Overview
What is Tableau Server?
Tableau Server allows Tableau Desktop users to publish dashboards to a central server to be shared across their organizations. The product is designed to facilitate collaboration across the organization. It can be deployed on a server in the data center,…
An experienced general review for Tableau Server
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Data Analytics with Tableau
Laddy's Tableau Server Review
Pretty. Unstable product + poor support = operations nightmare.
Tableau Server is a world class product
Tableau - Great Visualization at ease
Tableau to the rescue
Tableau - Good Viz, Poor Admin
Failed to meet expectations
Great product but not Cheap
Reviewing Tableau Server
Tableau server is used across multiple departments, with the bulk users in our reporting and finance department.
It allows end users to see …
Tableau Server Review
Tableau Server for Sharing and collaboration of Dasboards
Tableau Server is a great tool for small, medium, and large companies
Awards
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Popular Features
- Customizable dashboards (94)9.494%
- Drill-down analysis (95)8.787%
- Formatting capabilities (93)8.585%
- Multi-User Support (named login) (93)7.474%
Pricing
Viewer
$12.00
Explorer
$35.00
Creator
$70.00
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Product Demos
Tableau Server | How to Restore a Backup
Tableau Server | How to Backup Server
How Tableau Works | Tableau Tutorial for Beginners | Tableau Server Online Training | Intellipaat
Installing Tableau Server 10.5 on Linux
Features
BI Standard Reporting
Standard reporting means pre-built or canned reports available to users without having to create them.
- 9.1Pixel Perfect reports(29) Ratings
Pixel Perfect reports are highly-formatted reports with graphics and ability to preview the report before printing.
- 9.4Customizable dashboards(94) Ratings
Customizable dashboards are dashboards providing the builder some degree of control over the look and feel and display options.
- 9.3Report Formatting Templates(81) Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Ad-Hoc Reports are reports built by the user to meet highly specific requirements.
- 8.7Drill-down analysis(95) Ratings
Drill down analysis is the ability to get to a further level of detail by going deeper into the hierarchy.
- 8.5Formatting capabilities(93) Ratings
Ability to format output e.g. conditional formatting, lines, headers, footers.
- 8.9Integration with R or other statistical packages(59) Ratings
Integration with the open-source R predictive modeling environment.
- 9.5Report sharing and collaboration(89) Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration is the ability to easily share reports with others.
Report Output and Scheduling
Ability to schedule and manager report output.
- 9.6Publish to Web(85) Ratings
- 9.3Publish to PDF(84) Ratings
- 8.2Report Versioning(70) Ratings
Report versioning is the assignment of version numbers to each version of a report to help in tracking.
- 7.5Report Delivery Scheduling(77) Ratings
Report Delivery Schedule is the ability to have reports delivered to a destination at a specific data and time.
- 5.1Delivery to Remote Servers(9) Ratings
Ability to deliver reports to remote servers
Data Discovery and Visualization
Data Discovery and Visualization is the analysis of multiple data sources in a search for patterns and outliers and the ability to represent the data visually.
- 8.8Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)(86) Ratings
Pre-built visualization formats are canned visualization types that can be selected to visualize different kinds of data.
- 8.8Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization(85) Ratings
Location analytics is the visualization of geographical or spatial data.
- 7.8Predictive Analytics(64) Ratings
Predictive Analytics is the ability to build forecasting models based on existing data sets.
Access Control and Security
Access control means being able to determine who has access to which data.
- 7.4Multi-User Support (named login)(93) Ratings
Named model access means that users have access based on name and password.
- 7.4Role-Based Security Model(90) Ratings
Role-based access means that access to data is determined by job or position in the corporation.
- 7.4Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)(92) Ratings
Multiple access permission levels means that different levels of users have different rights.
- 7.5Single Sign-On (SSO)(62) Ratings
Allows users to use one set of login credentials to access multiple applications
Mobile Capabilities
Support for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
- 7.3Responsive Design for Web Access(77) Ratings
Web design aimed at producing easy-to-read sites across a range of different devices.
- 7.1Mobile Application(61) Ratings
A dedicated app for iOS and/or Android.
