The use is only academic, for the moment.
Assistant Manager Infrastructure at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
We've had no problems with deployment or stability and have had no need to contact customer or technical support, but our use has been only academic over the past 6 months.
How has it helped my organization?
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for six months.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
Buyer's Guide
Tableau
November 2023

Learn what your peers think about Tableau. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2023.
745,775 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
How are customer service and support?
Customer Service:
I've not needed to contact them.
Technical Support:I've not needed to contact them.
How was the initial setup?
It was easy to setup.
What about the implementation team?
We did it in-house.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
- BIME
- QlikView
- SiSense
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
CEO with 1,001-5,000 employees
It's an intuitive tool for the average user, yet provides complex and deep analytics for the advanced user. There are, however, some unnecessary redundancies for certain functions.
Valuable Features:
Data Preparation - This is a huge plus for Tableau as so many users have to spend time preparing the data before using Tableau
- Data Interpreter
- Splits -
- Really helps the average user
Drag and drop analytics:
Tableau 9.0 has a new Analytics pane that provides quick and easy access to common analytic features in Tableau.
You can drag reference lines, forecasts, trend lines, and other objects into your view from the Analytics panel. It is now easy to edit, format, and remove the analytic items that you have added, so you can experiment with different techniques as you explore the insights your data has to offer.
Ad--‐hoc calculations:
Ad--‐hoc calculations make it easy to add and edit calculated fields for your analysis. Double--‐click an existing field on the Rows, Columns, Marks, or Measure Values shelf to begin editing, or
double-click an empty area on a shelf to create a new calculation. As you type, a list of auto--‐complete options appears in a dropdown list, making it easier to find and pick the right elements.
Instant analytics:
Instant analytics provides an interactive experience for comparing summary information about a subset of marks to all the marks in your view. For example, you can compare the average for a few marks to the average for all the marks. After you’ve added trend lines, reference lines, reference bands, or distribution bands to your view, select one or more marks to see the new analytical indicators appear for the selection in addition to the analytical indicators for the whole view.
Level of Detail (LOD) Expressions:
New expression syntax in the Tableau calculation language lets you quickly create calculated fields that compute at the specified levels of detail. LOD calculations help you compute at multiple levels of aggregation and make it easier to create fields for analytical comparison (such as cohort analysis and totals or Average across segments), simplifying calculations that previously took several steps.
Improvements to My Organization:
It's both intuitive and complex/deep. For our organization, it's given us opportunities to provide both on-sight and on-line training. We now have an online training product that more than offsets the expense associated with days of training. With Tableau, our customers more analytical.
It even has a connection to R and SAS for advanced users.
Also, it has given us the ability to collaborate with the Tableau servers, which is robust and can handle tens of thousands of users.
Tableau Server can now scale for unlimited users Enterprise scale brings with it the need for Governance. Data sources and workbooks must be vetted before they are "out there" to see except for the intended content consumers
Room for Improvement:
The basic design of Tableau has some features that could be modified.
* There is no need to have five (5) ways to add a new worksheet. Brevity is rewarded - new users have so much to learn that 2 ways would do the job
* How to render time - When performing analysis, no single issue is more important than time series data. Tableau uses visual clues in many places - When one uses the pull down option for time that could be visualized better as a continuum. those selections should be presented in green to be visually consistent. Those above in blue.
Cost and Licensing Advice:
If you're making a structured, strategic purchase, make sure that you have a plan for professional training.
Other Advice:
- Go slow and methodically
- You must consider size of the company and types of users
- Desktop Plus server users - understand the constraints on the backend, and make sure you have enough CPU power
- There's lots of free stuff on their website that's great for the average user.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Tableau
November 2023

Learn what your peers think about Tableau. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2023.
745,775 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Web Administrator at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
It allows you to manipulate and depict data in various ways, but the integration of multiple data sources is sometimes not that straightforward.
What is most valuable?
- Ease of data visualization
- Ease of dashboard creation
- Ease of dashboard sharing
How has it helped my organization?
The data was made clearer for us through visualization. In addition, it allowed us to automate result monitoring.
What needs improvement?
The integration and usage of multiple data sources is sometimes not that straightforward.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for six months.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
All connections were to a SQL Database, and there were no issues with deployment.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues with stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues with scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
Did not need it.
Technical Support:Did not need it.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We already had OLAP Cubes in place, but we haven't switched and are currently using both.
How was the initial setup?
It was straightforward.
What was our ROI?
It has given us faster reporting, resulting in better management of the information, and better usage of information in decision making.
What other advice do I have?
Definitely understand your data structure before using Tableau. Tableau allows you to manipulate and depict data in various ways, as long as you have proper, well structured input.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Thanks Ed,
i will have a look at Alteryx and get back to you asap
Senior Manager of IT at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
The connection to the SQL data was straightforward, but the integration of multiple data sources has sometimes been difficult.
What is most valuable?
It has ease-of-use features that make it a good data discovery tool for use with our clients. Additionally, the ability to rapidly mine data and visualize data issues for clients is valuable.
How has it helped my organization?
We can use this tool with our internal data as well as on client sites to rapidly evaluate data sets and gain understanding of patterns rapidly.
What needs improvement?
The integration of multiple data sources has sometimes been difficult and the size limitations are sometimes an issue.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been evaluating this product for approximately six months now.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We are very early in our project but do not see any major limits yet.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
Customer service has been excellent.
Technical Support:Technical support is very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
No previous solution was in place.
How was the initial setup?
The connections to the SQL data and flat files were straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
Implementation was all done in-house.
