Elementary Data Pros and Cons

This project combines a startup mindset with an open-source approach, thriving on feedback and continuously improving. Setting up a robust base for data observability is fast and efficient, thanks to their intuitive batch configuration system and dbt-native approach.

The UI is clean and user-friendly, but there’s room for improvement in making it easier to filter down and take action on alerts.

Also, I like the team's incredible spirit and commitment to improving the tool. They actively listen to feedback. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The limited integrations with additional BI platforms and ticketing systems reduce the tool's flexibility and its ability to fit seamlessly into diverse workflows. Expanding these integrations would significantly enhance its versatility. Additionally, the UI filtering options could be more robust, enabling users to quickly identify and act on critical issues. Improving these areas would make the tool more efficient, adaptable, and user-friendly for a wider range of teams. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Flexibility of integration, particularly with dbt models and relevant datawarehouse adaptors; free CLI version that is good enough to start with and custom setup; Data Health score - recent release, measurement of data validity across 6 dimensions; column-lineage Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The catalog solution is pretty raw, I would still invest in a separate mature data catalog solution. Some integrations (like with BI tools or GitHub) are depending on private keys, not newer, more public ways to authenticate (or at least I did not find).

Alerting behaviour should be adjusted to avoid alert fatigue, the default behaviour might not be applicable to the use case. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Elementary Data excels in simplifying the process of data quality monitoring. Its intuitive interface and seamless integration with modern data stack make it a standout tool. I particularly appreciate the anomaly detection and detailed insights it provides, which help identify and resolve data issues before they escalate. Additionally, the visual reporting dashboards are both user-friendly and highly informative, enabling stakeholders to quickly grasp key metrics without needing deep technical expertise. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I would say that some sections of the UI are not clear enough and I hope Metrics feature and their automatic anomaly detection could improve soon, but so far I am very confortable with the tool. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

As a data consultant, I work with several customers who demand high data quality for their data platforms. Elementary is a critical part of features that I can provide to meet those expectations. The combination of compiling dbt dag logs and powerful anomaly detection based in statistics makes it a perfect choice for data teams of all sizes Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Since Elementary demands integration with only dbt, it may not always be the best fit for teams with lower data maturity levels or teams that don't use dbt as a main data transformation tool. In such cases, foundational issues need to be addressed before leveraging a tool like dbt and Elementary. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Elementary Cloud excels in ease of use and provides automated tests covering key aspects like volume, freshness, and schema. Configuring tests through the user interface simplifies collaboration and reduces technical complexity. The field-level data lineage is particularly valuable for assessing impacts and resolving incidents efficiently. Slack alerts are well-designed and configurable, making it easier to notify stakeholders and improve data reliability. Additionally, the integration with Looker adds significant value to data analysis workflows Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

While it’s a robust tool, some processes, such as modifying tests and generating pull requests, could be more streamlined. Improved integration with documentation and a centralized view of defined tests would also be helpful. However, these minor drawbacks don’t detract much from an overall very positive experience Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

1. Made data quality measurable and transparent through its dashboard.

2. Significantly reduced the effort required to build and maintain a robust data monitoring and observability system.

3. Amplified the impact of data validation in DBT by tracking validation history and seamlessly integrating with our alerting system.

4. Fast response to any issue and inqueries. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It would be helpful to include information on the underlying mechanisms, such as how data freshnes anamoly were checked. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

If you're using dbt, Elementary data is great addon to your data stack to monitor your queries, test coverage and report failures on Slack. The cloud version adds quality of life improvements to the OSS version.

It's fairly easy to plug in your dbt project and the different options to be added to the alerts are helpful to do some triage. The community and team is helpful and provide some support on the company's Slack. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The platform is adding metadata through pre-hooks and post-hooks in dbt which slows down a bit your workflow.

The Slack alert template has little customization support and though it's OK, I think it could a bit more readable. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

* Improved Data Validation & Anomaly Detection.

* Seamless Integration with dbt.

* Automated Data Quality Monitoring.

* Intuitive Dashboard & Reporting.

* Faster Issue Detection & Resolution.

* Customization & Flexibility. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

* The documentation is a bit unclear, making it difficult to fully understand how to configure and optimize the tool. Many features are not well-documented, leading to trial-and-error implementation rather than a structured onboarding experience.

* The anomaly detection feature needs improvement. Currently, when an anomaly occurs, the upper and lower bounds expand, making it difficult to easily disregard the anomaly. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Elementary Cloud has been a game-changer, providing a seamless, minimal-effort implementation and direct integration with our dbt Core environment. Getting started with Elementary was incredibly straightforward, with no major configuration changes needed for our dbt project. After a simple package installation and granting basic read access to the Elementary schema in our warehouse, we were up and running the same day!

The integration with Slack has proven invaluable, as our team receives real-time alerts that keep us on top of potential data issues as they arise. Being able to collaborate with teammates within our primary communication tool makes troubleshooting faster and easier.

The platform’s UI is another standout feature. It's clean, intuitive, and perfectly balanced for both technical and non-technical users. And it includes column level lineage!!

And last but definitely not least, the Elementary support team is phenomenal! Their responses are timely, their recommendations impactful, and they genuinely listen to our needs. Love working with them! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Our dislikes are very few, especially knowing that upcoming feature enhancements will address these concerns.

But to call out something specifically...One dislike is that I'm not as creative as their marketing team! Love their "I want data, not your opinion!" slogan! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Most observability tools I've seen fall into two camps, either open source and really hard to use, or have total vendor lock in. Elementary straddles that line of being open source and built on top of your dbt stack, but is still very easy to set up and configure. The price point for elementary cloud is much more accessible for small startups to get started with data observability, which in my experience is walled off to enterprise-scale companies, despite often being needed in smaller company sizes. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

if you don't like dbt or don't have dbt set up, there's nothing to work with here. I think the company is still young and more edge cases are still being worked out, but otherwise, pretty happy so far. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.