ROLLER Analytics is a powerful reporting and business intelligence product that helps operators make informed, data-driven decisions to grow their business. If you’re not aware of everything Analytics can do, we’ve written about it here. In short, Analytics can help businesses save up to 125 hours per year on data analysis and increase their operating income by up to 2.5%!
We love offering venues tools that help them thrive. In the case of Analytics, we didn’t do it alone—we partnered with Google, using their BigQuery and Looker services to create something the attractions industry has never seen before.
If you’re not sure what Google BigQuery and Looker are, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’re going to focus on the power behind ROLLER Analytics and how we’re helping venues grow together.
What is Google BigQuery?
Google BigQuery is a fully managed, serverless data warehouse that empowers businesses to analyze massive datasets without breaking a sweat. BigQuery is designed to handle data at any scale, making it ideal for businesses of all sizes, from small play centers to large amusement parks. Think of Google BigQuery as the storage for Analytics, keeping all of your data in one handy space.
What is Google Looker?
If Google BigQuery is the storage for all of your data, then Google Looker is how you organize and access your insights. Google Looker is designed to help you utilize the data that you’ve collected and visualize it through dashboards and reports within ROLLER Analytics. With Looker and Analytics at your fingertips, you can explore, analyze, and action your data quickly and efficiently.
How Google BigQuery and Google Looker work together
Google Looker and BigQuery complement each other perfectly, which is why we’re so thrilled to use them to bring you Analytics. BigQuery serves as the powerful backend data warehouse, handling the heavy lifting of storing and processing large datasets. Google Looker sits on top of BigQuery, providing an intuitive interface for exploring, visualizing, and sharing that data.
Key features of Google BigQuery and Looker
By utilizing both Google BigQuery and Looker, Analytics cuts out the need for operators to wrestle with multiple platforms or spend hours staring at spreadsheets just to understand their data. Here are some of the key benefits that Google’s services bring to the table:
Scalability
BigQuery can manage anything from a few gigabytes to petabytes of data, effortlessly adjusting to your needs. This flexibility ensures that as your data grows, Analytics scales seamlessly without slowing you down. For attractions businesses, this means you can handle increasing amounts of visitor data, ticket sales, and operational metrics without changing platforms.
For example, a theme park experiencing a surge in visitor numbers during peak season can continue to add and analyze data on visitor demographics, ride usage, and concession sales. This enables the park to optimize staffing levels, reduce wait times, and improve the overall guest experience, ensuring that operational efficiency keeps pace with business growth.
BigQuery’s scalability allows us to effortlessly handle large datasets, catering to ROLLER's diverse clients – from small play centers to large amusement parks.
Ibrahim Khan
Senior Product Manager, ROLLER
Speed
BigQuery's unique architecture enables it to query terabytes (that’s 1,000 gigabytes!) of data in mere seconds. This rapid processing capability provides quick insights, supports timely decision-making, and allows businesses to respond swiftly to changing conditions and opportunities. For attractions businesses, this means you can gain timely insights into visitor behavior and operational performance.
For instance, an amusement park can analyze data from various rides and attractions to identify popular spots and potential bottlenecks during service. This allows management to make immediate adjustments, such as opening additional lanes or rides, ultimately enhancing the guest experience and boosting revenue.
Detailed insights into revenue streams, membership retention, and guest demographics help businesses immediately identify growth opportunities and areas needing improvement.
Ibrahim Khan
Senior Product Manager, ROLLER
Security
Featuring top-notch security and compliance with global standards, BigQuery ensures that your sensitive data, including revenue and guest information, remains secure. This robust protection gives you peace of mind, knowing that your critical data is safeguarded against threats and vulnerabilities. For attractions businesses, secure data management is crucial to maintaining customer trust and compliance with data protection regulations.
For example, a zoo can securely store and analyze membership data, visitor demographics, and purchase histories, ensuring compliance with GDPR or other local data protection laws. This enables the zoo to offer personalized marketing campaigns and loyalty programs while safeguarding sensitive information, thereby enhancing customer relationships and driving repeat visits.
Google Cloud Platform's top-notch security and compliance with global standards ensure our customers' sensitive data, including revenue and guest information, is well-protected.
Ibrahim Khan
Senior Product Manager, ROLLER
How ROLLER Analytics leverages Google BigQuery and Looker
With BigQuery and Looker at its core, ROLLER Analytics provides a seamless and powerful experience for understanding your business data. Here’s what you can expect:
Visual dashboards
View all your critical metrics through intuitive visual dashboards. These dashboards help you keep track of revenue, guest trends, and membership statistics at a glance, saving you up to 125 hours per year on data analysis.
Actionable insights
Beyond just displaying data, ROLLER Analytics helps you understand what the numbers mean for your business. Whether it's tracking revenue, discount code usage, or membership sales, you get actionable insights that help you drive growth.
Advanced Analytics
For those on Premium or Enterprise plans, Advanced Analytics offers even deeper insights. You can analyze membership retention, party package performance, online checkout revenue, and more, allowing you to optimize every aspect of your business.
The future of Analytics with BigQuery and Looker
A screwdriver that only works on one day of the year isn’t a great tool, and your digital tools are no different! Google is constantly advancing its AI and machine learning capabilities, which means the features you have access to in ROLLER Analytics today will only get better.
With Google’s continuous advancements in AI and machine learning, our customers can expect ongoing improvements and new features in their analytics capabilities - keeping them ahead of industry trends.
Ibrahim Khan
Senior Product Manager, ROLLER
For venue operators, this adds an extra incentive to invest in technology like ROLLER. Not only are you immediately gaining access to features that streamline operations, but you’re also positioning yourself to continually reach new heights through next-level strategic insights.
Get started with ROLLER Analytics
Ready to transform your data into actionable insights? ROLLER Analytics, powered by Google BigQuery and Looker, is here to help. Whether you're a current customer or new to ROLLER, there’s never been a better time to see what powerful data analytics can do for your business.
Analytics is free for all ROLLER customers, and Advanced Analytics is available on Premium and Enterprise plans. Find out more or upgrade via our Help Center today!
