with AWS, the leading cloud vendor, Chromium, a Google Chrome feature, in order to apply
MicroStrategy allows organizations around the world to some of Looker’s standard features. The BYOL model also
spin up instances for enterprise analytics and leaves updates, archiving, restoring, migrating, and more
mobility in minutes, allowing companies to start small up to the customer.
and expand as needed. • Looker is offered on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud as well as
• Pre-configured environments in the cloud can be the AWS and Azure marketplaces.
created, managed, maintained, and upgraded with
self-service consoles, enabling extremely low TCOs.

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Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Platform: High-availability
Robust architecture that provides the highest uptime for users

• With MicroStrategy, users across the organization can VS. • Looker automatically generates a backup of the internal database
access reliable analytics delivered on a robust each day, which includes Looks, dashboards, users, roles, Spaces,
architecture that is designed for enterprise scale, and all queries run in the past 90 days.
performance, and stability. • To retrieve a backup, customers have to contact Looker
• Disaster recovery and failover options allow organizations support.
to avoid downtimes for end-users. System
• Looker maintains 3 or fewer connections specifically for killing out-
administrators have the choice to setup hot, warm, or
of-control queries.
cold failover strategies (for backup nodes) depending
on the hardware resources available to them. • Looker can run single-node or as a cluster. The clustered option
invokes load balancing, higher availability, and failover. Clustered
• Clustering and work fencing capabilities make it
deployments offer less downtime in the event of an outage.
possible to proactively prevent server crashes by
deflecting heavy jobs to specific servers or time periods. • Clustered Looker deployments automatically reroute traffic when
one or more nodes experience outages.
• Reliable governors at every level of the query path
make it possible to avert system crashes, even under • In order to leverage the clustered deployment option,
peak user and data loads. customers need a MySQL database, Looker nodes, a load
balancer, a shared filesystem, and the proper Looker version.
• Looker advises heightened availability, especially if customers use
the Looker API or embed Looker into customer-facing projects.
• Looker Log messages vary in severity from info (standard updates)
to warn (potentially harmful situations) to fatal (likely to cause
Looker to crash).
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Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Platform: In-memory Architecture
Architecture that can host terabytes of data in-memory making it available to end-users

• The MicroStrategy platform enables organizations to take VS. • Looker does not support a proprietary in-memory engine,
advantage of in-memory cube technology, which instead always relying on accessing data in the database.
increases performance by reducing the need to access
data directly from the data warehouse.
• MicroStrategy in-memory cubes can be quickly loaded
with data using parallel threads from the database
which can also be optimized and fine-tuned for specific
databases.
• Dynamic sourcing is a platform capability that
automatically routes queries to the fastest available
data source—whether it’s a cache, a cube, or the
original relational source, thus helping maximize
performance and throughput.
• MicroStrategy's parallel processing and partitioning
capabilities differentiate it from other vendors, helping
to boost processing speeds in situations where there are
terabytes of data stored in memory.".

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Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Platform: APIs and White Labeling
Customize the platform for a personalized look and feel

• APIs for dossiers and Library allow developers to VS. • Looker provides a REST API called the Looker API. This API is
rebrand, customize, and embed analytics content with designed for use cases like building applications, automating
greater flexibility. scripts, scheduling reports, and more. It is not designed for
• The latest SDK enables organizations to create multiple rebranding a Looker app.
departmental versions of an app. They can customize the • Thought a beta feature part of an experimental new version of the
app name, app icons, and splash screens. Looker API, Looker intends to release a theme customization
• Customized Library apps can be compiled and distributed option in the new feature. Themes will allow users to specify
via email, internal, public app stores, or via EMM vendors custom colors, though they will be limited to three options.
in the AppConfig Community. • Looker SDKs are used for authentication, parameter serialization,
• Users also have the flexibility to Configure and Deploy response serialization, and other use cases, but not for white
Apps via Native EMM Integration. labeling.

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Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2018 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Platform: Monitoring and Telemetry
Platform Analytics and Real-time Telemetry of Usage

• MicroStrategy offers next-generation telemetry VS. • Looker’s Admin tab, available to users with the necessary
capabilities to help administrators easily understand privileges, provides access to users, groups, roles, and more.
usage on every project. • Though still in beta, Looker plans to make a System Activity
• MicroStrategy captures and presents real-time usage section available in the near future. This section will include
data from the platform with the Platform Analytics downloadable, drillable, and schedulable dashboards for tracking
application. With this feature, administrators can actively users, content, and performance.
monitor the health of the system, track adoption rates, • The User Activity dashboard includes KPIs and charts describing
and ensure that the organization’s mission-critical users, queries, engagement, and more.
applications are always up and running.
• The Content Activity dashboard covers different types of Looker
content created and scheduled over time.
• The Performance Audit dashboard displays queries, runtimes,
concurrency, schedules, and more.
• These dashboards are presumably subject to the same
refresh schedules as other dashboards, meaning they
refresh each time they are loaded.
• Currently, admins can access a Usage panel that connects to the
Looker database to provide historical information on queries,
runtime, content popularity and creation, and more.