- 7.9Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile(68) Ratings
In-app dashboard reports and data visualization.
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
APIs are a set of routines, protocols, and tools for used for embedding one application in another
- 9REST API(40) Ratings
REST is an architecture style for designing networked applications
- 9.1Javascript API(37) Ratings
A Javascript API is a type of API
- 9.1iFrames(40) Ratings
An iFrame is an HTML document embedded inside another HTML document on a website
- 5.5Java API(7) Ratings
A Java application programming interface (API) is a list of all classes that are part of the Java development kit (JDK)
- 6.1Themeable User Interface (UI)(9) Ratings
A themeable user interface means that a specific visual them can be applied to it
- 4.6Customizable Platform (Open Source)(7) Ratings
A customizable, open source API Gateway is a fast and scalable type of API
Product Details
- About
- Integrations
- Competitors
- Tech Details
- Downloadables
- FAQs
What is Tableau Server?
Tableau Server is an enterprise self-service analytics platform that supports data-driven decision making throughout the user's organization.
Customers can deploy the way that makes the most sense for their organization - on-premises or in the cloud, on Windows or Linux, while integrating with their existing security and authentication protocols. Customers can provide governed data access while promoting sharing and collaboration with data, dashboards and insights. It includes automated processes and workflows, and users can define access for individual users and groups.
Tableau Server Features
BI Platform Features
- Supported: Administration via Windows App
- Supported: Administration via MacOS App
- Supported: Administration via Web Interface
- Supported: Live Connection to External Data
- Supported: Snapshot of External Data
- Supported: In-memory data model
- Supported: Multi-Data Source Reporting (Blending)
Supported Data Sources Features
- Supported: MS Excel Workbooks
- Supported: Text Files (CSV, etc)
- Supported: Oracle
- Supported: MS SQL Server
- Supported: IBM DB2
- Supported: Postgres
- Supported: MySQL
- Supported: ODBC
- Supported: Cloudera Hadoop
- Supported: Hortonworks Hadoop
- Supported: EMC Greenplum
- Supported: IBM Netezza
- Supported: HP Vertica
- Supported: SAP Hana
- Supported: Teradata
- Supported: Salesforce
- Supported: SAP
- Supported: Google Analytics
BI Standard Reporting Features
- Supported: Customizable dashboards
- Supported: Report Formatting Templates
Ad-hoc Reporting Features
- Supported: Drill-down analysis
- Supported: Formatting capabilities
- Supported: Predictive modeling
- Supported: Integration with R or other statistical packages
- Supported: Report sharing and collaboration
Report Output and Scheduling Features
- Supported: Publish to Web
- Supported: Publish to PDF
- Supported: Output Raw Supporting Data
- Supported: Report Versioning
- Supported: Report Delivery Scheduling
Data Discovery and Visualization Features
- Supported: Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)
- Supported: Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization
- Supported: Predictive Analytics
- Supported: Support for Machine Learning models
- Supported: Pattern Recognition and Data Mining
- Supported: Integration with R or other statistical packages
Access Control and Security Features
- Supported: Multi-User Support (named login)
- Supported: Role-Based Security Model
- Supported: Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
- Supported: Report-Level Access Control
- Supported: Single Sign-On (SSO)
Mobile Capabilities Features
- Supported: Responsive Design for Web Access
- Supported: Mobile Application
- Supported: Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding Features
- Supported: REST API
- Supported: Javascript API
- Supported: iFrames
Tableau Server Screenshots
Tableau Server Integrations
Tableau Server Competitors
Tableau Server Technical Details
Deployment Types | On-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
---|---|
Operating Systems | Windows, Linux |
Mobile Application | Apple iOS, Android, Mobile Web |
Supported Countries | Worldwide |
Supported Languages | English, French, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese |
Tableau Server Downloadables
Frequently Asked Questions
Comparisons
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Reviews and Ratings
(876)Community Insights
- Business Problems Solved
- Recommendations
Tableau Server has become an essential tool for organizations across various industries, offering a wide range of use cases that have proven valuable to users. Its ability to transform complex data into user-friendly visualizations has been particularly beneficial in emergency preparedness analytics within the healthcare sector. Additionally, dedicated analysts have utilized Tableau Server to create and deploy dashboards that are accessible to all employees, serving as the main repository for reporting needs. This versatility extends beyond healthcare, with organizations from IT to Human Resources leveraging the platform to address key issues such as device availability, performance tracking, and enterprise reporting.