What was our ROI?
Unknown at this time.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
- Tableau
- PowerPivot/PowerBI
- Birst
- Sisense
What other advice do I have?
1. Understand your business hierarchies intimately.
2. Create flattened data files for roll-ups.
3. Be prepared to clean and process data prior to use.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Carlos Mardinotto JuniorBI Expert at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Top 5Real User
Hi, could please say about Tableau can connect with (mdx) Cubes, native or another.
Business Intelligence Analyst at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
It is a very powerful tool, but there is not enough control over the order in which filters and sorts are applied.
What is most valuable?
- It is very powerful
- Flexibility
What needs improvement?
Minor issues only. My biggest one is control over the order in which filters and sorts are applied. There is some control of this but not enough.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for seven months.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
It's very good.
Technical Support:Our parent company has its own internal Tableau support team so I have had no contact with Tableau’s own technical support
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
No previous solution was used in this company, but I do have experience of Domo.
How was the initial setup?
It was complex. We have a complex situation with extensive data security set up at three and a half levels across over 100 active users with most of the users not only controlled by level but also having access to very specific sets of data only.
Inevitably the setup for this in Tableau was complex. This is not a criticism of Tableau however – just the opposite, the impressive thing is that it had the flexibility to achieve it at all
What about the implementation team?
I implemented it myself.
What other advice do I have?
Tableau is a very powerful and flexible product, it also demands some level of skill on the part of the user. When compared with Domo for example, the end result in its standard form is more flexible, is able to put more information in a single view, and offers more user interactivity. However the other side of this coin is that in its standard form, it is much less accessible to less skilled users. We have managed to develop an interface that is as accessible as Domo, but this has been quite a complex and time-consuming task.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
I just used Tableau Public for the first time on a community project. I don't know anything about Domo. How are the features compared to Tableau? How about cost? My main problem with using Tableau for consulting is the step price per user to view the online reports. I don't fully understand the difference between Tableau Online and Tableau Reader. Thank you.
Analyst in XBRL Projects at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Test the critical aspects by doing a proof of concept using a huge amount of data.
What is most valuable?
All the features are valuable.
How has it helped my organization?
We plan to empower users with Enterprise BI and Self Service BI by Tableau.
For how long have I used the solution?
It is still in our evaluation to replace our old BI tools.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Infobeacon and now we are using Cognos and Microsoft BI. We are currently looking for a better product.
What other advice do I have?
Quality of data, flexibility and the performance of the tool(s) are the critical aspects of BI. Test the critical aspects by doing a proof of concept using a huge amount of data.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
It has rich graphics but the processing speed could be improved.
What is most valuable?
- Rich graphics
- Dashboard
How has it helped my organization?
- Trends
- Opportunities
- Automated reporting
What needs improvement?
- Faster implementation
- Processing speed
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for six months.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
Not really.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It felt a bit slow.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
Very good.
Technical Support:I haven't needed to call them.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Cognos BI which was fast but a bit complex.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it in-house.
What was our ROI?
It's taken us six months to get an ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It cost us US$3,000 for the initial setup.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated it alongside QlikSense, which we also use, and Cognos BI.
What other advice do I have?
Try it alongside QlikSense as depending on user preferences and requirements, either product will do the job.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Qlik partner
Business Consultant at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
The ability to quickly pull together data sources into a meaningful display is valuable but there are stability problems on iMacs.
What is most valuable?
For both Tableau Public and Desktop, the ability to quickly pull together data sources into a meaningful (visual) display. Also, the intuitive design and ability to work with increasingly large and real-time data sets.
How has it helped my organization?
Mostly, I focus on the management and operational reporting aspects, enabling businesses to make better decisions at all levels through improved access to data.
What needs improvement?
It's hard to say right now but I can see challenges ahead as the market share and common standards become an issue - if the goal is to replace Excel, then it will be a winner-takes-all type of battle. For clients this may make them delay purchase and adoption.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for around eight months. My hands-on experience is mainly Tableau Public and Desktop trials. Project experience working with people who are expert in Tableau and Alteryx.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
Tableau Public crashes on opening on my iMac. So far the web-based tools have worked very well.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Tableau Public crashes on opening on my iMac. So far the web-based tools have worked very well.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Not encountered any so far, but this appears to be one of their big selling points.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
So far, very proactive. They have a lot of good training resources available online and very fast response from sales team.
Technical Support:It's been very good so far.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
At my last company I tried to encourage the IT team to adopt these tools, but they were very focused on developing everything themselves. This turned out to be quite an expensive error and I would encourage companies - even those with their own in-house analyst teams - to consider using these tools as a way to quickly build models. They should only consider building models themselves if they know they have a product and solution that justifies it.
How was the initial setup?
So far it's been very easy but I think a large enterprise would need to consider widespread adoption quite carefully so it aligns to the overall IT road-map.
What about the implementation team?
We used a vendor team. What was useful about this in the examples I’ve seen is their ability to demonstrate "quick wins” to get support for wider deployment, and then to train key staff around the organisation to increase the pace of adoption.
What was our ROI?
I’d expect it to pay back within a year if the avoided costs of existing IT platform upgrades is included.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We are currently in the evaluation process.
What other advice do I have?
Get some help to evaluate the options and identify the opportunities, find a test case to demonstrate the benefits, engage the IT team early.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Updated: November 2023
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So tell me why I should buy Tableau (which is quite expensive) over just using free PowerBI Desktop which seems very similar and also built into and integrates with Office365? Seems Tableau made sense a year ago but no longer. Same with Qlikview.