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 Enterprise Analytics: Self-service Data Discovery
Intuitive workflows for end-users to access, visualize, analyze, and share insights without involving IT

• MicroStrategy differentiates itself from other point VS. • Performing tasks like describing dimensions, calculations, and data
solutions by combining the ease-of-use of data relationships all involve using LookML, a coding language
exploration with enterprise capabilities including specific to Looker. LookML requires an understanding of SQL.
scalability, performance, security, and governance, in • Looker users need to learn a new syntax to make the most of the tool,
a single platform. something that users have criticized in Gartner Peer Insights.
• MicroStrategy provides the ability to visualize data with • Looker does not support NLG or NLQ. The platform can suggest
any chart or graph natively and offers workflows to filters, but it really just auto fills values once users start typing.
include D3, Highcharts, Google Charts, and other • Users can access, visualize, analyze, and share data from the Explore tab.
libraries (including open source and NLG options) Sharing includes scheduled dashboard delivery, immediate delivery, sharing
• Includes easy sharing options (PDF, email, send to file URLs, and embedding.
location, print, and more), and workflows to promote • When sharing content without a schedule right away, users can still send
external data into a governed model. Also supports content with filters enabled to focus what the recipient views.
options to export to PDF and email options. • From the Explore tab, users can save individual ‘Explores’ for different topics
(e.g. Products, Orders, etc.). An Explore is essentially a saved group of
• Users can enter in natural language questions and dimensions (attributes) and measures (metrics). Explores can also include
MicroStrategy will automatically suggest the most filters and visualizations.
relevant chart or graph.
• Dashboards can be downloaded as CSV or PDF files, though doing
• The OOTB KPI visualization can display the current value so requires specific privileges. Looker data can be downloaded in
of any KPI on a single card and break the KPI by any PDF, CSV, Excel, HTML, JSON, PNG, TXT, and other formats.
attribute for more detailed analyses, which will add more
• Users can chat from within the Looker interface.
cards to the same visualization. Each card represents a
value for each element of the attribute. There is no
16 restriction on the number of cards that can be displayed.
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 Enterprise Analytics: Library
Business users access apps through a simple, personalized interface

• The MicroStrategy Library is a personalized portal for every VS. • When users open Looker, they are taken to a Home page. On this
end user to access all their BI content or dossiers. page, users can toggle to Browse, Explore, Develop , and Admin
• Authors can easily share a link to any dossier - hosted in the pages.
MicroStrategy Library - view all dossiers an end user is • Not all users can access every page, as access depends on user
subscribed to, and easily search the Library. privileges.

• Library is also available to mobile users on iPhone, iPad and • The Home page, a new feature still in beta, makes content
Android devices. suggestions for each user based on the activity of users within a
given group.
• A recommender system allows users to view dossiers that
use data similar to their own, delivering new insights to users • Admins can post announcements on users’ home pages to
from across the organization. In addition to recommendations announce news, interesting data, and more.
for dossiers, recommendations for report service documents • Another side bar menu provides links for the user’s content, shared
are available for Workstation and Library. End users can share content, dashboards, popular content, favorited content, recently
links to dossiers, hosted in Library, for simple distribution. viewed content, trash, and other folders.
• When users interact with dossiers in Library on Web and • There is a search bar available for quickly accessing Looker
Mobile, the product remembers the last viewed page or state content, but it is keyword-based as opposed to NLQ-based.
of the dossier. Users can access bookmarks in the Library
• The Home page is not optimized for mobile, as Looker does
seamlessly between Web and Mobile. They can also easily
not provide a dedicated mobile application.
edit, rename, or delete bookmarks.
• MicroStrategy automatically saves a personal version of a
dossier for any consumer that includes changes made to
filters, chapters, and other analyses that won’t affect other
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users who have access through the Library. Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2018 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Analytics: Optimized Connectivity
Drivers and gateways that deliver instant and reliable access to a variety of data sources

• MicroStrategy natively supports 100s of the most popular VS. • Looker claims that BI tools supporting 100s of connectors is a
data sources, from Excel spreadsheet to relational sign of inefficient use of resources and time. Instead, they
databases, cloud systems, HDFS and more. provide an extensive partner list, including Fivetran, Stitch,
• Organizations can also build their own connectors to Informatica, and more.
custom data assets with APIs. • When users need to connect their Looker platform to a
• Each connector is optimized for high performance, with the database, they have to secure, configure, then connect.
ability to intelligently push-down calculations to the databases • The database connection step involves manually inputting
when needed, generate multi-pass SQL, load parallel various settings (e.g. SQL dialect, Host: Port, schema, etc.),
threads simultaneously, and load data without restrictions on testing connection settings, and configuring how users can sign-
size or type. in.
• Easy workflows are available to business users to blend
data on their own without IT support.
• VLDB parameters are available to fine-tune and optimize
SQL generation specific to each database.
• An aggregate-aware SQL generation engine transparently
navigates aggregate tables, dynamically directing queries to
summary tables, without the user having to specify the use of
the table when creating the query.
• For all data authoring interfaces users can choose between
two data access modes: connect live and in-memory access.
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Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Analytics: Data Preparation and Blending
Transform and arrange data to make it better suited for visual exploration

