Blog Transforming data workflows with Hex and the dbt Semantic Layer

Transforming data workflows with Hex and the dbt Semantic Layer

Roxi Pourzand

Oct 02, 2023

Partnerships

We’re thrilled to announce the release of a Hex integration for the revamped dbt Semantic Layer. The integration ties into capabilities newly introduced in the Semantic Layer, which is now powered by MetricFlow and was released as a beta in August.

With this integration, joint customers of dbt Cloud and Hex will get access to even more simplicity, consistency, and efficiency in their data analysis processes, enjoying the benefits of a robust self-serve experience tied to consistent metric definitions.

The dbt Semantic Layer + Hex

The dbt Semantic Layer aims to make data insights more accessible by providing reliable, accurate metrics to data consumers across the organization.

We’ve just released a revamped dbt Semantic Layer, now powered by MetricFlow, following an acquisition of Transform earlier this year.

The revamped dbt Semantic Layer brings exciting new features that are meant to make it easier to define and query complex metrics at scale. Newly available features include:

1. Join navigation. You’ll now be able to maintain DRY, reusable components to construct metrics and join them to dimensions, which can save a huge amount of time in aggregate.
2. Expanded data platform support. The Semantic Layer now supports Databricks, Snowflake, BigQuery, and Redshift.
3. More optimized query plans and SQL generation. The new Semantic Layer generates joins, filters, and aggregations just as an analyst would.
4. More complex metric types out of the box. New aggregations and more flexible metric definitions means you can define more of the metrics that are critical to measuring your business in the dbt Semantic Layer.
5. Semantic Layer APIs. We’ve also built new APIs, including an entirely rebuilt JDBC interface built with ArrowFlight, allowing for more seamless integrations and applications to be built on top of the new Semantic Layer.

Hex is a collaborative notebook for exploratory analytics and data science. It’s designed to be a single place for teams to explore, transform, and visualize data into beautiful interactive reports. Analysts and data scientists can use SQL, Python, no-code, and AI to find and share insights across their organization.

Hex and dbt Cloud make data teams more impactful by pushing Analytics Engineers’ highly valuable, complex work into Hex, the analytics layer, so it’s accessible to users working outside of dbt. The result? An integrated analytics experience built on trusted, governed metrics that enables low and no-code access for non-technical users.

"With the integration of Hex with the revamped dbt Semantic Layer, we're not just bringing together tools – we're elevating data analysis to a whole new level. This is about extracting more value from data and fostering shared meaning. We're excited to see what our users will achieve with these new capabilities."

– Nick Handel, Director of Product Management, dbt Labs

Check out this brief demo of the integrated solution here:

Our alliance with dbt Labs, integrating with their Semantic Layer, propels Hex further in delivering sophisticated, collaborative analytics. This synergy amplifies the power of our platforms, and we're thrilled to witness the transformative impacts on data science it'll spur.

– Kevin Marr, Product Management Lead, Hex

Getting started

If you’re ready to take Hex’s integration with dbt Cloud for a spin, their integration docs provide more detail on how you can do just that. You can also visit the #tools-hex channel in the dbt Community Slack to discuss with other community members, ask questions, or just say hi to the team.

Last modified on: Feb 21, 2024