Data Teamlead at Elmenus
Real User
Raw data aggregation gives us real insight into how different business areas are performing
Pros and Cons
  • "Although Tableau isn't the best for us when it comes to processing and working on live data, it is very good at extracting data for analysis."
  • "Most of the problems in Tableau Online that I have noticed have to do with performance or weird, inexplicable bugs that I can't pin down. For example, you might try unloading some data, and you'll be waiting for a long time without anything happening."

What is our primary use case?

I work in the hospitality industry and I use Tableau Online and Tableau Bridge with our food ordering company. In our specific uses, I have found that Tableau is very good for extracting data, rather than for working live on the data.

Although the process of transferring data to Tableau isn't the best, once the data is already on Tableau, it works completely fine. I will typically make use of layer aggregation and other operations such as slicing and analyzing it by getting right inside the data in various ways.

How has it helped my organization?

Due to the demands of our industry, we always have things that we would like to see more in-depth over different dimensions, such as restaurants, branches, cities, and so on. With Tableau's help, our company can aggregate all the raw data and then analyze by rows, to see, for instance, which restaurant is doing the best by comparing them with one another. It also enables us to easily split areas into zones and use the data to test for not only which restaurants are doing the best, but also where (i.e. in which cities and branches). 

What is most valuable?

Although Tableau isn't the best for us when it comes to processing and working on live data, it is very good at extracting data for analysis. Once you have extracted the data, the aggregate layers you can create, along with slicing and other operations, are very handy. It allows us to really get inside the data, and it is, in my opinion, better than any other tool I have used with the same pricing model.

Of the best analysis features, multi-aggregation layers come out on top for me, because they let you extract raw details while making multiple aggregations on different time levels and different dimensions, and you still manage to get your work done quickly without having to load a lot of data grouped over different dimensions.

Tableau Bridge is also a very good tool, however I can tell that it does need a few fixes and some maintenance. That said, it's still good for its first few years since release.

What needs improvement?

Most of the problems in Tableau Online that I have noticed have to do with performance or weird, inexplicable bugs that I can't pin down. For example, you might try unloading some data, and you'll be waiting for a long time without anything happening.

These bugs always seem to happen when we perform big upgrades or do maintenance work, and we have had to send a lot of tickets for unexplained issues during these times. It doesn't seem to be a problem only for us, but also for customers all over the world, such as in Ireland, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the US, too.

As for future features, I would like to see major upgrades in Bridge and the Flow Tool, allowing us to do more data engineering work. I think it would give Tableau a big edge in the market to look into how to incorporate more data engineering tools into their product. 

Besides that, I would also like the charts to be more realistic and easier on the eyes.

Buyer's Guide
Tableau
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Tableau. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tableau Online for three years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is okay. It's not 24/7, but you can say it's stable enough. In the start, it's more stable, especially compared to our OBIEE problems, which have taken two or three days to solve in the past.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's easy to contact Tableau and ask to increase users or resources. They'll do it in the blink of an eye.

At present, we have 20 users, 12 of which are shift users. The majority of our users in total are board members or high-level managers. 

How are customer service and support?

I wouldn't give their support more than a seven out of ten rating.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have previously used Power BI, Qlik Sense, and Qlikview. I switched because Tableau was better in working with different sources compared to Power BI which was the only one that was truly on par. Qlik Sense and QlikView were easy to use but didn't have most of the features that Tableau and Power BI offered. Then there's OBIEE which I have used for the past two years, but it is quite difficult for non-technical users.

I also didn't like that Power BI is typically coupled with Microsoft Azure, whereas Tableau works well with AWS and Google which are a lot easier. 

How was the initial setup?

The setup is straightforward. I mean, there's not much setup at all. It's easy for any mid-level user to do it. For example, I just used the documentation they provided and did everything myself. The documentation was sufficient
and the implementation strategy doesn't take more than 20 days.

What about the implementation team?

I implemented Tableau by myself using the documentation they have made available. And for maintenance on one single node, you might need only two to three people involved.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

For data extraction and analysis, Tableau is better than any other tool I have used with the same pricing model.

What other advice do I have?

My ultimate advice is that you should know what the tool is capable of first and what your needs are. I think it's better to use the Server edition, and not Cloud, because there are a lot of problems in the Cloud version that don't seem to be present in the Server version. As for myself, I will likely switch to Tableau Server next year after doing a bit more research on how to do the changeover.

I would rate Tableau an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Senior Data Analyst at a real estate/law firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
You can create many different types of visualizations and charts, ranging from simple to highly advanced
Pros and Cons
  • "Tableau is highly scalable. Now that they've introduced Hyper, you can create an extract of more than 5 million rows in minutes and then do your analysis."
  • "We have products like Tableau, Power BI, Cognos, and QlikView in the data visualization segment. Compared to those, Tableau is quite costly."

What is most valuable?

You can create many different types of visualizations and charts, ranging from simple to highly advanced. And if you're doing advanced analytics, you can leverage Tableau by integrating it with other solutions. You can also do a lot of automation in Tableau, and collaboration is quite good too. 

What needs improvement?