• MicroStrategy offers built-in data wrangling and VS. • Looker claims to enable users to prepare and wrangle data within
blending capabilities and is supported across all data its platform but provides little documentation on how to do so.
sources. Specifically, Looker describes enabling users to prepare data for
• End users can perform transformations on data prior to machine learning and advanced analytical purposes, including
visualizing information using dozens of functions merging results.
available via graphical interfaces and without exporting • In its 2018 Critical Capabilities report, Gartner rated Looker’s
out to Excel. data preparation abilities as fair.
• Data wrangling and blending is possible by business • Looker has partnerships with third-party data prep and
users across spreadsheets, relational sources, HDFS, wrangling tools like Trifacta and Unifi.
cloud systems, and other popular databases.
• Users can split columns, identify spelling errors, perform
text and numeric facets, eliminate white spaces, pivot
tables, and perform dozens more transformations based
on intelligent recommendations from the product.
• History lists are automatically recorded, so when more
current data is available, the actions do not need to be
repeated.

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Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Analytics: Enterprise Reports
View large volumes of data in an easy-to-read grid format

• MicroStrategy provides a flexible reporting environment VS. • Looker’s refers to Looks as reports, though they are more
leveraging OLAP functionality to allow end users to quickly of a hybrid of bookmarks and dashboards than
slice and dice data from across multiple sources: traditional reports.
• Sorting, pivoting, page-by, drill down, drill anywhere, totals and • Looker does not have a true enterprise reporting
subtotals, one-click metrics, derived elements, view filters, lock solution (paginated, banded, etc.).
headers, switch between grid/graph, fit to content/window, and more.
• Looker dashboards are created from the Explore page, and a
• Developers can design operational reports and statements Look is a way of saving filters, visualizations, sorting, and more.
using drag-and-drop functionality and flexible formatting to
• Looks can be saved, annotated with titles and descriptions,
structure large amounts of data into a natural hierarchy for shared, and more.
readability / easy navigation.
• From a look, the users can see the title, the creator, the number of
• MicroStrategy enables parameter-driven reports by rows of data involved, the query time, the last refresh, any filters
supporting the most types of user prompts, allowing users applied, the description, and schedules made for the look,
to input selections at runtime to alter report contents. whether or not the look has been added to any dashboards,
visualizations, and more.
• Options include simple dimension prompts, hierarchy prompts, list
prompts, object prompts, value prompts, level prompts. • With drilling, users can view a subset of the data involved in
the Look in report format. However, these reports are
• With the ability to publish banded reports, the platform can roll
subject to a row limit of 5,000.
up and present dynamic aggregates for large volumes across
100s of pages of data.
• Hierarchy reporting capabilities include performance
optimizations, custom group creation, improved filtering
options, and more.
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Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Analytics: Dashboards and Documents
Highly formatted options to author, visualize, and interact with data to identify trends and outliers

• MicroStrategy delivers graphical WYSIWYG designer VS. • Looker defines dashboards as a collection of visualizations, text,
tools to create pixel-perfect documents, invoices, and queries displayed in tiles.
statements, scorecards, and interactive real-time • Dashboards can either be User-Defined (created by business users) or
dashboards, all from a single design editor. LookML-Defined (created by developers).
• All styles of BI described above support responsive • LookML-Defined dashboards offer more customization options,
design and can be consumed on any browser or mobile including specifying colors for visualizations. Both types of
device. dashboards can be converted to the other.

• Dashboards are built on the metadata model, so they • Tiles can be shifted around and resized.
are secure and personalized for each user, and support • Users can make temporary changes, such as filters, to
transactions, offline consumption, and can be delivered in dashboards that do not proliferate to other users.
any desired format. • However, these changes are not savable like bookmarks. Once a
• Dashboards support ad-hoc data discovery across filter is saved, it changes the dashboard for everyone.
100s of options and let users visualize data with access • While creating an Explore, described by Looker as a starting point for a
to native and third-party charting libraries. query, users can save Looks to store filter, visualization, field, sort, and
other selections. These Looks can then be shared with other users or
• Transactional workflows can be embedded to enable added to dashboards.
write-back capabilities for both web and mobile
• Looker offers about 15 chart types. Customization options include
applications.
legend positioning and combining visualization types (line and
• MicroStrategy allows users to view query details for each bar).
visualization on a dossier, exposing execution times for • Users cannot do much by way of customizing the color palettes of
each visualization in the query details window. visualizations unless they create a LookML-Defined dashboard.
21
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Analytics: Mobile Analytics
Consume reports and dashboards on mobile devices, with complete interactivity

