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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Project Server

    Score5.1 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Project Server is a project portfolio management option.N/A

    Tableau Desktop

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/ATableau Desktop is a data visualization product from Tableau. It connects to a variety of data sources for combining disparate data sources without coding. It provides tools for discovering patterns and insights, data calculations, forecasts, and statistical summaries and visual storytelling.

    $1,380

    per year (purchased via a Creator license)

    Pricing
    Microsoft Project ServerTableau Desktop
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau Creator License
    $115
    per month (billed annually) per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft Project ServerTableau Desktop
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—All pricing plans are billed annually. A Creator license includes Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep Builder, and Tableau Pulse. Discounts sometimes available for volume.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft Project ServerTableau Desktop
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Tableau
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Would buy again
    52 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    91%
    Delivers good value for the price
    50 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    55 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    38 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    44 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft Project ServerTableau Desktop
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Microsoft Project Server and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Microsoft Project Server
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    8.5
    175 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings8.0145 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards00 Ratings9.2174 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings8.1151 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Microsoft Project Server and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Microsoft Project Server
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    8.5
    172 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Drill-down analysis00 Ratings8.6167 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities00 Ratings8.6170 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings8.1126 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings8.6165 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Microsoft Project Server and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Microsoft Project Server
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    8.5
    166 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Publish to Web00 Ratings8.1155 Ratings
    Publish to PDF00 Ratings8.2154 Ratings
    Report Versioning00 Ratings8.6120 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling00 Ratings8.6128 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings8.978 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Microsoft Project Server and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Microsoft Project Server
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    8.4
    164 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings8.7162 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings8.6156 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics00 Ratings8.7131 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings7.87 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Microsoft Project Server and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Microsoft Project Server
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    9.1
    149 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings9.1145 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings9.1125 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings8.9136 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings9.110 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings9.383 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Microsoft Project Server and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Microsoft Project Server
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    7.9
    141 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings8.6130 Ratings
    Mobile Application00 Ratings7.5101 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings7.5122 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Microsoft Project Server and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Microsoft Project Server
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    7.7
    67 Ratings
    1% below category average
    REST API00 Ratings8.459 Ratings
    Javascript API00 Ratings7.653 Ratings
    iFrames00 Ratings6.751 Ratings
    Java API00 Ratings8.048 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings7.154 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings8.448 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft Project ServerTableau Desktop
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Planview PPM Pro
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Planview PPM Pro
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft Project ServerTableau Desktop
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (8 ratings)
    9.1
    (204 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.5
    (41 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.4
    (73 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (11 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (57 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.4
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (34 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.4
    (115 ratings)
    Data Sources
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.9
    (115 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (4 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft Project ServerTableau Desktop
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Project Server I believe is best for any organization from small to large. As I mentioned, it is a little pricey so I would do research into alternative software and depending on your needs maybe look at all options, competing software. This is a tool with a learning curve and some may not be able to easily navigate this software. There isn't really great training, resources available for this tool however there are some free YouTube tutorial videos. This is great for cross company, department project management, sharing, managing of projects and timelines.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    The best scenario is definitely to collect data from several sources and create dedicated dashboards for specific recipients. However, I miss the possibility of explaining these reports in more detail. Sometimes, we order a report, and after half a year, we don't remember the meaning of some data (I know it's our fault as an organization, but the tool could force better practices).
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Microsoft
