Need to visualize data? Look no further.
Updated November 11, 2015

Need to visualize data? Look no further.

Tim McClelland | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

8

Overall Satisfaction with Tableau Desktop

Tableau is used by my organization to uncover data trends from a variety of scientific literature databases. The powerful abilities to map data, chart trends, and the recent addition of word clouds, is invaluable to quickly determining what is being done in the world. Being able to quickly and easily filter data allows users to delve deeper into specific areas of interest, yet not lose the bigger picture. The trends and analysis Tableau produces has been instrumental in determining how multi-million dollar budgets are being directed and allocated. Another great feature is the ability to produce Tableau workbooks in Desktop, and then send that file to users with users with the free version, Tableau Reader. Users can utilize Reader to view the file, and apply the filters that the creator included. This has been extremely useful for allowing clients to manipulate and explore the data on their own, without the cost and learning time of using the full version of the software.
  • Ease of use. It is extremely easy to drag and drop fields and create a quick dashboard in minutes. After loading data, you can quickly adjust fields to figure out which formats offer the best insights into your data.
  • Powerful mapping and charting abilities. There are a wide variety of options available for displaying data, from geographic maps, heat maps, word bubbles, line graphs, bar charts, histogram, bubble chart, scatter plots, area chart, pie charts, etc.
  • Customization. With the simple click of a button, you can adjust the colors, sizes, text, and formats of your worksheets. This is especially useful when comparing information on multiple levels of detail, from geographic region, to company type, etc. Its also a great way to customize your reports for you customer, and utilize their specific color scheme.
  • There are a few things Tableau could do better, I would like to see even more mapping options, including web or spider maps. I have clients who would be very interested in that view of data, however tableau does not currently offer an easy way to represent the data accordingly.
  • It is very easy to add data into Tableau, and for the most part easy to manipulate data within the program, however some fields must be in the proper format to be read correctly. For example, date fields must be in the excel data format (ex:36892 is the value for 1/1/2001), and it will not just read a 4 digit year as a year. Its not the hardest thing to deal with, but can be frustrating needing to return to the original data source to modify date values.
Tableau just keeps getting better with time, and continues to add new features with each new release. My clients love the wide variety of data representations, and it has become an invaluable tool in providing high quality products that satisfy customer needs. Tableau makes my job easier, more efficient and more effective.
  • Tableau has provided my clients with the information necessary to allocate multi-million dollar research budgets effectively, ensuring the company is getting the most bang for its buck.
  • Tableau has given my office the ability to present data quickly and easily in a professional format that customers can understand, and has them returning frequently for additional analysis and projects.
Tableau is very easy to use, and the sales reps are extremely helpful. Tableau is great for dealing with numeric data, and really anything that can be charted. It can be harder to use for qualitative data, but can still be done depending on your perspective and what you are looking for from the data.

Tableau Desktop Feature Ratings

Pixel Perfect reports
Not Rated
Customizable dashboards
10
Report Formatting Templates
8
Drill-down analysis
9
Formatting capabilities
9
Integration with R or other statistical packages
Not Rated
Report sharing and collaboration
Not Rated
Publish to Web
Not Rated
Publish to PDF
10
Report Versioning
Not Rated
Report Delivery Scheduling
Not Rated
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)
10
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization
10
Predictive Analytics
9
Multi-User Support (named login)
Not Rated
Role-Based Security Model
Not Rated
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
Not Rated
Responsive Design for Web Access
Not Rated
Mobile Application
Not Rated
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile
Not Rated

Tableau Desktop Implementation

Tableau Desktop Support

Anytime I have had a question or issue with Tableau, I have contacted my sales rep who has either provided the answer or put me in touch with support staff who are able to quickly provide a solution to my problem. I have always been satisfied after speaking with the Tableau staff.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
When I renewed my subscription, I mentioned a few features that I would like to see in future Tableau releases. A few hours later, he had emailed me links on how to accomplish my desires in the current version. It might not be the easiest solution, but it is available. He has also passed my request on to the programmers, and it will be potentially included and made simpler in a future version of the product.

Using Tableau Desktop

Tableau is quick and easy to learn, just drag and drop. Its very forgiving and easy to simply play around with and customize for novice users, but offers powerful underlying advanced options for power users.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • Drag and Drop
  • Switching between layouts
  • Connecting to data
  • Formatting data
  • Occasionally, laying out data in a useful manner