100% agreed regarding shipping a read-replica, for any sufficiently complex enterprise app (ERP, CRM, accounting, etc.).
Customers need it to build custom reports, archive data into a warehouse, drive downstream systems (notifications, audits, compliance), and answer edge-case questions you didn’t anticipate.
Because of that, I generally prefer these patterns over a half-baked built-in analytics UI or an opinionated REST API:
Provide a read replica or CDC stream.
Let sophisticated customers handle authz, modelling, and queries themselves. This gets harder with multi-tenant DBs.
Optionally offer a hosted Data API, using something like -- PostgREST / Hasura / Microsoft DAB.
You handle permissions and safety, but stay largely un-opinionated about access patterns.
Any built-in metrics or analytics layer will always miss edge cases.
With AI agents becoming first-class consumers of enterprise data, direct read access is going to be non-negotiable.
Also, I predict the days of charging customers to access their own goddamn data, behind rate-limited + metered REST APIs are behind us.
Customers need it to build custom reports, archive data into a warehouse, drive downstream systems (notifications, audits, compliance), and answer edge-case questions you didn’t anticipate.
Because of that, I generally prefer these patterns over a half-baked built-in analytics UI or an opinionated REST API:
Provide a read replica or CDC stream. Let sophisticated customers handle authz, modelling, and queries themselves. This gets harder with multi-tenant DBs.
Optionally offer a hosted Data API, using something like -- PostgREST / Hasura / Microsoft DAB. You handle permissions and safety, but stay largely un-opinionated about access patterns.
Any built-in metrics or analytics layer will always miss edge cases.
With AI agents becoming first-class consumers of enterprise data, direct read access is going to be non-negotiable.
Also, I predict the days of charging customers to access their own goddamn data, behind rate-limited + metered REST APIs are behind us.