Tableau Software Review

Vendor:
Founded:
Headquarters:
Ownership:

Tableau
2003
Seattle, Washington
Public

Customers:
Deployment Model:
Intended Users:
Free Trial:

17,000
On Premise/Client Server, Cloud
All
Yes

Product Details

Tableau stands out from its peers in pioneering the user-friendly interface that allows non-experts to access and create dashboards without formal training. Tableau Desktop is of their flagship products that relies on innovative technology that allows users to click on data and drag and drop it where you want it so that you can analyze exactly what you want. This makes connecting to data much simpler for users, who can create dashboards in just a few moments.

Tableau’s philosophy revolves around the visual thinker, and Desktop’s capabilities reflect that belief. As a user’s thoughts and ideas change, it is easy to click through visuals to follow potential patterns. There is no complicated struggle to create complex wizards or build dashboards from the ground up: it’s done automatically.

Tableau touts its software as spearheading a new approach to business intelligence that can produce analysis and insights from data at a high rate of speed. This quicker approach saves time, and allows users to combine data from multiple sources and input it as it comes in. According to the product website, Tableau Desktop is anywhere from 10 to 100 times faster than its competitors. 

Desktop is fully compatible with all mobile platforms and tablets, allowing for users to swiftly and conveniently share information from anywhere, to anywhere. All dashboards can be viewed on iPads and other mobile devices or tablets in as clean a format as a PC or Mac. No changes are required to move dashboards from your device to the web, streamlining the publishing process.

Finally, Tableau makes it easy to incorporate multiple data sources. Adding additional layers of data is as simple as a single click, facilitating the drive of many businesses to utilize as much data as possible.

Features

Tableau includes a full range of features, many of which are listed below:

Target Market

Tableau services a wide variety of industries, including major corporations and banks, educational institutions, and health care providers. Below is a list of some of their major clients.

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Customer Service & Support

Tableau offers support services for all of their products, including an extensive online database of resources that users can search for answers to their issues. "Quick start guides" that address many fundamental issues can be downloaded in one click. Tableau also offers a Desktop Kickstart service, a one time, one-on-one consultation session with an expert on the subject of the user's choice, ranging from dashboard actions to publishing and sharing.There are online training sessions that are self-taught, as well as classroom sessions with an instructor. These classrooms can be in-person and online.

Shortcomings

Tableau is currently working on adapting their software for Mac. The updated tool should be ready for release in late 2014.

Tableau is on the pricy end for personal users, and even for professional users. But this is to be expected for software with this range of features.

Some users have reported struggles with OLAP calculations when working within Teradata, and have expressed frustration with the ease of use of the tool. Essentially, Tableau has many advanced features, and it can prove difficult to navigate between them.

Screenshots

About

Tableau Software is an American company focused on business intelligence and data analytics products based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2003 in Seattle, Washington, it is consistently ranked as one of the "Leaders" in the business intelligence marketplace by Gartner in their annual Magic Quadrant Survey.

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