• Mobile is fully integrated into the MicroStrategy VS. • Looker does not support a native mobile app.
analytics platform, so organizations can leverage • All mobile analytics have to be carried in a browser, which even
existing visualizations, reports, and dashboards to Looker acknowledges can lead to issues scaling and rendering
instantly deploy BI on mobile devices. Looker content.
• MicroStrategy Mobile enhances the mobile experience on • Users can view and interact with dashboards and
iOS and Android by delivering native apps that let users visualizations in browsers on mobile devices.
take full advantage of the unique capabilities of their • Interactivity includes some drilling.
mobile devices when interacting with their data, while • Users have reported issues with iPad browser rendering,
also being able to rely on transaction and offline including having the edges chopped off of content.
capabilities.
• With flexible, code-free tools and a click-to-configure
development canvas, organizations can mobilize
business workflows and deliver a highly responsive,
native user experience with apps that can be built in
record time and at a fraction of the cost.
• MSTR supports iPhone X Super Retina Display.
• Mobile users will now be prompted to authenticate via
TouchID, FaceID, or Device Passcode, depending on
their device type and application setting.

22
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Analytics: Real-time Analytics
Deliver instant analytics and insights where data is available in real-time

• MicroStrategy delivers the ability to visualize data from VS. • Much of Looker’s claims of real-time analytics are based on
external streaming applications and trigger alerts the idea that business users can generated insights without
from these sources. having to wait on IT, indicating a much lower standard for
• MicroStrategy offers the ability to ingest real-time feeds real-time analytics than MicroStrategy.
from Storm, Spark and Kakfa, via custom connector API • Looker does not support a proprietary in-memory engine.
and other SQL on Spark gateways. For other relational Data is queried where it lies at run-time. In that sense,
systems, the platform can also support data refreshes at Looker offers live data access.
the smallest intervals, and can perform at the speed of • Looker partners with third-party tool Confluent to provide
incoming information. streaming.
• MicroStrategy can also integrate with 3rd party
visualizations and widgets that support real-time real-
time information and give an instant view of the data.
• The application can also send threshold-based alerts
to any device allowing decision-makers to take instant
and proactive action, all in real time.
• MicroStrategy can also integrate with visualizations
and widgets that support real-time mapping of
information on both Web and Mobile.

23
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Analytics: Advanced and Predictive Analytics
The right data at the right level is used to perform descriptive and diagnostic statistics

• Includes a native analytical library containing over 350 VS. • Looker has partnered with numerous third-party tools for AI,
Functions out-of-the-box. Machine Learning, Advanced Analytics, and Predictive Analytics.
• Built-in library covering the most commonly used data mining These are not natively supported functionalities.
algorithms and Developer client has graphical user interfaces • For advanced and predictive analytics, Looker supports an R SDK
for training and deploying data mining models. That includes for using Looker data with R and RStudio. Customers use API
importing predictive analytics from third party tools like calls to bring Looker data into RStudio. Looker requires an R
SAS, IBM/SPSS and R, using the Predictive Model Markup Server.,
Language, or PMML, the de facto industry standard for • Looker also partners with Jupyter Notebooks to support Python
predictive model interoperability. connections.
• MicroStrategy natively supports the R open source • Machine learning depends on third-party tools like Google
statistical language and environment and has the best R TensorFlow, and DataRobot.
integration in the industry, thanks to the architecture that was
organically built with analytical scalability in mind. • Big Squid, another third-party tool partnered with Looker, provides
predictive analytics solutions.
• MicroStrategy does not require an R Server (although one
can optionally be used if desired). MicroStrategy calls
standalone R Scripts configured to be executed concurrently by
any number of metrics so that multiple applications can
simultaneously use the same script.
• The mstrio packages allow users to create and update
MicroStrategy in-memory cubes from R and Python data
frames. It also allows users to extract data from cubes and
24 reports directly into R and Python. Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Analytics: Big Data Analytics
Access data from Hadoop and other distributed file systems without limitations on size

• Users can access native connectors to HDFS while also VS. • Looker users can connect to Hadoop via Spark, Impala, and
leveraging built-in workflows for data preparation on top of more. Hadoop data is left entirely in-database.
Hadoop data. It is easy to access data from any flavor of • Third-party tools like DataRobot also provide automation
Hadoop, including Cloudera, Hortonworks, and capabilities for big data analytics.
MapR, with comprehensive support for Spark, Kerberos,
and the top file formats. • Looker supports LDAP, SSL, Kerberos, Apache Sentry, and other
security configurations.
• Users can leverage information from click streams, web
activity, call center logs, and ID scans - and blend it with
data from other sources using graphical workflows.
• MicroStrategy connects to big data sources and NoSQL
options such as MongoDB and Cassandra.
• Users can also limit and manage the amount of data
imported from HDFS, or perform aggregations on top of the
data prior to importing it into MicroStrategy for analysis.
• Users can also apply advanced functions and filters to
control and restrict the amount of data.
• With the latest MicroStrategy version, end user credentials
can be used to authenticate all the way into the underlying file
system—enabling organizations to seamlessly leverage their
existing Hadoop security policy for data access from
MicroStrategy.
25
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Analytics: HyperIntelligence
Zero-click analytics

• MicroStrategy offers contextual, in-line analytics allowing VS. • Looker does not support a feature similar to
organizations to inject intelligence into their web HyperIntelligence.
browsers.
• A plug-in is configured, after which users simply log-in
and the plug-in will scan the webpage and highlight
anything related to the underlying dataset.

