These are the Top 3 Missing Features in Google Data Studio in 2019
By: Patrick Strickler
Tags: Data Visualization, Google, Google Analytics, Google Data Studio, Data

Before we get into the list, I want to start off by giving the Google Data Studio project team kudos on the progress they have made have made since 2016. They were able to transform Data Studio from a beta product into a viable contender in the data visualization space. I am huge fan of the product and use it nearly every day of my life. That being said, there are some glaring holes in Data Studio’s feature set that keep me from recommending it over the likes of Microsoft Power BI and Tableau. If the Data Studio project team was able to implement the following features in 2019, I believe they would finally become the de facto data tool for the majority of organizations.

Feature 1: Detailed Visual Customization

One of the best things about Data Studio is how simple (and quick) it is to go from raw data to a beautiful visualization. However, if you are accustomed to the viz customization options available in Power BI and Tableau, you will quickly understand the limitations of Data Studio. This is an area the project team has been slowly iterating on, but there are some pretty basic features still missing (e.g. the ability to edit the size, format, and density of data labels).

“there are some pretty basic features still missing”

I have high hopes for the Community Visualizations that should start rolling out to more users in 2019, but I would prefer to see a concerted effort from the Data Studio team to really nail down the basics (data labels, color by metric, size by metric, axis padding, individual axis toggles, etc.) before offloading the work onto the community.

Feature 2: Extract and Blended Data Features

I wrote that Google Data Studio’s Extract feature was a game changer when it launched in 2018, but since I’ve been using it, I am constantly running into limitations that I hope are addressed in 2019. If you don’t understand the importance of extracts, I’ll explain it with one word, “speed”. An extract allows data to be stored in memory, which allows the queries to run locally. In my own tests, I was able to drop dashboard refresh times from 1.5 minutes to just under 5 seconds using an extract instead of a direct connection. It’s powerful stuff, but there are still some issues using an extract, which I will get into now.

For starters, there is currently no way to schedule a refresh of an extracted dataset, which renders extracts pretty useless for any dashboard that needs to be constantly up-to-date (aka most dashboards).

“…there is currently no way to schedule a refresh of an extracted dataset”

I’ve also run into issues with certain functions not working on extracted files like REGEXP_EXTRACT. Another limitation is the size of extracts. As of this posting, an extract can only be 100MB. I understand that a lot of the features I’m requesting require more storage and compute power, and Google might not be willing to take on more cost while keeping the product free. That said, I think the community would be fine with paying a small fee to unlock more power and storage if it meant delivering a better user experience for their dashboard viewers.

Blended Data was another feature released in 2018 to a lot of fanfare. Having the ability to blend data from multiple sources is checkbox #1 for any serious BI tool. While I’m happy to see a data blending option available in Data Studio, it’s not intuitive to use and, keeping with our theme, it’s extremely limited.

“[data blending is] not intuitive… and… extremely limited.”

I would love to see data blending move to a dedicated space in the dataset interface so that 1) I can do all of my data blending before I even start messing around with visualizations, and 2) I can save/reuse/share/manage my blended datasets like any other dataset in Data Studio. This is how most tools are setup and it’s more logical than trying to do everything in the dashboarding interface. While we’re on the topic, blended data calculations need to be updated. As of today, you can technically create a blended data calc, but it’s a mess and it doesn’t scale.

Feature 3: Functions, Parameters, and Grouping

As of today, Data Studio has the same function list as when it launched in 2016. It was super limited then, and it is still a frustrating aspect of the product. While Tableau and Power BI both offer 150+ custom functions to apply to your data, Data Studio has a paltry 56. I’ve heard through the grapevine that IF functions are in the roadmap, but they have a long way to go to catch up to some of the hard-to-live-without functions available in Tableau (e.g. FIXED) and Power BI (e.g. SUMX).

“[Data Studio] has a long way to go to catch up to some of the hard-to-live-without functions available in Tableau and Power BI”

Related to functions, Parameters and Grouping are two other features that have been noticeably absent since 2016. Tableau has the best implementation of Parameters and Grouping I’ve ever used, so hopefully the Data Studio team can copy what Tableau has already done.

Here’s Hoping

As I mentioned this in the beginning of the post, I’m a huge fan of Data Studio, an active member in the community, and a daily user. I reiterate this point because I want readers to know that this list comes from a place of love.

“this list comes from a place of love”

I want Data Studio to succeed because it is a delightful product to use despite all of its shortcomings — here’s hoping that this reaches the right person and some of these features are considered.

What do you think? Are there any features that you’ve been waiting to see implemented in Data Studio? Feel free to write them down in the comments.