Popular business intelligence startup Looker Data Sciences Inc. kicks off its Join user conference today with the announcement of a complete overhaul of its flagship product that the company claims is easier to use, more extendable and works with a broader range of data sources.

Looker is also announcing the Looker Blocks Directory, a collection of more than 50 pre-built, reusable analytic templates created by the company and its partners. The directory also houses 12 full-blown applications that apply Looker to common analytics tasks.

Looker 4 adds a RESTful application program interface that developers can use to create custom experiences as well as to push data through a variety of means. For example, analytics routines can be programmed to send a text message or add a file to Dropbox Inc. folder based upon a set of conditions. New functionality in Looker Actions and Webhooks enables users to pull data, charts or analyses from other applications and create actions using the API.

“We’re creating a way to access their APIs right within Looker, so you can update Salesforce records from within Looker, or pull up a list of customers and configure email to them right from within Looker,” said Daniel Mintz, chief data evangelist at the company.

A refreshed version of the LookML modeling language adds features like error identification and auto-correct. Built on top of SQL, LookML “breaks SQL down into bite size chunks so you can define a dimension once and use it everywhere,” Mintz said. “You can do things you could never do in SQL, like pivots and segmentation analysis.”

Looker 4 also provides improved methods to discover and organize content to make it more meaningful. Users can more easily find data across multiple back-end databases and recommend, share, secure and save it.

Looker Blocks Directory

Looker Blocks are reusable, templated code blocks that can be used to quickly build data models for common tasks such as sales, marketing and web analytics. A new centralized directory expands the number of blocks to 50, built by Looker and partners such as Google, Segment.io Inc., Datasticians Inc., Parsely Inc., Stitch Inc., Fivetran Inc. and Transform Inc. “Source blocks from partners are good for getting data out of source systems and into warehouses,” Mintz explained. “We see a lot of folks replacing traditional data integration tools for ETL (extract/transform/load) with ELT – loading data and doing transformations at query time.

A dozen new applications have also been added to automate more involved processes with collections of templates, workflows and reports. Looker’s global partner network includes more than 100 technology and consulting companies.

Finally, Looker is adding a Data Analyst Certification program that objectively verifies that a data analyst has the knowledge to effectively develop in LookML. Certifications make it easier for programmers to advertise skills and for recruiters to find them. “We’re seeing people listing LookML as a skill in their LinkedIn profile,” Mintz said. The first set of certification tests will be administered at the conference this week, and regularly thereafter. Additional certifications are also planned, Mintz said.

Looker is available on the subscription basis at prices beginning at $3,000 per month for 10 users. Online certification exams are priced at $300. Founded in 2011, the company has 230 employees and claims 750 customers.