Migrating from Google Analytics to Piwik Pro - The Benefits and The Challenges

Data analytics is critical in analyzing user behavior, refining marketing strategies, and driving business success in today's digital landscape. Google Analytics has long been the go-to tool for organizations of all sizes seeking meaningful insights into their online presence. However, as the need for data privacy and control grows, businesses are looking for alternative solutions that provide more sophisticated capabilities and better data ownership.

Piwik Pro is one such platform that has received a lot of attention. Piwik Pro provides a full array of analytics tools, giving organizations complete control over their data and better privacy protection. While migrating from Google Analytics to Piwik Pro may appear to be a difficult task, the benefits it provides make it an appealing option for companies trying to enhance their analytics practices.

In this article, Altamedia data experts will look at the benefits and challenges of migrating from Google Analytics to Piwik Pro. The goal is to ensure that you can make an informed choice about whether moving from Google Analytics to Piwik Pro is the correct option for your analytics needs.

So, let's get into the specifics and look at why Piwik Pro can be the best option for your company's data analytics journey.

Piwik Pro Advantages

Tools:

Compared to Google Analytics Piwik Pro provides a wider range of tools that you can use. Alongside the Analytics and Tag Manager, you can get access to Consent Manager and Customer Data Platform.

Data Ownership:

One of the significant advantages of using Piwik Pro is that you have full control and ownership of your data. PiwikPro allows you to host the analytics solution on your servers, giving you complete control over your data and ensuring compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR.

As for Piwik PRO Enterprise, you can choose between the following:

• Cloud data centres

• Private cloud (dedicated database)

• Private cloud (dedicated hardware)

• On-premises hosting options in your cloud account with one of our certified providers

• Piwik PRO Core offers you the advantage of secure cloud hosting located in Germany, which is worth highlighting as it falls within Europe and is fully compliant with GDPR regulations.

Data freshness:

The freshness of your data describes how long it takes to collect, process and deliver data to your reports.

Google Analytics 4:

• you wait up to 8 hours for your reports,

• you can experience sampling, and that can hurt your reports,

• you need BigQuery to have access to raw data.

Piwik PRO:

• you can count on data freshness every 30 minutes,

• there is no sampling,

• you can access raw data via API, BigQuery or as a CSV export.

Security/GDPR:

Piwik Pro provides advanced security measures, particularly when you host it on your own infrastructure. This gives you better control over access, data encryption, and compliance with security policies.

Piwik Pro Disadvantages/Migration Challenges

Learning process:

Piwik Pro may be more challenging to learn compared to Google Analytics, especially for those who are already familiar with the latter.

Integration and Compatibility:

If you switch from using Google Analytics to Piwik Pro, you may need to do some extra work to make sure everything still works together. This could include updating tracking codes, changing how data is shared, or connecting to other tools.

Third-Party Integrations:

Google Analytics has a vast ecosystem of third-party integrations and plugins that extend its functionality and enable seamless integration with various marketing and analytics tools. Piwik Pro has a more limited range of pre-built integrations, requiring additional development effort to integrate with specific third-party tools.

Support and Documentation:

Google Analytics has a large community of users, extensive documentation, and reliable support, making it easier to find resources and solutions for common issues.

Advanced Machine Learning and AI Capabilities:

Google Analytics leverages Google's expertise in machine learning and AI to offer advanced features like automated insights, predictive analytics, and anomaly detection.

Our Recommendation

The decision depends on your specific needs and priorities. Here are some factors to consider:

1. Data Ownership: If data ownership and privacy are significant concerns for your organization, Piwik Pro may be a better choice.

2. Support and Documentation: GA has a larger user base and a robust ecosystem with extensive integrations and support options.

3. Technical Expertise: Piwik Pro may require more technical knowledge for setup, configuration, and customization compared to the user-friendly interface of GA.

Based on the capabilities and benefits of both PiwikPro and Google Analytics, we can advise to choose PiwikPro if complete data control and ownership are a priority. PiwikPro provides raw data access without sampling, and advanced security features, especially when hosted on your own infrastructure. If ease of use and connectivity with third-party applications are critical considerations, Google Analytics may be a better solution for you. It features a larger user base and substantial documentation. Finally, the decision should be based on your individual demands and preferences. In case you are unsure our data experts will be happy to help you. Just follow the link to book a free consultation.