Company
Date Published
Author
Dmitry Pavlov
Word count
2186
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

ClickHouse's internal data warehouse has undergone a significant transformation from a traditional BI-first approach to an AI-first analytics platform, addressing challenges faced by various teams in accessing and analyzing data. Initially, the traditional workflow required substantial SQL expertise, causing delays and bottlenecks in obtaining insights. However, advancements in AI, particularly with Anthropic's Claude models and the Model Context Protocol (MCP), have enabled the creation of DWAINE (Data Warehouse AI Natural Expert), an AI assistant that simplifies data exploration and empowers non-technical users to obtain insights without SQL knowledge. DWAINE's integration of a comprehensive business glossary and enhanced data quality processes has democratized data access, reducing the workload on the data warehouse team by 50-70% and improving efficiency across sales, finance, and operations. Despite the success, approximately 30% of analytics tasks remain in traditional BI tools for repeatable metrics, certified financial metrics, and specialized analyses, ensuring critical decisions are validated through traditional methods. The shift to AI-first analytics has not only improved operational efficiency but also transformed the data culture at ClickHouse, making analytics more accessible and integrated into decision-making processes.