To address the operational analytics challenges, Netlify's data team partnered with Census to automate "reverse ETL" or operational analytics. By setting up syncs between their data warehouse and destination SaaS services like HubSpot using dbt Exposures, they reduced engineering overhead and now have automated workflows for new developer onboarding. They also implemented hourly syncs to ensure updated data within an hour after production runs, leveraging Census's pricing model that is based on the number of connectors rather than syncs. This approach has generated value by working with their data, unlocking more automated workflows.