They currently don't have a great Workday connector. Right now, Tableau can connect to more than 80 different types of databases or data sources, but it's challenging to connect with a few types, like Workday. So if they can come up with a better version or a connector for Workday, it will solve a lot of problems.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Tableau for around five years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I can say Tableau is highly scalable. Now that they've introduced Hyper, you can create an extract of more than 5 million rows in minutes and then do your analysis. So that's a very optimized way to analyze a lot of data. That's why many other companies like Amazon use Tableau to create their visualization, reports, and charts, considering that their data volume is very high. 

How are customer service and support?

Tableau technical support is quite good. The Tableau community is also helpful. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Tableau's pricing structure is unusual. So let's consider all the other competitors in the market. For example, we have products like Tableau, Power BI, Cognos, and QlikView in the data visualization segment. Compared to those, Tableau is quite costly. Their desktop version is expensive, and if you're using their servers, it's even pricier. Of course, they give discounts to bigger organizations. For example, we are premium customers to them, so we are getting it at a different cost, but for an individual, it's costly.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Tableau nine out of 10. I would recommend this to anyone who is coming into the data analytics space. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Tableau
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Tableau. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Associate at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Is intuitive and easy to install and configure
Pros and Cons
  • "The best thing I like about Tableau is that you don't have to go for creating; it is calculated free."
  • "I have noticed that Tableau is not very compatible with ClickHouse. There's no direct connection to ClickHouse; you have to set up an ODBC connection."

What is most valuable?

Tableau is pretty intuitive. It has a great interface, and you can get multiple visualizations. The best thing I like about Tableau is that you don't have to go for creating; it is calculated free. Unlike Power BI, Tableau has create a calculated column with dimension.

Tableau is quite fast and provides connectivity to 75 plus data connections, which is great.

Also, installation and configuration are pretty fast and seamless in Tableau.

In Tableau, it's just the concept of creating one calculated column and one create calculated free. So, it's pretty simple, and it's pretty easy to locate and work on it.

What needs improvement?

I have noticed that Tableau is not very compatible with ClickHouse. There's no direct connection to ClickHouse; you have to set up an ODBC connection.

Tableau's performance takes a hit if you have huge data. The stability and scalability could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working for almost five plus years on Tableau.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Tableau's performance takes a hit if you have huge data. So in terms of stability, I feel that Cognos would be more stable because you can import all the metadata and store it in the Framework Manager. Tableau has scope for improvement regarding stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Tableau needs to be more scalable. The performance takes a hit if you have huge data. Even if you take an extract and you publish the extract and schedule it to refresh, if the report has multiple tabs, it can take quite a while to go from one tab to another.

We are going to scale the Tableau server so that it can accommodate more processes and can be more process inclusive.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have a Center of Excellence team, and anytime we have an issue, we reach out to them. They then raise an incident or a ticket with Tableau technical support. In the case where we had 1 million rows and the Tableau data was failing to refresh, we shared the log with Tableau Center of Excellence. They came up with the findings that it's more of a database issue and not a Tableau server issue.

How was the initial setup?

Installation and configuration are pretty fast and seamless in Tableau.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

In general, if someone is new and wants to learn Tableau, it's around $70 per month.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have experience working with Cognos and Power BI. Compared to Cognos, Tableau and Power BI are pretty fast. Cognos has the concept of Framework Manager where you can build a framework model. Once you build the model, then you have to release the package, and only then is the subset or the package of data available for reporting. Tableau and Power BI eradicate the dependency on a framework model.

With Cognos, installation and configuration wise the setup takes a bit of time. You have to install and configure and then make the data available. After that, you can do reporting. Unlike that, Tableau is very quick; you can just directly connect to Excel or a file on your desktop.

The connectivity, installation, and configuration are pretty fast and seamless in Tableau and Power BI, unlike those in Cognos.

From a license perspective, I think Cognos is the most expensive, then Tableau, and then Power BI.

If I were to rate these solutions on a scale from one to ten, I would rate Power BI at 7 and Cognos at 8.

What other advice do I have?

You can do a lot in Tableau, and on a scale from one to ten, I would rate it at eight.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Managing Partner at Data Pine
Vendor
Data analysis that is easy to use, straightforward and flexible
Pros and Cons
  • "Tableau has improved my organization in a variety of ways, one of its uses being that of data analysis. A feature I have found most valuable is the ease of use and straightforwardness, in addition to the flexibility of Tableau."
  • "An area needing improvement involves the complexity of the product should you need to alter a lot of parameters. If you have technical servers, much interface, different providers and more serious processes, that will be time consuming."

How has it helped my organization?

Tableau has improved my organization in a variety of ways, one of its uses being that of data analysis. It provides a server platform for sharing information. We use it for internal collaboration, as well as other tools for data catalog, for creating the dashboards, for preparing the data in preparation of creating the dashboards, called an ETL extract, and as a tool to transform and load. Tableau is a platform that has several products, perhaps four or five, that average for the fifteen of big data, data evaluation and data collaboration. No specific aspect can be used for this and it can be employed in marketing and finance. It serves the needs of data analysis and providing an algorithm for machine learning. For instance, you can have a logistic regression to analyze whether a specific customer is a good bet or not, such as a bank that is contemplating the loan of money. It allows you to visualize and analyze your data no matter what it may be, though it can be used for an alternate solution.

