What is text-to-SQL?
What is text-to-SQL? A clear explanation for Azerbaijani business — and how Hermes applies it.
Understanding Text-to-SQL Technology
Text-to-SQL is a transformative technology that translates plain-language questions—typed in everyday words—into structured SQL queries that a relational database can execute. By removing the need to write complex code or master query syntax, it empowers business users to retrieve data-driven answers drawn directly from their own databases. This bridge between natural language and structured data eliminates the technical bottlenecks that typically prevent non-technical staff from accessing critical business insights in real-time. Hermes, developed by Allmaz, implements this approach specifically for the needs of Azerbaijani businesses. The system is fully trilingual, accepting queries in Azerbaijani, Russian, or English to ensure seamless communication across diverse teams. Once a question is asked, Hermes generates the corresponding SQL, executes it against your data, and returns results that can be explored interactively or pinned to live dashboards for continuous monitoring.
Business Advantages of Text-to-SQL
Democratizes data access by allowing any team member to query databases without knowing SQL or relying on developer availability.
Provides real-time accuracy by pulling answers from your own live databases, ensuring information is always current and organization-specific.
Eliminates language barriers within diverse teams through comprehensive trilingual support for Azerbaijani, Russian, and English.
Ensures maximum data integrity via a read-only, least-privilege database role that prevents the system from modifying, deleting, or overwriting data.
Offers complete auditability and transparency by displaying the exact SQL query used to produce every single answer.
Maintains strict data sovereignty through a self-hosted Docker deployment, keeping sensitive information entirely within your own infrastructure.
Core Capabilities of Hermes
Plain-Language Querying
Ask questions in natural language and receive structured answers — no SQL knowledge required from the end user.
Trilingual Interface
Hermes understands and responds in Azerbaijani, Russian, and English, making it accessible to the full range of teams operating in Azerbaijan.
Live Dashboard Builder
Pin query results to dashboards that refresh against your live databases, so decision-makers always see up-to-date figures.
Read-Only by Design
Hermes connects through a least-privilege role restricted to SELECT statements, ensuring it can read data but never alter it.
Full SQL Transparency
Every answer displays the exact SQL query that was executed, allowing technical staff to verify, audit, or reuse the logic.
Self-Hosted on Docker
The entire solution runs on any Docker-compatible host, so your data never leaves your own servers or cloud environment.
The Hermes Workflow
Common Questions About Text-to-SQL
Do my staff need to know SQL to use Hermes?
No. Hermes is specifically designed so that any team member can ask questions in plain language. The system handles the translation to SQL automatically, so no technical coding knowledge is required to get answers.
Is my data safe if Hermes has access to the database?
Yes. Security is built-in by design. Hermes connects using a read-only, least-privilege role limited strictly to SELECT operations. This means the system can read your data to provide answers, but it is physically unable to insert, update, delete, or modify any records.
How can I verify that the answers provided by Hermes are accurate?
Hermes provides full transparency by displaying the exact SQL query it executed for every answer. This allows your technical staff or data analysts to review, validate, and reproduce the results independently to ensure total accuracy.
Does Hermes send our sensitive data to external servers or the cloud?
No. Because Hermes is self-hosted and runs on your own Docker infrastructure, all data processing happens within your own environment. Your sensitive information never leaves your servers.
Which languages are supported for querying the database?
Hermes is fully trilingual and supports Azerbaijani, Russian, and English. This allows your team to interact with your data in the language that is most natural and efficient for them.
Ready to Query Your Data?
Hermes brings professional text-to-SQL capabilities to your organisation — securely hosted, fully transparent, and available in the languages your team already uses. Contact Allmaz to learn how Hermes can connect to your databases and start delivering instant answers today.
Request a demo