26
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2018 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Analytics: Automated Distribution and Alerting
Distribute reports, dashboards, and documents to very large audiences in a personalized and
automated manner

• From bursting and smart pagination for PDF exports VS. • Looker allows automated distribution of visualizations, data,
to the delivery of highly personalized content, Looks, and dashboards.
MicroStrategy delivers sophisticated distribution • Distribution settings can send content via email, Amazon S3,
capabilities that make it possible to publish data and SFTB server, webhook, or another integrated service (e.g.
insights across the organization to 100s of thousands of Azure Storage, Marketo, Slack, etc.).
users without the need to invest in other technologies.
• Content can be sent out in intervals of days, weeks, months,
• Security filters and ACLs set on the user level hours, or minutes.
guarantees personalized and secure information to 1000s
of users with the delivery of a single dashboard. • When scheduling, users can select filters to customize results
for different audiences. Schedulers can select an option that
• Alerting capabilities can monitor KPI values when new automatically customizes filters based on each user’s
data is available and send detailed reports or alert permissions. Schedules can be customized to only send if
messages when thresholds are reached. data has changed since the last distribution.
• MicroStrategy supports the widest variety of delivery • Another customization option is to distribute only if a particular
methods, with optimal formatting for each device and query yields results. This means users can schedule
application. distribution based on queries like “Orders Late” and receive
• MicroStrategy leverages segmentation capabilities to alerts if shipments are behind schedule.
manage resource utilization in large scale report • Looker is offering a feature to run queries separately for
delivery deployments by analyzing the list of each recipient of a scheduled distribution to ensure that
subscriptions to determine if several subscriptions share permissions are respected, but it is still in beta only.
the same combination of security and personalization and
grouping them into buckets since they receive the same
27 content. Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Mobility: Transactional Workflows
Write-back capabilities allow mobile users to submit transactions to ERP, CRM, etc.

• Provides mobile write-back capabilities that let users VS. • Looker does not support mobile write-back.
update systems of record from the field. Users can
change data on the fly, insert new information, and
view updated reports and dashboards.
• These transactions can include one-tap approvals and
denials, inputs for capturing new information, and
editing existing information in ERP systems,
CRM systems, and other operational databases.
• App developers can create smart forms that are
contextual and conditional, based on a user’s
permissions or location.
• MicroStrategy offers a broad set of input controls,
including barcode scanners, signature capture, star
rating, text and number fields, calendar, camera,
steppers, sliders, and more.
• Users can access transactional inputs and forms
regardless of internet connectivity. When offline,
transactions are queued for submission and
executed when the user next connects.

28
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Mobility: Offline Access
Ability to support applications in offline mode regardless of connectivity

• MicroStrategy Mobile apps can be configured to work VS. • Looker does not support mobile offline access .
entirely offline. This includes support for analytics,
visualizations, multimedia, and transactions.
• MicroStrategy provides advanced offline functionality,
including:
• prompt panels displaying caches for multiple prompt scenarios
• visual cues, such as shading to indicate offline availability
• a view of transaction queues
• the ability to delete / edit transactions before a connection
is reestablished
• While users work offline, mobile usage stats are still
submitted to the server once the user reconnects.
• Data-at-rest is highly secured. The stored data is
encrypted; the app can still require credentials, and the
offline cache can be set to expire at a desired time.
• In Library, organizations can leverage subscription
caches that enable users to access critical content faster
without needing to regularly re-execute the dossier.
• Pre-caching is available on iOS devices. Dossiers are
available offline without requiring users to execute the
29 dossier first. Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Mobility: Mobile Client Caching
Mobile Client Caching for High Performance

• MicroStrategy offers three main caching strategies that VS. • Looker does not support mobile client caching.
customers can leverage when configuring their apps:
automatic caching (devices check for new and updated
content and sync content in the background), pre-caching
folders (a set of objects are pre-cached when the app
starts), and adaptive mobile caching (the app prioritizes
background cache loading based on where the user is
and downloads content the user will likely want to see
before they tap on it).
• MicroStrategy has a sophisticated analytical engine within
the mobile client, so the mobile client itself can
perform computations on locally cached data without
having to go back to the server. Because the
computations can be done locally on the device, this also
helps to speed app performance.
• As a 100% native app, MicroStrategy uses OpenGL
frameworks available on the mobile OS which help to
achieve maximum app performance. All of the drawings
(renderings) of visualizations leverage native device
drawing capabilities which are optimized for high
performance.
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Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Mobility: Personalized Alerts
Personalized Alerts via Push Notifications

