Sigma Computing intros array of new AI, analytics tools
The new features, most of which are not yet generally available, are aimed at enabling more nontechnical employees within enterprises to work with data to inform decisions.
Sigma Computing unveiled a spate of new features, including support for Model Context Protocol and AI capabilities in its Ask Sigma suite that enable users to build applications and discover insights using natural language.
The new tools, most of which will not be available until later in 2025, were introduced during a virtual presentation Wednesday.
In addition to MCP support and AI features that are available through Ask Sigma, the vendor's natural language interface, Sigma Computing introduced capabilities aimed at enabling users to reach data-informed insights.
Taken together, the swath of new features makes for a significant update with numerous valuable additions for Sigma Computing customers, according to Mike Leone, an analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, now part of Omdia.
These new capabilities represent a significant leap for Sigma. The reason is this can be viewed as a reshaping of their platform that maintains the strong, foundational business intelligence tooling they are known for and expands into a more comprehensive data solution.
Mike LeoneAnalyst, Enterprise Strategy Group
"These new capabilities represent a significant leap for Sigma," he said. "The reason is this can be viewed as a reshaping of their platform that maintains the strong, foundational business intelligence tooling they are known for and expands into a more comprehensive data solution that bridges the gap between insight and action."
Based in San Francisco, Sigma Computing is a cloud-based analytics vendor providing a platform that features a spreadsheet interface built on an AI-powered engine that enables deep data exploration. The vendor raised $200 million in funding in May 2024 to bring its total funding to $581.3 million, and in March launched no-code application development capabilities.
Following OpenAI's November 2022 launch of ChatGPT, which marked a significant improvement in generative AI technology, many enterprises increased their investments in AI development, given GenAI's potential to make workers better informed and more efficient. Initially, much of what they built were chatbots that enable users to query and analyze data using natural language rather than code to allow nontechnical employees to use data to inform decisions.
Now, however, agentic AI is the vanguard. Agents, unlike chatbots that require users to initiate interactions, have reasoning capabilities that enable them to act autonomously.
But because agents can take actions such as searching data to surface insights, perform tasks to relieve humans of time-consuming work and even interact with one another to make decisions on their own, strict protocols are needed to train and oversee agents. AI vendor Anthropic developed MCP in November 2024 to provide a convention for training and governing agents that draw on proprietary data from enterprises, along with public data from large language models and other sources.
Since then, data management and analytics vendors such as Oracle and Informatica have adopted the protocol, which includes dedicated MCP servers, to simplify and standardize agentic interactions.
Now, Sigma Computing is among them. By adding MCP extensibility, the vendor's customers can use Sigma in conjunction with their AI tools by bringing Sigma into agents where the vendor's capabilities and agentic AI capabilities can be combined.
Beyond MCP extensibility, new Sigma Computing AI capabilities include AI Builder so users can create applications and workbooks using natural language, Chat Element to enable users to develop custom agents, Ask Sigma Discover to enable data exploration and insight generation and Ask Sigma Workbook Suggestions so users can receive vetted workbooks in response to data questions.
Collectively, the new AI capabilities are aimed at enabling more people within organizations to work with data and making it faster and easier to reach insights, according to Marwan Mattar, vice president of AI at Sigma Computing. Before GenAI enabled freeform natural language query, only about a quarter of employees had the technical expertise.
"We view AI as an accelerator that will allow our users to do more with Sigma and their data, and to enable all members of all organizations to be data-driven," he said during the virtual presentation. "AI in Sigma will help you discover, analyze, build and connect to the broader AI ecosystem."
None of the AI features represent significant differentiation from what analytics vendors such as Tableau and ThoughtSpot are providing, but they are nevertheless important for the vendor's users, according to Donald Farmer, founder and principal of TreeHive Strategy.
"Sigma's new AI features will be welcomed by existing users, but they are not groundbreaking in today's market," he said during the virtual presentation. "Still, if well implemented, they will be valuable for governing the data and AI connection in enterprises."
Leone, meanwhile, noted that -- whether similar to features from other vendors or not -- Sigma Computing's new AI capabilities alter the way its customers can engage with their data.
"These shouldn't be viewed simply as incremental improvements," he said. "They are designed to make the platform more proactive, accessible and powerful for everyone, regardless of their technical skill."
Additional new features
While the new AI tools are valuable for Sigma Computing users, they represent only one segment of the vendor's new capabilities. In addition, Sigma Computing introduced new insight generation capabilities and added features for developers.
They include the following:
Sigma Reveal, an interface that enables direct data exploration in real time without using one of the vendor's templated analysis paths.
Transpose Tables, which allows users to swap rows and columns to reveal data patterns and relationships that might not have otherwise been discoverable.
Pixel-perfect reporting to enable creation of reports, PDFs and other products with precise logos, pagination and branded layouts.
Content Validation, a data modeling feature that provides data engineers and others who prepare and maintain data with real-time alerts when changes occur in data models.
An expanded integration with DBT Core to provide metadata and other information on a table in Sigma Computing to enable better visibility into data and more consistent data.
Sigma Tenants, which are isolated workspaces for teams within organizations that function as miniature Sigma Computing environments to provide teams more control over relevant workbooks, data, users and permissions.
Code representation for data models to provide all data models with a YAML representation so that engineers can version models and write tests while business users can continue to use the models to inform decisions.
Improvements to Data Apps -- no-code tools that enable users to develop customized applications for specific business functions -- aimed at helping users more quickly forecast sales, manage supply chains and take other actions critical to their business.
Adding certain features was likely driven by requests from significant customers, and they address very specific needs, according to Farmer. Others, such as pixel-perfect reporting and Sigma Tenants, however, provide broad value.
"I was quite intrigued by the emphasis on enterprise reporting, a frequently overlooked but still important business analytics function," Farmer said. "Even in the much-heralded age of AI, there is still a demand for pixel-perfect reporting. … Sigma Tenants will resonate with many IT teams looking for ways to govern both data and analytics usage."
Leone likewise called out Sigma Tenants, while also noting the significance of the DBT Core integration.
"Sigma Tenants stands out as a major addition that … fundamentally changes how large organizations can manage data access by creating isolated, secure workspaces for different teams," he said. "Meanwhile, the expanded DBT Core integration is a more specialized but incredibly valuable feature that directly links Sigma to the modern data stack's most popular data modeling tool."
Despite the value that many of the new features have to the potential to add, most are not yet generally available and are scheduled for release before the year's end. As a result, beyond the now generally available Transpose Tables, the capabilities Sigma Computing introduced on Wednesday essentially represent the vendor's product development roadmap.
Eric Avidon is a senior news writer for Informa TechTarget and a journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He covers analytics and data management.
