Yes, Spark SQL helps in big data analytics through external tools too. Let us see how it is done actually –
It access data using SQL statements in both ways either data is stored inside the Spark program or data needs to access through external tools that are connected to Spark SQL through database connectors like JDBC or ODBC.
It provides rich integration between a database and regular coding with RDDs and SQL tables. It is also able to expose custom SQL functions as needed.