Tableau - Still Good But No Longer the King

Tableau is easily approachable for even a novice data user to get started. Building out a simple dashboard from data pulled from a couple of spreadsheets or other data sources is relatively easy. However, it can get complicated in a hurry, even for BI developers. So initial use and relatively simple use-cases, easy. But the learning curve can get steep as you try to develop more complex calculations and models.

Direct support from Tableau is on par with any major vendor, but it is not top shelf. There is also very good community support. I would say I've generally relied more on the community postings than using Tableau support directly. I generally get answers from the community faster than I do from support.

Tableau is a useful tool for anyone looking to provide analytics with good visualizations. It used to be the best tool on the market, but now other competitors have hit parity, or in some areas have surpassed. Spotfire and Power BI both also provide similar feature functionality. Both should be seriously considered when considering a purchase of Tableau. Power BI is probably the best bang for the buck, particularly if just using the desktop version.

Tableau's relatively recent acquisition by Salesforce does potentially make it a good fit for organizations with an existing Salesforce presence. This may become more relevant as time passes and Salesforce integrates Tableau more with their platform.