The concept that data is critical to an organization's growth is nothing new. As digital transformation takes every industry by storm, however, the types and sources of data have rapidly evolved. Relying simply on proprietary data is blinding at best. Over the last few years, innovative companies have raced to tap into new sources — often those they don’t own.

In 2020, ThoughtSpot and Harvard Business Review Analytic Services teamed up on original research demonstrating the power of the new decision-makers — employees on the frontlines of your business who interact with outside customers, partners, and vendors on a daily basis. Through our research, we found that 87% of leaders said their organization will be more successful when frontline workers are empowered to make important decisions in the moment. Why?

ThoughtSpot provides a rich suite of APIs for search, user controls, and platform metadata. These APIs can be especially useful for sharing data with partners via webhooks, building native mobile apps, providing results in json format for third-party charting libraries like D3, or scripting ThoughtSpot configuration to support devops and continuous integration toolchains.

If you’ve ever been on a long road trip, then you know the feeling of relief that comes when finally spy a recognizable truck stop or service station to pull into. Whether to fill up the tank, grab a snack, or ask for directions, fuel stations are a ubiquitous part of automotive travel, and there are more than 150,000 of them across the country. Pilot Flying J accounts for 750 of those locations, serving more than 1.3 million people daily.

Data is everywhere. As the sheer volume and number of data sources continue to explode, so do new opportunities for modern businesses to create and act on insights. That is if they are equipped with the right analytics technology. Historically, many businesses have settled for “good enough” analytics tools, putting up with lackluster bundles from full-stack vendors in an attempt to minimize cost or risk.

For decades, the technologies and systems that deliver analytics have undergone massive change. What hasn’t changed, however, is the goal: using data-driven insights to drive actions. Insight to action has been a consistent vision for the industry. Everyone from data practitioners to technology developers have sought this elusive goal, but as Chief Data Strategy Officer Cindi Howson points out, it has remained unfulfilled — until now.