Tableau Public vs. TimeXtender

Tableau public is the best platform to build dashboards for your personal profile and share with recruiters. It's always good to keep ourselves updated on the latest features, create sample dashboards and save them to a personal profile. Tableau public is free and doesn't need any subscription. anyone can create an account and start building reports.

TimeXtender has worked really well with our customers who have different data sources using complex data types in large quantities requiring a DW-like solution that can consolidate all data sources at one-HUB. TimeXtender does this well, and provides automation capabilities, the ability to easily handle slowly changing dimensions, handing data lineage and data security very well. TimeXtender has the ability to be very customizable, allowing the HUB to grow as your business does. TimeXtender's customer support team is super helpful and will work with you throughout your implementation to make sure you reach success with the product. The ROI for timeXtender versus competing products (there aren't many that do what timeXtender does) shows the investment to be worthwhile for the majority of organizations in today's data-rich corporate world.

Incentivized

• Data visualization: lots of different options, including bar, scatter, pie, waterfall charts to explore relationships between variables, and to present findings/trends to different teams
• Integrates readily with limited, though different data sources: TXT, CSV, TDE, Access
• Exports reports for review of different dashboards: client-ready/team-ready, with a clean and tidy presentation in PDF format (or hardcopy)

Incentivized

• It has the ability to create one dynamic 'DW' or source of truth, consolidating all data sources in one HUB.
• Ease of use, with a great UI that is easy to learn and adapt to.
• Ease/speed of complex implementation.

Incentivized

• Tableau Public (both Desktop and Server) like their "for a fee" counterparts offer very easy to learn and use tools to transform data into pictures and gain insights into your data. Most organizations report a reduction in development time of 10x vs. other similar tools, due to the intuitive user interface. That said, with Tableau Public, published workbooks are "disconnected" from the underlying data sources and require periodic updates when the data changes. Users are limited to 1 Gb of storage space per user ID and password as well.
• I would like to see better options for public sharing of visualizations and data from within the "for a fee" products as more and more organizations are moving in the direction of data sharing with partners and their communities.

Incentivized

• Product Marketing: As implementers and resellers of this technology, we loved it. But, convincing clients who had not previously heard of TX/Discovery Hub was more difficult than it could have been if the company had a larger marketing force behind it.
• Relatively New to Market: it creates a learning curve for early implementers.
• More information should be published on timeXtender's website about product lines, including testimonials.

Incentivized

It's free, right? I'll keep using the free version. So the real question to ask is this? Will I pay $999 for the Personal version or $1,999 for the Professional? Yikes! That is a big stretch. I'm not sure about that. The product comparison chart is at: http://www.tableausoftware.com/public/comparison

Tableau public is a great training tool to understand the basics of Tableau before buying it. A great tool to extend Excel's visualization and to publish data for others. Not useful for anything you need secure. No ability to access databases. Static information only.

I have not yet required to contact support as the documentation and help i found online has always worked so far

Incentivized

I found it sufficient, and fast. I could easily "kick the tires" with Tableau on my data so I got up and running fast.

Start at the end and work backward. Identify the business case / issue and questions the end users have, then identify the data needed, and where to get it.

Incentivized

Google Charts/Drive is sufficient for simpler data sets, but it does not integrate with other web platforms and the visualization does not look as professional. I'm not aware of any other competitors that offer the same package as Microsoft.

Incentivized

For our clients, timeXtender was a much better solution. It offered a more cost-effective solution, easier integration, and better customer support for our complex client needs. The timeXtender team worked with us throughout the process to make sure we could create a success story that was repeatable for our clients, and they proved great partners.

Incentivized

• Tableau Public visualizations have helped drive traffic to our content and sites
• The lack of cost means it's easy to demonstrate our experience to attract paying clients

Incentivized