January 2025 Summaries

Kong's product analytics lead shares how he's using Hex for self-service, automation, and strategic metrics to equip his organization with timely data-driven insights while keeping workflows efficient and collaborative. With Hex, the team has been able to uncover impactful trends, automate complex analytics processes, and strategically guide product teams with data that’s not just timely but highly relevant. The company has built an automated business review pipeline in Hex that integrates real-time data feeds, allowing them to monitor key metrics without manual updates or ad hoc reports. Hex's tab management feature enables a granular view of user behavior and KPIs at each stage, while the Business Summary tab provides a consolidated view of financial performance and growth drivers. The insights gained have been pivotal for proactive decision-making, such as identifying trends in customer spending and retention rates. The platform has also fostered a collaborative analytics culture by giving stakeholders edit access to SQL-friendly environment, allowing them to build on queries and explore data more deeply. With Hex's automation of A/B testing analysis, the company can track real-time experiment outcomes and measure statistical significance without manual data analysis. The platform is currently developing a plug-and-play model for North Star metrics that will enable defined, measurable, and tracked success indicators for product managers.

The text discusses the How to Hex session on Snowflake Cortex, a high-level overview of its powerful features, and a deep dive into Cortex LLM Functions. The session showcased a project that used Cortex in SQL and Python to extract meaningful insights from data, such as classifying product recalls and determining the total number of units impacted. Key points highlighted include the advantages of using Snowpark and Cortex on Hex compared to traditional methods, and how to evaluate which model suits the most. Additionally, considerations for using these Cortex functions, such as enabling cross-region inference, cost, and context window, were discussed. The text also touched upon fine-tuning models, deploying them using Snowflake Registry, and alternative options like OpenAI API calls or containerization in Snowflake.

Hex has launched its Consulting Partnership Program, designed for data consulting firms and strategy leaders to deliver new data ROI for their clients using Hex. The program offers a free Hex Enterprise account, referral commission, and support in exchange for helping Hex grow by putting it in the hands of more data teams. Partners will have access to training, certifications, and co-branded marketing materials, with tiered benefits including financial benefits, Hex access, dedicated support, and co-branded marketing. The program aims to build deep, meaningful partnerships that help partners deliver unmatched value to their customers, and is open to firms working on data migrations or strategy initiatives.

Pedram Navid, Chief Dashboard Officer at Dagster, emphasizes that enacting change is more important than being right in his approach to data-driven work. He believes building stakeholder relationships is a valuable skill in an AI-driven world and that thinking strategically about AI and data is crucial. Pedram shares insights on why he transitioned from working as a data engineer and data scientist in finance to marketing, DevRel, and data at Dagster. He stresses the importance of understanding stakeholders' needs and finding allies who share similar goals. Pedram also highlights the value of manual data analysis, recognizing the limitations of AI in handling complex problems and nuanced questions that require human insight. He believes that aligning oneself with stakeholders and delivering success to them is key to a successful career in data-driven work.