Alation has launched Alation Anywhere for Google Chrome. The new extension will enable Alation users to search, preview, and retrieve critical metadata from Alation without leaving their browsers. The extension enables users to use advanced filters and extract data from sources such as Snowflake’s Snowsight, PowerBI, and Looker within their browser.
Enabling users to centralise access in a location where they already interact with applications such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Excel, and Google Sheets enables users to increase efficiency and productivity. It also means switching windows and data extraction is simpler and less error-prone.
The new extension addresses the challenge highlighted by a recent Harvard Business Review article. Workers toggle between windows nearly 1,200 times a day on average. The authors calculated that this takes up the equivalent of four hours a week and five weeks a year of productivity. Anything that helps reduce windows and tab switching could, therefore, have a significant impact on productivity.
Many data intelligence organisations talk about having a single source of truth. However, if their user interfaces mean that they still have to switch between windows to leverage their data from its different silos, then that almost defeats the purpose. With this browser extension, Alation aims to reduce the impact of Windows switching.
Kazuaki Ideguchi, Manager, Data Platform Department, NTT DOCOMO, explains how Alation has impacted its workers. He said, “We’re excited to see how Alation Anywhere for Google Chrome can accelerate our data utilization.
“Now, our data analysts will be able to check data definitions directly on the same screen while writing SQL queries in Snowsight, streamlining their workflow. We look forward to Alation continuing to deliver these valuable features that enhance productivity.”
Alation Anywhere for Chrome
The new extension will allow organisations to integrate the Alation Data Intelligence platform into their browser. Surfaced data is contextual and can include business term definitions, metadata previews, and database details. Importantly, the Alation governance tools extend into Chrome. Users can surface data quality flags, business glossary terms, and key asset context with consistency.
With all users sharing a singular view of data, collaboration is easier and more consistent across the organisations, ultimately enabling people to make better, more informed decisions. Key features and benefits that Alation Anywhere users will gain with the Chrome extension include:
Intelligent Search
Intelligent Search is directly accessible from within Google Chrome. Users can use natural language to extract data from BI assets. The result is that data is democratised across the organisation. It enables users to access the right data at the right time with less training for complex applications.
Metadata Preview
Understanding the source of data is critical. The automated metadata preview surfaces details of data assets using Snowflake’s Snowsight, Power BI, and Looker dashboard, all within the browser and alongside the Alation metadata.
The views enable users to understand the contextual metadata, like schemas, tables, and BI objects, without leaving Chrome. The feature gives a greater understanding of data sources. In turn, this supports better decision-making by streamlining workflows, improving data accuracy, reducing errors, and ensuring teams rely on trusted, governed data.
Seamless Access to Glossary Definitions
Working within Chrome and using the extension means that users have access to data and its metadata wherever they are working. If building a presentation in PowerPoint, for example, they can quickly identify organisational terms with access to the Alation glossary. Access to this metadata enables users across the organisation to maintain consistency across reports, presentations, and daily tasks without disrupting their workflow.
Diby Malakar, VP of Product Management at Alation, commented, “Organizations today are overwhelmed by the influx of data from countless sources, creating unprecedented complexity in managing their data environments.
“The Alation Anywhere for Google Chrome extension directly addresses this challenge by delivering trusted, governed data straight into the user’s browser. It empowers teams to instantly find, understand, and act on data—without disrupting their workflow.
“This isn’t just a productivity tool; it’s a critical asset that accelerates decision-making, reduces errors, and drives meaningful business outcomes in today’s decentralized, data-driven world.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Sometimes, vendors focus on developing their platform, expecting organisations to see the benefits of functionality above everything else. Whilst they understand the importance of the user interface, their focus is often on system development. It means that they don’t always consider how users want to interact with those features.
While Alation has its platform, the user interface has now extended those features to where its customers actually work. It already has extensions for Slack, Microsoft Teams, Excel and Google Sheets. The addition of Chrome makes access to the Alation platform easier for many. Will it introduce the same kind of extension for Microsoft Edge in time as well?
What will be interesting to see is how customers adopt this extension. Also, how Alation continues to differentiate its data intelligence solution from other vendors. The new extension is available from within the Alation platform and downloadable from the Google marketplace. While the extension has three 5-star ratings, there are, as of writing, no reviews.
