Improvement to the Data Sources page

[SeanAdams]

The Data Sources page currently lists all the different data sources that Alteryx supports - however for an administrator it's almost impossible to ensure that their designer users have the drivers for these, or are on the right version.

As an early step - can we add 1 more field to this list which points to the downloader for the driver where applicable

https://help.alteryx.com/current/DataSources/SupportedDataSources.htm

The next step is to create a bundled driver pack that Admins can download once to cover all the relevant drivers needed for the data sources provided & supported.

cc: @revathi @AshwiniChezhiyan @LizaNemchynova

[AshwiniChezhiyan]

Nice Idea - This would definitely help admins get the drivers installed faster! Would be good if we could extend to include the compatible version details as well for the driver required

[MarqueeCrew]

@SeanAdams,

I think that the "roadmap" includes driver simplification/packaging.  Alteryx presented a slide on this to our user group recently.  But I agree entirely with the need.

Cheers,

Mark

[SeanAdams]

Super excited - this has been a real grind for a while now.

Thanks Mark!

[fharper]

I agree that this is a great idea.

However I see the challenge in this not so much in the creation of a package or list but in the ongoing maintenance and variability of just exactly what is the right driver for a given situation. 

For example we use DB2 and IDAA (IDAA is IBM's packaging of Netezza).  Most drivers work with DB2 but not all of them work well with IDAA so you want a driver in the intersect.  Additionally our shop is versioned/licensed in such a way we can only use the IBM clidriver for ODBC up to version 9.7* and any newer version doesn't work for reasons not obvious until you get IBM on the phone and find out you are only licensed for versions up to that revision level.  You could use DataDirect and others as well but different versions work better than others and older ones don't work at all for IDAA.

While this may be a rare thing it is a very real thing and very frustrating when you hit it for the first time and if you hit it once you probably hit it almost each time a new person gets set up.  The potential minutia of drivers and their various versions may be such that Alteryx will never truly solve it from within.

I think what may be a good and at least a great first step would be to create a tool that both Alteryx and the community could maintain and manage.

1. Alteryx builds the app and deploys within the community in a "Tools" section or something
2. Alteryx provides the initial population of drivers from what it may already provide and maintain with installs plus any low hanging fruit it culls from its interactions with clients
3. Both the community and Alteryx grows the initial list as we all identify them
   1. The key will be for joint update access so we can all support and maintain the database of drivers, attributes, comments and links
   2. The database must be rich enough in attributes so a given family of drivers and/or a specific driver and its versions can be identified, explained and linked for download.
      1. Thus the IBM CLIdriver for ODBC as mentioned above would be identified, identified as supporting both DB2 and IDAA, Each version linked with notes as to why you may need the older version.  Thus a newbie can self serve knowing what DB they intend to reach and what version of that DB they are on.
      2. Any install issues users experience and their solutions can be noted.  Some users have site specific issues that create nuances in the install that others may encounter and having these comments as sort of case studies could be great time savers for others.
      3. In this scenario and using the example users would potentially see the IBM CLIdriver, DataDirect driver and other sources as viable options but would find comments from real world experiences that show IDAA needs the IBM CLIdriver and the version depends on your IBM licensing or you can use DataDirect but it needs to be version n.n or later to work with IDAA because.  This kind of info is something Alteryx might never be aware of but users who discovered this the hard way will share it to the benefit of all.

This approach depends on Alteryx to build the wheel and get it rolling but the community can largely drive it from that point in the same way the community itself works.

On occasions when something new is encountered there is only one place to look/scan for info, i.e. the "Driver Tool" knowledge base, and if Alteryx help is needed the system could also have a request help button of sorts to quickly automate the next level of engagement with Alteryx to resolve the driver problem.

Over time the existing community features can be enhanced to recognize anyone posting on drivers and redirect them to the tool and not clutter the general body of work on the community.  Likewise emails requesting help from Alteryx on driver issues could be directed to the tool first and forced to engage through the tool on driver based concerns. 

This triages incoming help requests, eliminate those were answers exist in the tool and reduces the volume of requests reaching higher cost handling of an actual representative but for those were help is needed the request is by that time very focused and well defined and can be targeted on the back end to representatives who may have experience/specialization on driver problems resulting in faster resolution and reduced handling times...win/win for all.

[Community_Admin]

The status of this idea has been changed to 'Inactive'. This status indicates that:

1. The idea has not had activity in the form of likes or comments in over a year.

2. The idea has not reached ten likes.

3. The idea is still in the 'New Idea' status. 

However, this doesn't mean your idea won't be implemented! The Community can still like and comment on this idea. With enough renewed interest, this idea can be brought back into the 'New Idea' status. 

Thank you for contributing to the Alteryx Community and the Alteryx Product Idea Boards!