What is PQL and SaolaDB, and why is it important?
The Process Query Language is, together with the Celonis SaolaDB, the backbone of our Execution Management System (EMS) platform. Every time our customers take advantage of the Celonis EMS to analyze what is happening inside their operations and processes and are then enabled to improve them, they are using PQL and its execution engine. Users construct questions using PQL to ask the Celonis SaolaDB. The Celonis SaolaDB, our in-memory database, is answering these questions. It is thereby highly optimized for process mining purposes by combining state-of-the-art techniques from relational and graph databases. The construction of questions in PQL is done by using terms called “operators”. There are now more than 180 operators, ranging from process-specific functions to mathematical operators, which allow users to analyze all facets of a business process in detail, as well as to detect and employ process improvements.
But it’s when you combine operators that the magic happens. For example, it requires a combination of just three operators to find out the optimal payment terms with your suppliers, and therefore the best terms to put in new supplier contracts. This maximizes cash discounts for on-time payment and working capital by not paying too soon. In another use case, a sales-based organization wants to predict the likely revenue from all sales opportunities currently in the CRM. This also needs just three operators: AVG, CASE WHEN and CALC_THROUGHPUT. In other words, operators in PQL are building blocks you can construct to build queries for new use cases - it’s a bit like building with Lego.