• MicroStrategy’s scalable alerting engine provides VS. • Looker does not support personalized mobile alerts.
personalized alerts to every user.
• The alerting engine is based on a robust distribution
server that supports monitoring multiple data sources
100s of 1000s of times every minute and creating
personalized alerts for mobile users when a set condition
has been met.
• Thresholds can be set on any metric on any report.
• Alerts are handled through the device’s native push
notification system in one of three forms: a badge (a
graphic associated with the application), a home screen
notification (a message which the user can view and
interact with), and/or a sound.
• Smart badges can show metric values or the number
of alerts.
• Users are notified when they are mentioned in a
collaboration post and can take action directly from the
home screen or lock screen when using MicroStrategy
Dossier app for iPad and Android tablet.

31
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Mobility: Customize/White Label
Rebrand the mobile app by including customized icons, as well as splash, launch, and login screens

• The Mobile SDK provides app developers with a VS. • Looker does not support a dedicated mobile application to
multitude of customization options. This includes a customize.
code-free approach to white-labeling and rebranding
any MicroStrategy Mobile app.
• Customization includes changing icons, as well as
splash, launch, and login screens. It enables developers
to match corporate branding and look-and-feel
standards.

32
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Mobility: Integration with EMM Vendors
Native SDK integration with leading EMM vendors

• MicroStrategy's native mobile security features provide VS. • Looker does not support a dedicated mobile app to
extensive capabilities to protect sensitive company data, integrate with EMM vendors.
but MicroStrategy provides the flexibility to leverage
additional third-party capabilities, including those
provided by EMM vendors.
• Enterprise Management Mobility (EMM) vendors offer two
methods for incorporating their libraries into mobile apps:
app wrapping or native SDK integration. MicroStrategy
customers have used both options.
• MicroStrategy offers native SDK integration on iOS
with three EMM providers: MobileIron, Blackberry
Dynamics, and AirWatch. MicroStrategy offers native
SDK integration on Android with AirWatch.
• MicroStrategy Mobile out of of box app supports EMM
capabilities via implementation of the AppConfig
guidelines, natively on both iOS and Android.

33
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Embedded Analytics: Custom Web Applications
Modify and extend existing functionality, create a custom web application

• The MicroStrategy Web SDK enables developers to build VS. • Looker users can use iframes, a dated tool, to embed tables
a full-fledged web application or change the look and feel and charts into websites without requiring any authentication.
of an existing web application with an intuitive • If authentication is necessary, users can embed content with a log-in
customization tool. required.
• The Web Customization Editor is integrated with the most • Once content is embedded, users can interact with content using
widely used Java IDE, Eclipse. With over 5000 classes JavaScript.
exposed in the Web API, this integration not only • Though still a beta feature, all customers will soon have
simplifies development, but also allows developers to the option to customize themes of embedded
write their code without modifying any source code or out- dashboards.
of-the-box configuration files. The Web SDK also allows
• This functionality includes changing the font, text color,
developers to write their own Web Services that
background color, and tile color of a dashboard.
encapsulate MicroStrategy functionality and expose this
functionality to third-party applications.
• In addition, MicroStrategy provides a plug-in architecture
that enables developers to extend out-of-the-box
MicroStrategy Web code with stand-alone
customizations without the need to change the source
code, thus, making upgrades without recoding
possible. MicroStrategy supports the following languages
for Web SDK: Java, XML/JSON, JavaScript, and .NET.

34
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Embedded Analytics: Embed Third-Party Data as Datasets
Push data directly into a BI application for use in dashboards or reports

• Organizations are always looking to connect to a variety VS. • Looker does not support a Push API for pushing
of sources that may not be natively supported with the external data into in-memory cubes.
platform. Using the Push API, organizations can push • Looker does not support a proprietary in-memory
external data in JSON format using REST APIs into engine.
in-memory cubes on the MicroStrategy Intelligence
Server, so users can readily consume, process, and
analyze the corresponding data.
• MicroStrategy makes it possible for organizations to
leverage new data assets by enabling applications such
as ETL tools that connect to these data sources and
move data into MicroStrategy.
• The Push API enables third-party vendors to generate
MicroStrategy datasets, thus, unlocking new end-user
workflows and opportunities for partner integrations..

