What is self-service analytics?

Self-service analytics is a data analytics approach that allows business users without technical expertise to access, analyze, and visualize data independently without requiring SQL knowledge or IT support.

What's the difference between self-service analytics and traditional BI?

Traditional BI relies on data analysts and IT teams to execute report requests, requiring SQL knowledge and creating week-long delays. Self-service analytics enables business users to generate insights in minutes without technical skills or IT dependency.

How much does self-service analytics cost?

Self-service analytics costs vary by platform type and use case. Internal BI tools typically use per-user pricing suitable for 50-500 employees. Total cost of ownership ranges from €24,000 to €880,000 over 10 years depending on platform and scale.

How long does it take to implement self-service analytics?

Implementation timelines vary significantly by approach. Internal BI tools typically require 3-6 months for enterprise deployments. Embedded analytics platforms can be implemented in days to weeks. Building in-house requires 12-18 months.

What's the difference between internal self-service BI and embedded customer-facing analytics?

Internal self-service BI enables employees to analyze company data independently, typically serving 10s-100s of users. Embedded customer-facing analytics embeds analytics within B2B SaaS products for external customers, requiring multi-tenant architecture, white-label branding, and scalability to thousands of users.

Should I build self-service analytics in-house or buy a platform?

Build in-house only if analytics is your core product. Buy a platform in 99% of cases where analytics is a feature. Commercial platforms offer faster time-to-market, proven security, and lower total cost (€24K-€880K vs €1.35M+ over 10 years).

What is multi-tenant self-service analytics?

Multi-tenant self-service analytics enables B2B SaaS applications to serve analytics to multiple customer organizations from shared infrastructure while maintaining strict data isolation through row-level security, white-label branding, and scalability to thousands of concurrent customers.

Complete GuideFebruary 22, 2026

Self-Service Analytics: Complete Guide for B2B SaaS

Self-service analytics guide for B2B SaaS: internal BI vs customer-facing embedded analytics, implementation strategies, multi-tenancy, and platform selection.

25 min

Self-Service Analytics: Complete Guide for B2B SaaS

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