Tableau: Data visualization and business intelligence tool

What is Tableau Software?

Not only does Gartner rate the Tableau analytics platform highly, but numerous user testimonials claim that its visual tools are the best on the market and consider this software to be the standard for businesses. What does Tableau visualization software do and why is it so specific that many businesses have come to integrate it into their daily operations?

A powerful business intelligence tool for visualizing analytics, Tableau presents results in a variety of living forms for greater insight.

Healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, education, education, marketing, marketing, wholesale and retail, and other industries have already made extensive use of Tableau's data visualization.

The suite of tools in Tableau includes:

• Tableau Desktop - Tool for visualizing data and creating graphs
• Tableau Prep - ETL tool to prepare data for analysis.
• Tableau Online - for sharing and collaboration
• Tableau Server - for the publication of the results on the web.

If your business is looking to improve its analytics and get the most out of data retrieval, you need to have views on Tableau data visualization software. But before you fall in love with its remarkable visualization capabilities, learn about the limitations of Tableau in your business - check out our Tableau reviews.

Features

Tableau is a leading tool in business intelligence and data analytics, known for its ability to make data understandable and interactive. Here's an in-depth look at its features:

1. Intuitive Data Visualization

Tableau turns complex data into visualizations that are easy to understand.

• Creation of Interactive Dashboards: Build dynamic and interactive visualizations.
• Wide Range of Chart Types: Choose from a variety of formats to better represent your data.
• Advanced Customization: Adapt visualizations to your specific needs.

This feature is extremely powerful for presenting complex data in an accessible way. However, the high level of customization may require some skill in data design.

2. Data Integration and Connectivity

Tableau integrates seamlessly with a multitude of data sources.

• Connection to Various Data Sources: Easily access databases, Excel files, and other sources.
• Data Extraction: Import and transform data from multiple sources.
• Big Data Support: Manage large amounts of data effectively.

Data integration is comprehensive and flexible, but can sometimes be complex, requiring technical expertise.

3. Powerful Data Analysis

Tableau offers advanced analytics to uncover hidden insights.

• Advanced Analysis Features: Use calculations, trends, and forecasts to analyze data.
• Data interactivity: Explore data with filters and interactive segments.
• Actionable Insights: Transform raw data into clear metrics for decision making.

While powerful, this feature can be intimidating for newbies due to its complexity.

4. Collaboration and Sharing

Facilitates data sharing and collaboration.

• Secure Sharing and Collaboration: Control who sees what with advanced sharing options.
• Tableau Online: Access and share your data and visualizations in the cloud.
• Comments and Interactions: Annotate and discuss visualizations as a team.

Sharing and collaboration are seamless, but highly dependent on properly configured security and access settings.

5. Mobility and Accessibility

Access your data and reports on any device.

• Tableau Mobile: Robust mobile app for accessing data on the go.
• Alerts and Notifications: Get notified of important updates.
• Mobile-Optimized Visualizations: Reports and dashboards designed for small screens.

Mobile accessibility is a major asset, although some complex features are better suited to the desktop version.

‍

In conclusion, Tableau is a very powerful BI and data analysis tool, offering advanced data visualizations, robust data integration, powerful analytics capabilities, effective collaboration and sharing options, and excellent mobility.

However, to make the most of its advanced features, some familiarity with the principles of BI and data analysis is recommended.

While Tableau is designed to be accessible to users of all levels, more advanced features may require more technical expertise.

Customer Support

Tableau offers free online access to all users, which includes:

• Knowledgebase
• On-demand training videos
• Live online training
• Product documentation
• Tableau Community Forums

In addition, it has a technical assistance program at three levels:

Standard - Standard support is included in the purchase of the subscription or in the first year of the perpetual license. Support is provided during regular Tableau business hours (for example, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST Monday through Friday). In addition to online access, the Standard tier includes:

• Response time for priority 1 (critical) issues within eight hours
• Response time for priority 2 (high) issues within 24 hours
• Three named contacts

Extent - The extended support level includes all the features of the standard level plus.. :

• 24/7 coverage of priority 1 issues
• Response time for priority 1 (critical) issues within two hours
• Response time for priority 2 (high) issues within eight hours
• Five named contacts

Premium - The Premium Support Level includes all of the features of the Extended Level plus.. :

• Telephone support
• 24/7 coverage of priority 1 and 2 questions
• Response time for priority 1 (critical) issues within 30 minutes
• Priority 2 (high): Problem response time within two hours.
• A technical account manager
• Service Level Agreement for Tableau Online users only
• Deployment reviews for Tableau Server users only
• Recurring status calls and service reports
• Online update guide
• Upgrade support for Tableau Server users only
• Strategic planning
• Access to the senior support team
• escalation and case supervision
• Participation in the product roadmap
• Review feature requests in order of priority
• Root cause analysis
• Experiment site for Tableau Online users only

Pricing

Rather than offering a price for each product available, Tableau's subscription pricing strategy focuses on individual users and their data needs.

Each subscription includes maintenance, product upgrades, and support at a single cost, so there are no unexpected costs.

Tableau Creator

Tableau Creator is designed for individual analysts and advanced users, and costs $70 per user per month (billed annually).

It includes access to Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep, as well as a Creator license for Tableau Server or Tableau Online. Note that the price for the Creator license is the same regardless of whether Tableau is deployed in the cloud or on-premises.

Tableau Explorer

Tableau Explorer is designed for users who want to explore governed self-service analytics, for example, explore available data to answer their own questions, rather than relying on data from others.

It costs $35 per user per month (billed annually) if deployed on-premises, and includes a license for Tableau Server. If deployed in the cloud, this plan costs $42 per user per month (billed annually) and includes a license for Tableau Online.

Tableau Viewer

Tableau Viewer is designed for users who simply want to access dashboards and visualizations without creating them.

When deployed on-premises, it costs $12 per user per month (billed annually) and includes a Tableau Server Viewer license. When deployed in the cloud, it costs $15 per user per month (billed annually) and includes a Tableau Online Viewer license. Note that Tableau requires a minimum of 100 viewers for this plan.

Final Verdict

Overall, Tableau can be a useful piece of software for businesses depending on how it's used.

Its strengths lie in its data visualizations for end users. If you're working with data to generate stories and presentations, Tableau is great.

Its best use case is as a desktop tool, which can work well with many other standard office products, including word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation software.