35
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Embedded Analytics: Custom Connectors and Visualizations
Extend the customization options of your BI tool

• MicroStrategy integrates with third-party and open source VS. • Custom visualizations are available via a beta labs feature.
JavaScript visualizations, so users can tell even more These visualizations are created in sandbox environments.
compelling stories with their data. Provides APIs, tools, • Admin users can add visualization options via custom
samples, and documentation to help users build custom JavaScript charts. Looker cautions that customer support does
HTML5 visualizations using open source and commercial not include helping with custom visualizations.
libraries like D3 and Google Charts.
• Users can also code custom visualizations using D3.
• Users can build out support for functionality including
selectors, drop zones, color palettes, and thresholds. It • Looker does not support custom connectors.
is also possible to transform visualizations into text-based
narratives by integrating with native language generation
(NLG) platforms, such as those offered by Automated
Insights and Narrative Science.
• Natively supports 100s of the most popular data sources
and continues to enhance connectivity with each database
upgrade. Allows organizations to build their own connectors
to custom data assets with the Data Connector SDK.

36
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Embedded Analytics: Multitenancy Support and Restful APIs
Extend the customization options of your BI tool

• With RESTful APIs, organizations can use MicroStrategy VS. • Looker provides a REST API called the Looker API. This API
as a data source to quickly extract subsets of pre- is designed for use cases like building applications,
processed data in JSON format. This addresses the automating scripts, scheduling reports, and more.
needs of large enterprises and OEM partners that • Looker does not support connectors for other BI tools
consume data through MicroStrategy's governed and like Tableau, Qlik, or Power BI.
secured architecture via customized business
applications.
• Customers using other BI tools like Tableau, Qlik, or
PowerBI, can now have access to the single version of
truth, by harnessing MicroStrategy's extensibility, security
framework, and metadata strength.

37
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Cloud: Simplified Deployment
Easily deploy an enterprise cloud environment without IT support

• MicroStrategy on AWS will enable customers to deploy VS. • Even if users elect to deploy using a Looker-hosted instance,
enterprise networks that are fully configured and ready installation steps still include enabling database access,
to use in less than 30 minutes. This saves users time configuring a database, connecting to a database, and
and money by eliminating the need to download, install, configuring sign-in options.
and configure the environments themselves. Users can • Customer-hosted instances include the added steps of
choose from different instance types and sizes based on installing looker and installing external software for
cost or usage requirements. rendering Looker content.
• Cloud environments can also be deployed directly into • Looker does not offer an easy to use provisioning
a customer's AWS account for maximum control. console like that of MicroStrategy for seamless
• Users can launch 3 different environment types, deploying.
ranging from an all-in-one system to an enterprise-grade
distributed and redundant system.
• The Account Management page allows users to
configure, manage, and share AWS accounts from the
Provisioning Console. The navigation bar consolidates
access to all cloud resources in one location that is
always accessible, no matter where you are in the
Provisioning Console.
• This includes easy access to environments, AWS accounts, and
API access. It is also easy to change users, get help, submit
feedback, or change languages, thereby facilitating navigation
38
in the MicroStrategy on AWS console.
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Cloud: Global Availability
The ability to deploy environments globally

• MicroStrategy Cloud can deploy distributed and VS. • All Looker traffic comes from the United States, Asia, Ireland,
redundant systems in over 42 AWS Availability Zones in Germany, Australia, and South America.
16 geographic regions around the world. • In its 2019 Magic Quadrant, Gartner criticized Looker for
• This includes countries across North America, South having its geographic presence limited mostly to the US
America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. This enables and Europe.
organizations to deploy MicroStrategy closer to its users.
This decreases latency and enables faster response
times.
• By having data centers closer to home, it also allows the
data enters to comply with local laws and regulations.

39
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2018 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Cloud: Data Connectivity and Migration
Services for customers looking to move their data into the cloud or connect their on-prem data

• Customers may choose to migrate their data into the VS. • Looker does not migrate or store data.
cloud. We offer options to migrate into Amazon • Data is left in the database.
Redshift, SQL Server Enterprise, SQL Server
Standard, MySQL, or Aurora DWH platforms. When
customers choose this option, MicroStrategy builds the
chosen DWH within the same VPC as the rest of the BI
cloud environment. MicroStrategy works with customers
to select the correct size (CPU/RAM) DWH machine
that meets their needs. ETL options are also available.
• If a customer chooses to maintain their database on-prem
or in another cloud data source, a typical implementation
involves establishing a VPN connection between the
MicroStrategy Cloud and its database or data. The
performance of this architecture can vary based on a
variety of factors, including the physical distance between
the MicroStrategy Cloud data center and the customer
data source, the latency of the data connection, the
bandwidth of the connection, the amount of usage, its
query intensiveness, the query-response latency of the
customer data source, and other variables.

