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[Update: December 2020] Users will no longer need to individually share each sheet with the Castodia service account as described in the video. Users will instead be required to authenticate with their Google Account only once and this will automatically enable auto-refresh for any sheet.

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How to Connect MariaDB to Google Sheets

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Castodia lets you pull data from your MariaDB database directly into Google Sheets.

To connect your MariaDB database, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Install the Castodia GSuite Marketplace Database Connector

Step 2: Create a Google Sheet and click "Add-Ons" within the toolbar section to access the Castodia Database Connector

Step 3: Two options will appear when you hover over the add-on: launch and settings. Click "Settings."

Step 4: Click the drop-down menu to access the MariaDB database

Step 5: Gather and enter your database connection information. There are five components needed:

• Database Name
• Host
• Port
• Username
• Password

Step 6: Click the "Test" button to run the database and verify your credentials

Step 7: Click the "Save" button once a green notification pops up, indicating that the add-on was successfully installed.

And that's it! Enjoy running your queries.

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Use Case

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Scenario

Suppose the director of operations is looking to evaluate the yearly customer service operations of the company. The department's main goal is to ensure customer retention for business growth. Thus, the individual must assess employee productivity and implement a policy to streamline efficient processes and standards.

The director of operations wants to answer three questions:

1. What is the week-by-week breakdown of customer retention rates?
2. Which countries have a higher customer retention rate?
3. What insights can be gained from evaluating five areas of internal operations?

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Solution

Rather than manually exporting CSV files to derive insightful analytics, the head of operations can use Castodia's Database Connector to connect their MariaDB database to Google Sheets, run and save important queries, and auto-refresh their data every two weeks based on their custom schedule.

To get started, install the Castodia GSuite Add-On and access a new Google sheet. Once you have connected your MariaDB database, you can begin to run SQL queries.

Castodia also gives users the freedom to create custom schedules for databases. The director of operations can use the Advanced Scheduling System to automate incoming data every year, before taking a deep dive into analysis. This can be done by scheduling data to auto-refresh on the first and last days of December.

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1. What is the week-by-week breakdown of customer retention rates?

After using the Castodia-add on to set an additional schedule that auto-refreshes data on a weekly basis, the director of operations can build a cohort analysis table to discover areas of opportunity to improve the retention process.

The customer retention rate shows a stable downwards trend overall. However, there is an evident difference in weeks 4 and 5, with the retention rate decreasing from 1.42% to 0.63%. This is an area that the director of operations can re-visit when improving the efficiency of processes and employee standards.

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2. Which countries have a higher customer retention rate?

You can also create a geographic chart pulled from the data within the MariaDB database. Through this visualization, the director of operations can conclude that the United States has the highest customer retention rate of 87%, relative to Mexico with the lowest customer retention rate of 30%.

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3. What insights can be gained from evaluating five areas of internal operations?

Using internal and external data from your MariaDB database, you can compile feedback regarding current customer service operations. From the model, the director of operations can determine that although the resources and tools are most effective, it is possible that the employees are not receiving this information during their onboarding and training.

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