Marketing teams have also found value in Tableau Server, using it to gain a better understanding of their customer base and track product ownership and usage trends. The platform's storytelling approach has been especially valuable for data scientists who use Tableau Server to present data to managers and executives, facilitating understanding and supporting decision-making processes. Furthermore, Tableau Server has been integrated into third-party applications and platforms such as Microsoft SharePoint, making it a convenient one-stop-shop for reporting needs.
Tableau Server's ease of maintenance from an administrator level and seamless integration with Active Directory for user permission management have made it a preferred choice for many organizations. It fosters secure and controlled sharing of work done by Tableau Desktop analysts and developers, enabling real-time data visualization and monitoring across the organization. This has led to increased adoption and expansion of its usage in various departments such as Finance, Supply Chain, and HR.
Overall, Tableau Server's ability to store, visualize, and share information effectively has provided organizations with leverage over other systems. Its versatility and ease of use have made it a trusted platform for reporting and analytics needs across different industries, enabling self-service analytics, cost savings through improved tracking capabilities, enhanced customer experience operations, and centralization of reporting.
Tableau users commonly recommend seeking advice from Tableau representatives to determine the best licenses for their needs. They also suggest optimizing data flows and extract refreshes from the beginning. Additionally, users emphasize the importance of being specific when setting up reports to avoid incorrect data. For example, providing clear filters and selecting the appropriate dimensions and measures ensures accurate results. Another tip is to utilize Tableau's training resources and attend user groups and conferences for additional tips and tricks on using Tableau effectively.
Attribute Ratings
- 10Likelihood to Renew20 ratings
- 9Availability9 ratings
- 8.1Performance8 ratings
- 5.4Usability17 ratings
- 3.3Support Rating18 ratings
- 9Online Training9 ratings
- 8In-Person Training4 ratings
- 9.1Implementation Rating13 ratings
- 8Configurability1 rating
- 9.5Data Visualization2 ratings
- 6.7Data Sources83 ratings
- 5.1Data Sharing and Collaboration80 ratings
- 8.2Tableau Server Integration55 ratings
- 8.6Tableau Server Governance55 ratings
- 8.1Tableau Server Supporting Resources55 ratings
Reviews
(51-75 of 111)Tableau Server Review
- Visualizations
- Ad-hoc Analysis
- Self-service analytics
- Easier functionality for external facing server
It's fine
- Sharing reports- I use Tableau because it can display information better than Excel
- Quick analytics
- Usage stats
- I don't like how I have to have the desktop and server synced in order to post new reports. I can update my desktop Tableau but I have to wait for some IT guy to update the server.
- The navigation to finding workbooks could be easier
My Tableau server review
- Architecture of the Tableau Server is very simple and easy to implement. It can be easily scaled up/scaled down based on the business needs
- The licensing concepts of user-based/CPU core based is best in standards. We can choose based on our needs
- Tableau DB connectors. It connects all types of data sources available and it is also made very simple and powerful
- Too many releases of Tableau Server products. Maybe it could be half yearly so that we can plan for the upgrades of our server as needed
- Two Node installation should support high availability by making the repository in both nodes
If you have the budget, Tableau Server is the way to go!
- Having access to the server, the report developer only needs to send a link to the report to her audience, not the entire physical file or data behind it.
- The reports are dynamic. As the data behind them changes, the developer is not forced to send new reports each time.
- The reports remain dynamic. This allows for the user to look at what is pertinent to them and not necessarily a static version of the report. They can apply necessary filters as needed.
- The report user also has the ability to create their own Tableau reports using the data exposed to them through the dashboard. Self-empowered users are that much more effective in their own work product!
- Scaling Tableau Server comes with a big price tag.
- In an organization that does not already have Tableau as its enterprise reporting tool, driving adoption is very tough. People tend to slink back into the comfort of excel analyses.
It's not appropriate for a very wide audience when Tableau is the enterprise analytics software.
Great tool for growing a company through unified metrics
We also gather data from Athena to present reports on traffic sources, etc.
- Able to create different data sources in a single report.
- Easy integration between the desktop app and the server.
- Upload from the desktop to the server if more than 3 different data sources exist is slow, and sometimes the connection resets.
- The desktop app consumes a lot of battery on a MacBook Pro.
My experience with Tableau Server
- Quick development time.
- Easy to administer.
- Lots of options for authentication.
- It's slow to start/stop the server components, which results in more downtime during upgrades.
- Hard to kill a data refresh manually.
Big Fan Review
- Flexible deployment
- Ease of administration
- Security controls
- Would love the ability to manage/maintain a uniform business semantic layer for consolidation of business rules/logic
- The interface with folders/projects/workbooks is difficult to navigate and not intuitive
Tableau Server is a great addition to Desktop
- Shares data sources very well.
- Solid security at the folder and file level.
- Recently added a "read-only" licensing option.
- Performance can be problematic when using MS SQL stored procedures as a published data source on Tableau Server. We've only tried this twice, but it has failed spectacularly under two completely different situations.
- Maintenance upgrades are extremely slow. That may be improving in version 2018.2.
- New subscription pricing models are more expensive than the discontinued perpetual licensing model.
Big data management across multiple platforms made easy!
- Controls over who can see what report
- One place for everything
- Custom controls over various datasources
- Better mobile
- Updates are hard, but we try to wait until data source first couple after release, always end up getting connection issues back to our servers
- A user activity dashboard - more than what data sources
Any type of BI, metrics, easy to use, fast, robust.
Not Suited
This may start to cross over into general Tableau use itself, but we are always fighting using the right tool for the right job, we have tried to use tableau to adjust data much the way Alteryx or Tableau prep can be used.
Tableau Server - great times!
- Standardized reporting across teams/projects
- Easily access summary level reporting with the ability to get to the account level detail within a few clicks
- Easy to share reports with the many export features
- The formatting is always difficult and never translates exactly when publishing from desktop to server
- Customization using the command line is more difficult than it should be
- It'd be nice to be able to copy group permissions between sites
Many of our clients do not have Tableau or Tableau Server, so leaving behind reporting after project conclusion is often difficult and requires us to build something out in Excel for them.
Tableau is the centerpiece of our Business Analytics.
- Self service publishing - Before Tableau Server, most reporting was done by central report writers on a request basis, and the backlog never ended. Now a great deal of the reporting is "self service" within the departments, freeing IT Business Intelligence (BI) staff to focus on the reporting tasks requiring more expertise.
- It is VERY easy for folks to publish their creations from Tableau Desktop directly to Tableau Server.
- Starting with "template" projects, many users don't have to have Tableau Desktop but can simply "clone" the template (data connections "baked in") and create new dashboards with nothing more than their browser. This is very cost effective.
- We have created several Enterprise Mobile Applications for iPhones/iPads and it is very easy to integrate analytics provided by Tableau Server into our custom in-house applications. This GREATLY simplifies the development of sophisticated mobile BA tools.
- They are already moving toward not requiring any special desktop software to create dashboards from scratch. It will be nice when they finally get there. The biggest hassle we have with getting new Tableau users installed is that Tableau Desktop requires Admin rights on the PC to install. We don't generally allow that, so end users have to get PC support staff involved to do that installation. All of that goes away when Web UI users of Tableau Server can do everything folks with Tableau Desktop can do in terms of creating new projects from scratch.
- Tableau Server could be "Dockerized" allowing easier installation. Containerization is the wave of the future as opposed to "Full Stack" installations.
- Tableau Server allows our Business Analysts to customize existing dashboards or connect to published data sources to do their own what-if analysis with needing our BI group to intervene to get them what they want. Careful thought, you need to get their adhoc results validated.
- Tableau Server allows users to save filter settings and to save various workbooks/dashboards as favorites, either for themselves or publicly for all users to use.
- Tableau Server allows the ability to subscribe to a dashboard and receive updates.
- Tableau Server allows you to access the statistical data regarding what users are accessing, who is accessing it and how often, very useful
- Tableau Server allows you to monitor the status of data source refreshes and to view errors that may have occurred.
- Tableau server has an extravagant set of commands that allow you script many day to day reports, backups, etc.
- Enhanced ability for end consumers to do ad-hoc analysis using near/pseudo English what if's. This is huge. We create dashboards working with end users. Afterward the business has some changes and the dashboards do not unless we/IT changes them. So the dashboards we develop pretty much follow the 80/20 Pareto rule. Over time, they only temporarily cover the most integral 20%. Unfortunately the other 80% can usually be ball parked.
- The DB write-back capability that just came out in 2018.2 sounds very cool. Hopefully it's well documented and not too complex to implement/use.
- Fix the TSM upgrade script for 2018.2. This is probable not the right forum.
Small made Mighty with Tableau Server!
- More efficient and timely delivery of operations performance to frontline supervisors, managers, business analysts, Steering and C-suite
- Increased accountability of operations KPIs
- Clear "signal" delivery for routine prioritizing, project tracking and alerting
- Increased literacy for data-driven process improvement. The tool also provides intuitive and interactive self-service BI for business development tactics and strategy.
- Auto refresh setup is a few clicks, and default selections make routine updates to dashboard development a breeze.
- Intuitive, rapid development of visuals for all stages of business analysis; easy to learn, teach and realize RoI of purchase in 3-6 months.
- Robust visual recommendations result in responsive, high impact deliverables to meet ad-hoc requests.
- Highly customizable actions and filters for high interactivity and rapid end user adoption from anywhere business needs to get done.
- Pop-up tips for new viewers regarding features like subscriptions, alerts, etc to encourage engagement.
Not well suited for heavy real-time queries against transactional data without extensive reporting infrastructure and architecture.
Tableau Server Review
- Tableau server is an easy to use / powerful tool for visual analytics. Users who are not familiar with technologies can easily create beautiful visualizations to convey the impacts of their products and efforts.
- Tableau server allows our executive members to have quick easy access to our KPI measures to know how our business is performing at a glance.
- Tableau server empowers our BI / BA team to dive deeply into our data, and summarize, visualize the significant facts in views that are easily consumed and understood.
- As with any tool there are areas that can be improved/enhanced. However, Tableau has been a fairly full coverage robust application. I do not have any gaps at this time.
Great Tool!
It is being used primarily by the Manufacturing support team.
- Easy to use.
- Installations and upgrades have always run smoothly.
- Flexibility in the types of data sources.
- Would like to see a lower cost licensing model for casual users.
Tableau Server increases time efficiency!
- The ability to share metrics across an organization with one source of truth (published data source)
- Allows users the ability to author their own visualizations without having to purchase a Desktop license
- Subscription and Data-Driven alerting to alert users to changes in their data
- Add in the ability to search for fields while using web authorizing on Tableau Server. It's tedious to find the fields you want to add to a visualization when you have 100 fields and multiple joins to search through
- Allow web authors the ability to reorder the worksheets after creation
- Include ability to set up parameters while web authoring
Tableau server is a good choice for a healthcare system willing to strengthen analytics
- Since we're a healthcare organization, we're sensitive to security and privacy of information. Tableau provides delicate control of contents in terms of visibility in dashboards and has helped us effectively prevent potential information breach issues. It was easy to integrate Tableau Server with our active directory to control delicate privilege of data access depending on clinical specialty and roles.
- Since we have a variety of data sources from different systems--electronic health records, claims system, patient administrative system, radiology imaging system, etc.--harmonizing those sources and building and managing robust data connections in one environment is critical. Tableau is very good at that.
- Tableau provides great monitoring tools to manage bandwidth and performance, cleaning up unused data with extract and report.
- Tableau Server's computational efficiency of managing metadata is good, but it provides very minimum functions from the standpoint of server managers. As we add more data sources such as big data and external systems outside our organization, its importance becomes bigger.
- The new alert function on Tableau dashboard is promising, but it is only provided at a server level, not at a desktop level. In addition, it only provides minimum alerting reconfigurability. I understand it is a new function as proof of concept and look forward to seeing it advance.
- Tableau Server is good at monitoring usage of existing reports but provides little about monitoring data extracts and their data pipelining status.
- A new feature of integration with AWS is exciting but need to keep watching how it works well.
Tableau Server Review from a daily user.
- Quickly get a feeling on how a line of business is performing by looking at a page.
- Out of the box easy to use, setup and produce visual data.
- Numerous ways to visually show the same data.
- Tabular reports could be expanded.
- Ability to quickly produce drill-down reports for quick numbers vs. visual displays.
- The ability for any staff to have access to only view reports at no additional cost.
A very cool tool for Data Visualization
- Ease of use
- Automatic data visualization
- Lower cost of ownership
- Interactive visual exploration
- Multiple data sources
- A license model need to be enhanced to capture small and medium business requirements
- Capability for data discovery
- Supporting the cloud functionality
A BI tool that's unlike most others out there
- It provided a way for us to host our visualizations and avoid distributing out the data.
- We could manage external users on this system.
- We were able to create one model but then limit which users could see various "views" of the data based upon what product was purchased.
- The licensing model was very expensive and required us to continually buy more seats all of the time. Long run, it's best for very small teams or when you get over the ~100 user mark, you can buy a server license which avoids the per-seat issue. Keep in mind that you still need to purchase the Tableau Desktop license for each of your data scientists/engineers who will be developing the visualizations ON TOP of these costs.
- We had to contract with a 3rd party to establish and manage an IIS server since that is the requirement for Tableau Server. It was unlike anything else that we were using.
- Tableau will tell you that the license grants you the ability to have three instances (dev, staging, prod), but in reality you likely won't use more than dev & prod, as the workflow was rather awkward for us.
Show your data with pride!
- Tableau's visual presentation of data is unsurpassed
- Tableau Server is easily integrated into various database and technologies such as Business Objects
- Because the Tableau user community is so large, we are able to obtain answers to the majority of our questions through news feeds and online user groups and communities.
- On the lowest level, many of Tableau's features and strengths are too complicated for the typical end-user
- IT expertise is required to fully implement Tableau Server
- Tableau Server is very weak in source-code versioning.
- I would not recommend Tableau out-of-the-box for use by an end-user
Easy visualisations with Tableau
- User experience
- Easy to build
- Performance
- Lacks in slice and dice capability
- Suited for better visualisations for reports and dashboards and for basic drill down.
- Not so great with slice and dice data.
My Tableau Server "Spiell"
- The ease of use - you don't have to spend countless of hours training users how to maneuver around the product. It is straightforward and self-explanatory.
- Ease of administering - I never took any formal training for this tool but have become rather good in creating groups with pertinent access and the role level security and administration is phenomenal. You can fashion your security just the way you want it.
- Updating and deploying the system is earth-shattering - it is very flexible and the cost is rather transparent.
- While it is easy to deploy and administer, it is also a very powerful monitoring and management tool as well.
- Alerting - is one area that tableau could improve on. I have submitted this as an enhancement feature, there is no way yet to state that when an account is reached a predetermined threshold, you can send an alert to a group to make decisions or act accordingly.
- Some other functionality that you have to use add-on tools to accomplish.
My Tableau Assessment
- Visualizations - everything from a heat map to pie chart and in between
- Mass data - file size importing is important to work with, and big data sets have it all
- Databases - SQL backend to make an application more robust
- Cost - expensive
- Too many features - more support
- Space - really a lot of space on the computer
Tableau - A Program Ahead of its Peers
- Aesthetic value of reports generated is a plus.
- Intuitive system, not overly complex but not too simplistic either.
- Reliable platform, haven't had many notable issues of crashes, security penetration, or misinformation.
- Tutorials don't always help 100% - typically you have to go through their support team for special integrations. Once set up however, things run efficiently.
- You need to have reliably fast internet, otherwise it can get overloaded and you can possibly lose data.