Item: Tableau Desktop
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Tableau Desktop is used across the entire organization and is also used to provide clients with insights. There is one department that creates and manages dashboards/views for the entire company. Tableau is not the only BI tool the company uses but is probably the most widely used.

Pros and Cons

Tableau does visualizations very well.
It is more intuitive than other BI products.
A lot of flexibility on the backend for those with developer skills.

Cleaning and organizing data can be cumbersome.
Filters and prompts can be tricky.
It can take a little longer to learn than other tools.

Return on Investment

Has been a nice value-add in some cases for our clients.
Helps foster selling opportunities for account teams.
Creates a centralized reporting environment.

Alternatives Considered

I have used Qlik and Microsoft Power BI. Qlik is much less intuitive than Tableau, as it requires more back-end scriptwriting to fully utilize the tool's capabilities. There are few features with Qlik, and less "pop" to the dashboards is creates. Power BI is very lightweight but beats Tableau on price.

Key Insights

Do you think Tableau Desktop delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Tableau Desktop's feature set?

Yes

Did Tableau Desktop live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Tableau Desktop go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Tableau Desktop again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Alteryx, Google Authenticator, Incorta

Usability

I give this rating because Tableau can create dynamic and visually appealing dashboards/reporting. It is intuitive enough that beginners can create a basic dashboard but flexible to the point that developers/scriptwriters can fully utilize everything the tool has to offer. I also believe that Tableau is innovative and always improving the product.

Support Rating

I have not had any interactions with the support team at Tableau, but have interacted with the account team. They were very helpful in getting me signed up for the training I needed to get started with the tool. I attended their conference a few years ago and highly recommend it.

Likelihood to Recommend

I think Tableau is very useful for teams that are comprised of people that have intermediate developing skills. While it is not always required, having those skills helps unlock all of the capabilities of the tool. Other scenarios that it is less appropriate would be those where the organization is unwilling to adopt an end-user, self-service culture (i.e. the organization wants everything sent to their email in Excel).

Highly Flexible Tool with Endless Possibilities

Overall Satisfaction with Tableau Desktop