Actually, the whole product is very valuable for me.
Business Analyst at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees
I am still testing the product before I ask my team to use it. It’s most likely going to be one of our tools.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
Actually, I am still testing the product before I ask my team to use it, but it’s most likely going to be one of our tools.
What needs improvement?
I would really like to import data from any online website to make it dynamic.
I would like them to also extend the trial version to 30 days to encourage more people to use it and understand it more. Like an addiction, when you use something for a long time, it becomes a habit. :)
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used this solution for only one month, and it has been a great experience.
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March 2024
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What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
It’s a little bit slow on my system. I don’t know why, but I am looking forward to them developing a lighter version.
How are customer service and support?
Customer service is not bad.
I liked the way when I created an account, they followed up with a call.
How was the initial setup?
Setup is very easy, like any other program.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I've tested a lot of products. I researched which tool is the best for visualization, and I found that Tableau is one of the best for it.
What other advice do I have?
I would say Tableau is a good product to use for data visualization. I recommend it for that and for data analysis.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
GSDC Consultant at a consultancy
It helps us more effectively understand data and quickly generate insights.
What is most valuable?
- Simplicity
- User friendly
How has it helped my organization?
This tool helps in understanding data in a visually better form and generate insights quickly.
What needs improvement?
Add calculated columns in the edit text box like in Spotfire.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for two years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
I have not encountered any serious deployment, stability or scalability issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer service and technical support are excellent.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Spotfire. The two main reasons to use Tableau over Spotfire are the ease of working with it and the availability of an in-depth knowledge database.
How was the initial setup?
It is very straightforward, like installing any other application.
What about the implementation team?
An in-house team implemented it.
What was our ROI?
This tool has provided savings in terms of man hours.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
License cost is average.
What other advice do I have?
Contact a Tableau technical team to understand exactly which product you need.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Tableau
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Tableau. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
768,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.
R&D Manager at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Data is almost real-time, allowing a better decision making process
What is most valuable?
It's ability to connect to multiple data sources, easy and intuitive interface, and analytics functions.
How has it helped my organization?
Yes. We use Tableau dashboards in Tableau Server (connected to our ERP system) in our weekly executive sales meetings. The data is almost real-time, allowing a better decision making process.
We also use Tableau to identify data quality and cleansing related issues.
What needs improvement?
Custom formatting and layout.
For how long have I used the solution?
Three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Only with SAP BW data sources.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Not yet.
How are customer service and technical support?
An eight out of 10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Yes. SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards/Xcelsius. Switched because of easy adoption of Tableau, and minimum knowledge required.
How was the initial setup?
It was very easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
To consider that MS Power BI, which costs less, requires MS Office 365 subscription. Therefore, the investment in Tableau is less.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes, Microsoft Power BI, SAP Lumira, and BOARD.
What other advice do I have?
- Define clear objectives and outcomes.
- Proper sizing if Tableau Server is needed.
- Follow Tableau Drive Methodology.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Yes. Reseller and Service Provider.
Tableau Specialist, BI and ETL Developer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
We use it for supply chain analytics for information on orders, bookings, landed costs freight analytics, and partner scores.
What is most valuable?
Tableau is easy to use. It provides us with faster development and deployment. It also produces impressive graphs and charts.
How has it helped my organization?
We make heavy use of supply chain analytics to analyze information on orders, bookings, landed costs freight analytics, partner scores, etc.
What needs improvement?
We would like to see more advanced data science capabilities like predictive analysis and advanced linear regression.
Tableau also lacks native financial functions. Also, we would like to see integration with native Hadoop and some standard reporting capabilities beyond the dashboard.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Tableau 9.3 for three years, and are currently beta testing 10.0.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
We have not experienced any issues with deployment.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have not experienced any issues with stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not experienced any issues with scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
I rate the technical support as excellent.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Enterprise standard.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is simple and straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We built the implementation in house.
What was our ROI?
Pricing is costly when compared to products like Microsoft Power BI. Also, the licensing should be more general.
What other advice do I have?
Go ahead and use Tableau.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Analysis Manager at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
It gives us a new dimension to the way that we analyse our data
Pros and Cons
- "It gives us a new dimension to the way that we analyse our data."
- "The use of a storyboard helps the flow of the data visualisation."
- "If they could add global filters in the stories, more chart types, and default colours, it would help."
What is our primary use case?
I use Tableau Desktop and Server 10.4 for data visualization to measure business targets and performance, it helps the business identify strategies and solutions to meet objectives.
How has it helped my organization?
Our clients are so happy with the new visualisation tools. It has answered most of their questions on how to measure and improve their business performance.
It gives us a new dimension to the way that we analyse our data.
What is most valuable?
- Parameters
- Calculations
- Dynamic filters
- LOD
- The ability to use multiple data sources.
The use of a storyboard helps the flow of the data visualisation.
What needs improvement?
If they could add global filters in the stories, more chart types, and default colours, it would help.
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior BI Developer at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
The product has comprehensive, insightful charts, which allow you to build stunning dashboards
Pros and Cons
- "Tableau has comprehensive, insightful charts, which allow you to build stunning dashboards and enrich your support decision-making."
- "Include forecasting on table calculation fields."
What is our primary use case?
Tableau works for a diverse range of industries and use cases. I have work with Tableau for big organizations and big governmental entities as well.
How has it helped my organization?
Tableau has comprehensive, insightful charts, which allow you to build stunning dashboards and enrich your support decision-making.
What is most valuable?
- Ease of use
- Maps
- Filters
- Drag and drop functionality
- Dates
- Undo button
- Wide-range of data connectors
What needs improvement?
- Scripting just as loops would be great.
- Forecasting on table calculation fields.
For how long have I used the solution?
Less than one year.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Assistant Manager - Solution Consulting at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
I like the geo charts and data connection features.
What is most valuable?
- Geo charts
- Dashboards
- Data connections
How has it helped my organization?
Our decision-making process has been streamlined.
What needs improvement?
Real-time interactions need more attention. Predictive analytics capability should be increased.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for 1.5 years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
I have not encountered any deployment, stability or scalability issues.
How is customer service and technical support?
I rate the level of customer service and technical support on the high side.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup was straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it. I prefer in house, as it is the best.
What other advice do I have?
It’s about each and every individual and organization.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Project Manager at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Fantastic visualizations & dashboarding capability but some basic ETL functionality will do a world of good
Valuable Features
Fantastic visualizations & dashboarding capability, ease of use for business users.
Room for Improvement
It is meant as a visualization tool agreed, but some basic ETL functionality will do a world of good. Also, enterprise collaboration and embedded analytics (like Spotfire) would be great
Use of Solution
3 years
Deployment Issues
Yes, hierarchies and cube definitions are not retained while connecting to an OLAP DB.
Stability Issues
Yes, certain features cause Tableau to hang repeatedly - for example, editing the data source to point to another extract. Certain issues with data blending exist as well.
Scalability Issues
Lots of care including design/caching required to ensure quick reports while handling large amounts of data.
Customer Service and Technical Support
Good, most times any technical queries I have are addressed by the community posts itself - but there a number of easy to implement and tremendously useful functionalities included in the Ideas page that are yet to be implemented.
Initial Setup
Easy as pie.
Other Solutions Considered
QlikView/Microstrategy
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: March 2024
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