    • Project planning: tasks assignments, resources allocation, progress and cost tracking. The Server version is the natural extension of the Microsoft Project standalone.
    • Provides one place to manage all projects, accessible by everyone in the team. This opens the plan updates to team members as well(on their tasks), as opposed to being done only by the project manager.
    • Reporting and visualization - resources utilization, timeline etc
    • The integration with the Microsoft Project standalone: if you don't like the web version, you can download the latest and work locally. When done just sync it back to the server.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • An excellent tool for data visualization, it presents information in an appealing visual format—an exceptional platform for storing and analyzing data in any size organization.
    • Through interactive parameters, it enables real-time interaction with the user and is easy to learn and get support from the community.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • Resource loading and leveling extremely complicated within the tool
    • Software makes incorrect assumptions and changes without user knowledge
    • Inconsistencies within the tool make it hard to predict & troubleshoot
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • Pricing should be more user-friendly and usage-driven
    • Making edits to the production reports is fairly tough and has a vast scope of additional capabilities
    • Tableau Desktop should be able to differentiate itself from the Tableau server else there is no major meaning of two different products being offered
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    Our use of Tableau Desktop is still fairly low, and will continue over time. The only real concern is around cost of the licenses, and I have mentioned this to Tableau and fully expect the development of more sensible models for our industry. This will remove any impediment to expansion of our use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    We don't have to worry about maintenance, upgrades, or compatibility issues. All the capabilities we need are there, and are easily customizable.
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop has proven to be a lifesaver in many situations. Once we've completed the initial setup, it's simple to use. It has all of the features we need to quickly and efficiently synthesize our data. Tableau Desktop has advanced capabilities to improve our company's data structure and enable self-service for our employees.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    When used as a stand-alone tool, Tableau Desktop has unlimited uptime, which is always nice. When used in conjunction with Tableau Server, this tool has as much uptime as your server admins are willing to give it. All in all, I've never had an issue with Tableau's availability.
    Read full review
    Performance
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop's performance is solid. You can really dig into a large dataset in the form of a spreadsheet, and it exhibits similarly good performance when accessing a moderately sized Oracle database. I noticed that with Tableau Desktop 9.3, the performance using a spreadsheet started to slow around 75K rows by about 60 columns. This was easily remedied by creating an extract and pushing it to Tableau Server, where performance went to lightning fast
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    Tableau support has been extremely responsive and willing to help with all of our requests. They have assisted with creating advanced analysis and many different types of custom icons, data formatting, formulas, and actions embedded into graphs. Tableau offers a weekly presentation of features and assists with internal company projects.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    It is admittedly hard to train a group of people with disparate levels of ability coming in, but the software is so easy to use that this is not a huge problem; anyone who can follow simple instructions can catch up pretty quickly.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    I think the training was good overall, but it was maybe stating the obvious things that a tech savvy young engineer would be able to pick up themselves too. However, the example work books were good and Tableau web community has helped me with many problems
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    Per Microsoft, Project Online provides more value long-term by reducing infrastructure cost and increase feature release cycle time
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Again, training is the key and the company provides a lot of example videos that will help users discover use cases that will greatly assist their creation of original visualizations. As with any new software tool, productivity will decline for a period. In the case of Tableau, the decline period is short and the later gains are well worth it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    One of the key advantages of Microsoft Project Server (MSPS) is its ecosystem. It gels very well with SharePoint, Office, Office 365. The support from Microsoft is also a key driver and they are very experienced and many ways to resolve issues. Also, Microsoft has bridged the gap of cloud offering from other competitors by providing Project Online. It is an offering through Office 365 which is very lean and low maintenance.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    I have used Power BI as well, the pricing is better, and also training costs or certifications are not that high. Since there is python integration in Power BI where I can use data cleaning and visualizing libraries and also some machine learning models. I can import my python scripts and create a visualization on processed data.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop's scaleability is really limited to the scale of your back-end data systems. If you want to pull down an extract and work quickly in-memory, in my application it scaled to a few tens of millions of rows using the in-memory engine. But it's really only limited by your back-end data store if you have or are willing to invest in an optimized SQL store or purpose-built query engine like Veritca or Netezza or something similar.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • We've been able to reduce the number of staff in our PMO by utilising the Project Server data in Power BI, reducing the need for manual reporting.
    • Being able to forecast utilization in the product allows us to accurately estimate resource needs to ensure optimum staff levels.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • Tableau was acquired years ago, and has provided good value with the content created.
    • Ongoing maintenance costs for the platform, both to maintain desktop and server licensing has made the continuing value questionable when compared to other offerings in the marketplace.
    • Users have largely been satisfied with the content, but not with the overall performance. This is due to a combination of factors including the performance of the Tableau engines as well as development deficiencies.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots