Tableau is a great analytics platform
October 19, 2013

Tableau is a great analytics platform

Torry Johnson | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

8.0

Modules Used

  • Desktop
  • Server

Overall Satisfaction

  • Connect easily to several data sources and can join data across sources.
  • Particularly good at finding useful insights in large data sets - very flexible.
  • Server solution is good for dissemination of data and reporting, but isn't the strongest part of the product.
  • Automatic data type recognition can be troublesome; some geographic data points aren't recognized as such and require time-consuming manual mapping
  • Alerts in the server platform would be a great addition. As is it's not a proscriptive product.
  • We haven't explicitly measure it but it's a godsend in terms of saving time for analysts. It also allows business/product owners to easily monitor the health of their businesses and identify and fix problems early.
Fairly easy to use and very powerful. Everyone who uses it loves it.

Product Usage

15 - Analytics, econometrics.
2 - Server administration, user account management and support
  • Data analysis - working with large data sets.
  • Data visualization - advanced way to tell stories with data.
  • Reporting and distribution.

Evaluation and Selection

No - None - Tableau was our first BI investment beyond basic data warehousing
Spotfire. Liked Tableau's ease of use and also local proximity (based in Seattle).

Implementation

Was very easy for both server and desktop.

Training

  • Online training
  • Self-taught
Great video library on their site
Yes, provided you have a basic understanding of data analysis. Being comfortable with pivot tables is a good starting point.

Support

Knowledgeable technicians, responsiveness occasionally lags a bit though.
No - There's not a premium option - support is provided in the basic licensing fee, and it's pretty good.

Usability

Great interface, allows for amazing flexibility in building visualizations. There are a few minor quirks that have to be learned though.

Reliability

Desktop has always worked perfectly. Server sees occasional issues, most of which will be solved by the IT department learning more about the best way to administrate and maintain it.
Server can lag a little - problem can be addressed by moving to core-based licensing but it's a significant cost jump over user-based.

Integration

  • Salesforce. They have a connector, we haven't gotten around to it yet.

Vendor Relationship

Very easy on both fronts. They had an approach of building a good relationship that worked well.
Can usually negotiate some kind of deal when buying additional licenses. We eventually worked out a long-term deal that was similar to the individual deals we had negotiated.