Databricks has previewed a no-code version of its Data Intelligence platform — Databricks One — that aims to provide AI and BI tools to non-technical users through a conversational user interface.
According to analysts, Databricks One draws inspiration from Microsoft’s M365 Copilot strategy to reimagine the user interface of M365, centering on generative AI, and applies this approach to the enterprise data analytics tools that Databricks provides.
“Databricks One mirrors Microsoft’s M365-Copilot strategy in that it reimagines the user interface, although not for productivity apps, but for enterprise data and AI,” said Michael Ni, principal analyst at Constellation Research.
Speaking to ComputerWorld, last month, a top Microsoft executive said that the company was planning to move away from a typical apps based interface to a Copilot driven experience in the future: instead of accessing individual apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint, users prompts Copilot with the task at hand and the generative AI assistant spins up the required application.
Databricks One similarly offers a simplified, AI-assisted access point to governed data, metrics, and insights, helping business teams engage without code or complexity.
“It’s not about replacing business intelligence (BI) tools, but about embedding decision intelligence into daily workflows,” Ni said.
One comes with AI/BI Dashboards and apps
As part of the One platform, which is currently in private preview and can be accessed by Data Intelligence platform subscribers for free, Databricks is offering AI/BI Dashboards, Genie, and Databricks Apps along with built-in governance and security features via Unity Catalog and the Databricks IAM platform.
While AI/BI Dashboards will enable non-technical enterprise users to create and access data visualizations and perform advanced analytics without writing code, Genie, a conversational assistant, will allow users to ask questions on their data using natural language.