Frequently asked questions

Toucan is an embedded analytics and BI platform created around 5 core needs:

1. Ease of implementation: Toucan's agile nature is part of the company's DNA. Our iterative approach is a result of the SCRUM methodology. Therefore, projects can be industrialized quickly.
   
   
2. Easy to use UX: quality of the end-user experience is at the heart of Toucan's mission and strategy. Toucan's unique user experience is intuitive thanks to Data storytelling, enabling you to get actionable insights from your data regardless of your data literacy or position.
   
   
3. One-Click Connectors: our connectors are able to aggregate your data, regardless of its source. Whether you need to connect flat files (Excel, CSV, etc.), IT environments (BO, Qlick, SAP, etc.) or cloud databases (redshift, MongoDB, snowflake, etc.), we have you covered.
   
   
4. Analytics Anytime, Anywhere: Toucan is accessible on any device, whether it's a phone, tablet, PC or wall monitor, any time and anywhere.
   
   
5. Collaboration: a truly differentiating element of Toucan is its built-in collaboration tools that ensure your analytics actually get used. You can collaborate every step of the way with Toucan, whether you're using chats, in-app recommendations, messages, or glossaries.
   

There is a difference between data exploration and data storytelling. Data exploration can be done even with excel as it is simply a process where analysts look for meaning in data. Toucan can complement any existing Data Exploration tool as it was built for data storytelling. With data storytelling, your end users can gain actionable insights to make data-driven decisions irrespective of your data literacy level. Toucan aims to build a data culture in your organization without needing data experts.

Toucan is an end-to-end analytics platform built to empower business users with actionable insights from data while eliminating the complexity found in most other analytics tools. Toucan enables data accessibility for everyone in the organization, with a 0-code platform, one-click integration and context at every step. You can find out more here.

Generic BI tools like Tableau, PowerBI, Qlik… are great tools when it comes to exploring data to find insights. However, they’re often too complex for non-technical business users when it comes to actually using those insights to make data-driven decisions.

And that’s exactly what Toucan focuses on. Our job is not just finding actionable insights about also communicating them to business users of all data literacy levels in an easy-to-understand manner. We complement data exploration tools and help you leverage those investments by delivering information in the most appropriate way: through context and simplicity.

Every project is different in teams of size, scope and complexity. This is why at Toucan we price depending on the resources needed to successfully complete the project and the number of user licenses needed. In short, the pricing varies depending on the use case. 

If you are looking to embed analytics into your existing product we do have a cost calculator that can give you a rough estimate. 

Toucan employs a subscription license business model. Our business model is similar to that of a software publisher with licenses per user per month, and with no hidden costs. Our prices are competitive and have been set up with scalability in mind.

You can connect to any data source, from simple files to remote databases with just one click, using our extensive library of connectors and data connection mediums. We use a variety of techniques for our clients such as ETL, REST API, FTP, Scripting, manual drag and drop, and Real Time Data.

You can learn more on our connectors page, in our product documentation, and by watching our Under the Toucan Hood video about connectors.

Yes, if your BI platform allows other platforms to connect to it (like Microstrategy), then Toucan can sit on top of that. When it comes to our clients having proprietary technologies like Tableau or Qlik’s .qvd files, we deploy a script to extract a .csv file and incorporate it into Toucan automatically. We never have a problem with data connections! 

The short answer is all of them.

Whether it is simple files like excel or csv, local databases, remote databases, or through APIs, Toucan can connect to over 600 data sources (and counting). Toucan can ingest this data on a regular basis and cache it, or deliver it in real-time as live data.

Yes. Even if you’re dealing with varied sources such as an Excel file, an SQL database and Salesforce at the same time, you can centralize everything with Toucan and publish the related visualizations with ease. Learn more about connecting and validating your data sources.

With our scheduler, you can automate data updates in just a few clicks. Define which data sources you want to refresh and how often you want them (hourly, daily, weekly, or entirely customized).  Here is a detailed explanation of how the scheduler works:

You can either refresh your data on demand, regularly (with our scheduler), or request live data. It all depends on how quickly changes in your data will affect the insights your business users receive. The scheduler can be customized to your liking hourly, daily, weekly, or any time frame you like. The live data on the other hand will update in real-time. Here is a short conversation to elaborate on the live data feature in Toucan:

Toucan is a web application with a client-side and a server-side. The client side is a Javascript application that renders your dashboards, puts together the interface and allows users to navigate their analytics. It is where most of the innovation in analytics happens. The server side is in charge of governance, security and querying data. Here is more details information about the two sides. 

Our visualization library contains dozens of charts. Each chart can be customized with filters, color-coded data, HKPIs and tips. Here is a short video to illustrate a few types of charts and filters in Toucan. 

With our mapchart, you can position zones and markers on top of OpenStreetMap tiles. You can upload GeoJSON, Shapefiles, and other standard formats describing geographical zones. 

Our chart library is tailored to accommodate most business cases. Each chart has numerous configuration options detailed in our product documentation. We do not build custom visualizations (for now) to ensure the quality, ease of use, and accuracy of our applications. We can, however, work with third-party platforms (such as custom mapping) to include their charts in our product.

Not yet, but you'll already have access to loads of possibilities with all our charts. This being said, we understand that you may need very specific visualizations, and we do intend to provide you with this capability in the future. 

Yes, you don't need your data to be ready. Instead of focusing first on the data pipeline and its organization, we recommend starting by thinking about what it is you need to communicate, and to test it (with static or fake data against a panel of potential users).

Toucan allows you to do this with our fake data generator which eliminates the need for a data team and helps you ensure you’ve validated your needs as a team. 

Our servers are located in datacenter center DC3 from Scaleway, located in Vitry (France). It respects all hosting standards (security, network, client isolation) and has a Tier III Certification. More information in our documentation.

Toucan's private cloud is fully operated and monitored by Toucan with the latest security certifications (SSL Grade A…). Location can be adjusted.

We operate each of our clients in a separate instance, with an isolated network, volumes and databases (based on Docker).

As far as access control is concerned, you can connect Toucan to your company's SSO, which gives and controls access to apps. Here is a video about how Toucan manages SSO:

Yes - you can choose either / or!

For the cloud, we use a private cloud with state of the art security.

For on-prem deployments, we use Docker Image technology, meaning the installation process is easy and straightforward. More information in this video:

In this video, one of our experts explains how you can manage a successful on premise installation:

Toucan was founded in 2014. 

Toucan was launched out of Paris, France, but operates globally. Our team is truly international, with presence in the UK, Nordics, Netherlands,and United States. 

Toucan gives life to your data by putting it directly in the hands of decision-makers and operational end users. We have solutions for every industry, role, and department.

100s of customers trust Toucan, including Total, Ubisoft, BPCE, EDF, JCDecaux, Tereos, Citroen, So Local, Unibail, Vinci, Simply Market and Renault.

Head over to  Welcome to the Jungle to get involved?

Yes! You can view all of our open positions here!