Google has confirmed it will acquire the relatively new business intelligence business, Looker for $2.6 billion and integrate it will its Google Cloud product line which may industry experts believe is a much-needed addition to their portfolio. The new deal represents Google’s third-biggest acquisition in its history.

Industry experts believe it is a very smart move for Google, suggesting that the deal represents a sign of the value of technology moving towards a cloud-focused future. The founders of Looker developed the business in 2011 with one particular objective, to support businesses with high volumes of data and provide real-time insights. Many companies were struggling to manage data from a range of business apps and social networks spread across multiple systems. Looker delivered an innovative Business Intelligence platform with a core connected to data warehouses such as Microsoft SQL, enabling no transferring of information into the vendor’s hub.

Looker also designed its own language, called LookML, meaning there was no requirement to understand complicated SQL statements. This product alone enabled Looker to quickly establish itself within the marketplace and gain the interest of over 1,000 customers.

The Deal With Google

Industry analysts are quick to point out the similarities between Looker and Google. Both are cloud-focused operators and have over 300 customers in common. Moving forward, there is huge potential for further expansion of the Looker platform. This could include integrating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning systems from Google.

Adam Wilson, the CEO of Trifacta explains that the rate and scale of which analytics is shifting to the cloud has been unremarkable and the acquisition of Looker is a fine example of further market movements. Wilson believes that growth opportunities today within the cloud are dominated by analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Industry experts believe the Google Looker acquisition will spark further developments within the industry, highlighting that companies need further flexibility to be capable of competing in the digital scene today and many traditional systems may be hindering their progress.

One factor that will result from the acquisition with Looker is that it will open Google to other leading cloud companies. Most of Google Cloud is focused on a series of specific products but the Looker BI platform will connect with a range of other vendors. Looker works with Salesforce, Marketo and Zendesk but it also integrates with Amazon Redshift, Azure SQL, Oracle, Snowflake and more. This integration with other vendors will help Google work within the enterprise market.

Many experts believe this was a deal that Google needed to make. Looker is a younger business that was developed on a cloud system and is a perfect addition to Google Cloud. Not only does it offer innovative technology but it also provides the experience to enable Google to improve its process of positioning its product offerings to other businesses.