When Holistics was first implemented, many hesitated as SQL had been the go-to method for handling data queries and dashboard creation. The immediate benefits of a data-modeling BI tool, where metrics are defined centrally, weren’t always clear at first.
Adopting a data-modeling tool like Holistics required a shift in mindset.
While building foundational data models takes effort upfront, the benefits are clear: it streamlines workflows, ensures consistency, and makes data more manageable over time.
-- Aurora Data Team
As time passed and more teams became familiar with the platform, the true value of Holistics became clearer. The ability to centrally define and maintain metrics created a trusted, golden source of truth - something that wasn’t easily achievable with SQL-based tools.
Instead of individual teams building ad-hoc solutions that risked inconsistencies, Holistics provided a centralized, consistent framework for metrics.
For folks who had experience with data modeling and BI tools, the usability and features Holistics provided were well-received. Internally, it took us some time to learn the tool, but it became clear it was an improvement over what we had before.
We love that the software design of Holistics forces us to think about data logic upfront, creating that single source of truth rather than piecing things together on the fly with ad-hoc dashboards that break easily over time.
-- Aurora Data Team
At Aurora, their Data Science and Data Platforms teams played a championing role in promoting a self-service strategy. Recognizing that reliance on engineering for every data request would slow down decision-making, they spearheaded a shift toward empowering teams to handle their own data needs.
“What we’ve learned is that you need two things: team members who are interested and motivated to take on self-service, and top-down leadership to guide and support the initiative,” Juan explained.
By securing leadership buy-in and working closely with different departments, Aurora Data Science and Data Platforms helped lay the groundwork for the widespread adoption of a self-service model using Holistics.
As a company, we’re moving from a more development-oriented approach to a product-oriented one, and that requires seamless ways to present performance metrics. That shift drove us toward democratizing data access and adopting a self-service model.
On the project side, there were initiatives like understanding our on-road performance. We pulled data from different sources and surfaced it through visualizations in Holistics, which helped show the value.
-- Juan Argote, Director of Aurora Data Science
As the strategy took root, more teams across Aurora began to embrace Holistics as the one-stop shop for well-vetted metrics with the gold standard for data.
Starting with engineering and finance, all departments quickly saw the value in being able to create, modify, and explore dashboards without waiting for ad-hoc engineering support.
Our finance team is fully onboarded and has been able to do a lot of self-service. They’re now able to do a lot of their own data analysis themselves. They can easily combine metrics and pull relevant data from different sources to build what they need.
Other teams are starting, and I think it’s just a matter of time before it becomes more widely adopted. It's been great to see that kind of progress.
-- Aurora Data Team
Now, more team members at Aurora have embraced the platform.
For instance, Alyssa T., a Product Manager focused on metrics and performance improvements, started by exploring existing dashboards, and then curated and filtered data to suit her needs. As her experience grew, she began creating reports directly from datasets.
This shift reflects a broader trend at Aurora, where more team members feel confident to explore and build dashboards themselves. This creates a flywheel effect, encouraging a culture of accessible insights and data-driven decision-making that continues to gain momentum across the organization.
There’s a bit of a flywheel effect happening. As more people use Holistics and see the benefits, it’s encouraging others to get on board.
We’re now better at understanding our on-road performance and capturing financial metrics dynamically. There’s been a lot of data projects around getting better at understanding how our product performs from a customer perspective.
-- Aurora Data Team