40
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2018 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Cloud: High Performance and Reliability
Maintain high performance and reliability without sacrificing user experience or security

• Each MicroStrategy deployment is in a single-tenant, VS. • Looker can run single-node or as a cluster. The clustered option
private cloud. This allows organizations to customize the invokes load balancing, higher availability, and failover.
software to meet their needs. Queries run by customers • Clustered deployments offer less downtime in the event of an
will not affect others. Each instance is isolated from outage.
others for maximum privacy.
• Looker advises heightened availability, especially if customers
• The MicroStrategy Cloud operations team has the cloud
use the Looker API or embed Looker into customer-facing
experts and support to help ensure high performance and
projects.
reliability, backed not only by AWS’s world-class
infrastructure, but also AWS experts who helped design • Clustered Looker deployments automatically reroute traffic when
and automate our cloud deployment. Our Cloud one or more nodes experience outages.
environment was built with the latest AWS technology • In order to leverage the clustered deployment option,
and according to AWS’s best practices. Our team customers need a MySQL database, Looker nodes, a load
proactively patches infrastructure, operating systems, and balancer, a shared filesystem, and the proper Looker
applications to optimize performance while deterring version.
security threats. We have processes in place so that
systems are monitored, including the analytics and
mobility servers.
• MicroStrategy allows organizations to cluster up to 8
server nodes.

41
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2018 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Cloud: Data Security
Security to protect customer data 24/7/365

• MicroStrategy Cloud security meets or exceeds industry VS. • Cloud users opting for a Looker-hosted instance are
standards and best practices. advised to emphasize data security; data is passed over
• MicroStrategy implements strong control practices to public Internet channels on shared infrastructure.
effectively maintain the security and availability of the • Looker-hosted instances exist within a shared virtual private
MicroStrategy Cloud and associated data. cloud.
• We help ensure that your data is secure at network and • Looker provides documentation on the following cloud data
application levels from any attacks. security methods:
• We follow the latest industry standards on many • IP Address Whitelist: Specify trusted IP addresses from which your
compliances and certifications such as SOC I & II, database can be accessed.
HIPAA, PCI, and Privacy Shield. • SSL Encryption: Make it impossible to intercept data between Looker
and customer.
• SSH Tunnel: Extra authentication layer.

42
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2018 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise IoT
Leverage Enterprise IoT to run your business better

• MicroStrategy, via Badge, delivers smartphone-based VS. • Looker does not provide a dedicated mobile app, nor does it
digital badges that provide seamless access to physical support smartphone-based digital badges.
and logical assets across the enterprise. • Looker does not provide tools for secure digital identity.
• MicroStrategy provides smartphone-based physical • Users do not have access to an integrated barcode scanner.
access functionality pre-integrated with leading PACS
vendors with an OpenAPI model.
• MicroStrategy provides secure digital identity that
allows users to access nearly any system in an enterprise
(devices, applications, and VPNs) from a single point.
Logical access with MicroStrategy is compatible with
both industry-standard protocols like SAML and
RADIUS as well as emerging standards such as OpenID
Connect.
• Badge’s Bluetooth (BLE 4.0) integration enables real-
time micro-locational awareness of enterprise assets as
well as touch-free physical and logical access.
• The integrated barcode scanner in MicroStrategy
badges can scan virtually any kind of QR or barcode tag,
securely logging a linkage between an employee and a
product, machine, or any valuable enterprise asset.

43
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise IoT
Leverage Enterprise IoT to run your business better

• The Badge out-of-the-box productivity application allows VS. • Looker does not provide a dedicated mobile app, nor does it
managers to quickly identify, verify, coordinate, and support smartphone-based digital badges.
communicate with other users and exchange messages • Looker does not provide tools for secure digital identity.
from any client interface via the Identity server.
• Users do not have access to an integrated barcode scanner.
• User presence and actions create real-time telemetry
via an Apache Kafka Cluster – an open-source program
delivering a distributed, partitioned, and replicated commit
log service supporting real-time data processing and big
data volumes.
• Badge Analytics is a MicroStrategy project included
out-of-the-box with a badge implementation.
• The MicroStrategy Badge identity server, which assigns
and issues digital twins to users in the form of badges, is
FIDO Alliance-certified on a UAF protocol for
delivering password-free authentication based on public
key cryptography.
• Within the MicroStrategy platform, Badge Network
Manager has pre-built directory integrations with
Microsoft Active Directory, AWS Directory Services, and
Okta Universal Directory. Badge is also compatible with
the OpenLDAP standard.
44
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.
 Enterprise Partner
Core business is exclusively focused on enterprise analytics

• Since its inception has been developing its platform VS. • Looker is a privately held BI vendor based out of Santa Cruz,
technology 100% organically. Its mission is to provide California.
enterprise customers with a world-class software platform • Looker has raised roughly $280 million to date.
and expert services so they can deploy unique
intelligence applications. • Much of Looker’s functionality depends on users having
an understanding of LookML, a SQL-based coding
• A unified platform architecture uniquely suited language.
to deliver high-performance applications that are highly
reusable and secure, and can meet the business • Looker’s analytical capabilities are carried out in-
intelligence demands of various users and organizations. database, as the platform does not support a proprietary
in-memory engine which limits its enterprise use cases.
• Profitable over the last 13 years, MicroStrategy has an
exceptionally strong balance sheet with zero debt.

45
Confidential, proprietary and non-contractual. 2019 MicroStrategy Incorporated. All rights reserved.