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Admin 101

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This tutorial is intended for users with an Admin role and includes features only available on the Enterprise plan.

This tutorial covers the basics of configuring your Hex workspace for success. We’ll review the Admin-controlled settings that cover user management, data access, workspace governance, and security controls. Check out our Admin Learning Path guide for a deeper dive into the configuration options available to you.

1. 🤓 User management and access 🤓​

One of the first things you’ll want to configure in a new workspace is how users on your team will access Hex. Review the settings outlined below to ensure users have the right level of access and avoid any unexpected charges.

  • Allowed domains: Add an allowed email domain to let anyone at your org log into Hex the first time a project is shared with them. In most cases, it makes sense for these users to default to Viewers. Note that you’ll be charged for any paid seats prorated by day from the time of invitation.
  • Single Sign-On (SSO): Enable or enforce users to log in with your SSO provider. Note that enforcing SSO prevents any user that is not managed in you provider from accessing your Hex workspace.
  • Directory sync: Integrate with your directory provider to inherit Hex roles and groups without having to manage them directly in Hex. Note that any users not included in a group specifying a certain Hex user role will be assigned to Hex as a Viewer.
tip

No directory provider? No problem. Manually configure Groups within Hex.

2. ☁️ Data management and access ☁️​

Hex is an incredibly powerful tool for making decisions—but not without your data! Check out the three topics below to establish connections to your warehouse and other data sources.

  • Data connections: Create a connection to your data warehouse. For sensitive data, you may want to grant different Groups of users “Can query” and “Can view” access. Additionally, consider setting your schema to refresh on a daily or weekly cadence so editors have up-to-date data in the Data browser.
  • External file integrations: Have data that lives in Google Drive or S3? This integration is established using one main user, so consider creating a service account to connect with.
  • Workspace SQL caching: Optimize your apps and save $$$ on warehouse compute by setting a sensible default caching timeout based on your ETL processes and Hex use cases. Bumping the default to 1 day is a popular approach. Note that Editors can adjust this setting for individual projects.
tip

All Editors and Explorers in your org have access to the [Demo] Hex Public Data connection to explore Hex functionality while you’re getting set up.

3. 🗄️ Workspace governance and organization 🗄️​

As your team grows and starts creating tons of great content, maintaining an organized workspace will become more and more important. Hex provides Admins a number of tools to create processes to keep projects organized at the user and team level. Without implementing these features, it can be difficult to find what you’re looking for, which can limit collaboration and lead to duplicative work.

  • Statuses and categories: Hex’s default statuses and categories are a good starting point for some data teams, but consider adding your own based on your use cases and workflows. Additionally, we recommend having at least one Endorsed status for users to recognize trusted assets.
  • Collections: Collections provide another level of organization in Hex. Here at Hex, we have a collection for each team (Sales, Customer, Marketing) as well as project themes (Feature use, performance, Ad experiments). Note that a project can be added to multiple collections!
  • Workspace manager: Consider granting a Hex super user or team lead a Manager role. Managers have all the same permissions as an Editor, with the extra capabilities of applying Endorsed statuses to projects and data objects and updating project metadata.

This is a high-level overview—for more details check out the Organizing Your Workspace project for more resources and best practices.

4. 🔒 Workspace administration and security 🔒​

Hex provides a number of options to ensure what happens in Hex is compliant with your org’s data security requirements. Review the settings below and view our Trust page for more details on data security and Hex’s compliance.

  • Audit logs: Configure Audit logs to capture details on the actions each user in your Hex workspace takes to satisfy your security and compliance teams’ requirements.
  • Project security: Want to prevent users from making projects public? Or prohibit downloading data as CSVs? Check out the Project security section of Admin settings and consider what makes sense for your team. Click into the linked docs above for more details on each setting.
  • Data retention: Have guidelines on data deletion? Reach out to [email protected] to get Data retention policies enabled in your workspace.

💪🏼 Level up your workspace 💪🏼​

Covered the basics of Admin 101? Looking to configure integrations, manage users at scale, organize your workspace, and govern content well? Check out our guide for Admin Learning Paths for a deeper dive. into optimizing your Hex workspace.

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