What is most valuable?

A feature I have found most valuable is the ease of use and straightforwardness, in addition to the flexibility of Tableau. I like the fact that Tableau can connect to a wide variety of databases, be on cloud or on-premise. Tableau can connect to over 100 database types, including structured and non-structured databases. Tableau can connect to a PDF and extract all the tables you have in that PDF. Suppose you have a one hundred-page PDF containing sixteen tables of data. Tableau can connect to that PDF and extract its data. Tableau can connect to Google Drive, to a host of marketing portals on the internet, to cloud companies such as AWS or Alibaba and to many different types of databases. That's one huge advantage of the tool.

While it can be complex if you need to alter a lot of parameters, it provides simple installation. It is very easy. All you would need to do if you have only one Tableau running server is to employ the maximum connection and install a license column in Adobe Reader. 

What needs improvement?

An area needing improvement involves the complexity of the product should you need to alter a lot of parameters. 

Definitely speaking, it's straightforward and it's very easy. Implementation problems can be dealt with by the client, in place of the user consultant. Let me give you some examples of things that could take long in a Tableau implementation. Suppose you have five different business areas in your company: marketing, supply chain, finance, HR and procurement. Let us suppose that access to HR salaries is not company-wide but is limited to only a select number of people in HR, such as the manager or the director of the department. Yet, I want people in the supply chain to be able to see and access different data from different areas. While this would not be technically difficult it would be time consuming if the businesses are very particular. There may be many policies involved in access authorization, in data availability and the like.

This can involve a very strict security process using an outside identity provider. Instead of just logging in your username and password, you may have different technologies which are more safe and secure that need different providers to interface in Tableau. Depending on the need, this will be time consuming. For instance, while I don't know how this would be in your country, suppose you have an identity provider, in Brazil, marketing in Tableau. If you go to Asia, you may sometimes have a bio-metric identity that your hand or fingers employ which is going to get back at you. In that circumstance, they are going to send you a number or a code in your cellphone, requiring two steps, one to enter the bank and the other to withdraw your money. So, these things we call an outside identity provider, meaning a different vendor or different companies who manage the servers of managing identities. These would entail an integration with Tableau and these outside companies for security purposes. This would involve them sending me files and me sending them back in order to authenticate the user into the Tableau server.

This can be time-consuming because they involve or require a different partner. Tableau is made for basic needs, such as requiring a user and a password to log in to the server; an unsophisticated architecture; or use of a single instead of a cluster of servers. If you have non-specific data security needs or you just want to analyze and sell data, that can take less than a day. But if you have technical servers, many interfaces, different providers and more serious processes, that will be time consuming. 

While Tableau does integrate with Arc server and Python server, the integration process is slow and the information is integrated in a protracted fashion. Sometimes your data will vary. You may have a vector of data. You may have a matrix of data. For some algorithms we do not use regular data, but a different data structure. Tableau does not work with these different data structures. As such, interfacing with Arc server and Python server, which are still languages that are widely used in machine learning, all happen slowly. It does not happen by a matrix of data and data vector. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for five years. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

In the past I worked with Oracle E-Business Suite while working with ERP markets over a thirteen or fifteen year period. Yet for the past five years I've been focusing mainly on artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data and the use of other software, such as  Tableau and Azure for the purpose of developing and building data to create algorithms and visual dashboards to show the data. It's been around five years since I have turned my focus solely to big data and machine learning. 

How was the initial setup?

Definitely speaking, the initial setup was straightforward and very easy. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Another option I evaluated is Power BI from Microsoft. It's cheaper than other solutions and requires fewer different packages. The major competitor of Tableau is Power BI from Microsoft and Microsoft's much cheaper than Tableau. But Microsoft usually requires me to be on Microsoft cloud Azure. You have to buy other solutions for an integrated solution. At the end your cost will be much higher. So Tableau is more flexible. 

In Tableau, I can have a scatter plot with millions of marks. Suppose I have a graph that plots my value against my process and each dot in the graph is a sale that I've made. So I have 30 million dots in this graph reflecting my 30 million sales. Tableau can run this easily and fast. Power BI cannot. Power BI has a limitation of 13,500 marks, meaning Tableau has more capacity in delivering data than its competitors. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user522189 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Finance Operations at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Real User
The usability allows a business user to prototype without going through IT.

What is most valuable?

The best feature of Tableau is the usability. It allows a business user to prototype something without going through IT and spending a lot of time and money trying to translate requirements. Going back and forth, it allows you to rapidly develop things that you need to analyze the data.

I also think, as I used SAP Business Objects before that and built out the reports, that you can build almost anything you need to, but it's a little more complicated. I would say Tableau is more like Apple, it just looks nice. It formats things. It just gives it to you in one way, as it assumes that is the way that everybody wants it. So it might be frustrating if Tableau doesn't give it to you the way you want. But usually, it does give it in a good enough way. So, it saves you a lot of time.

What needs improvement?

The thing I don't like is the refresh feature . The users can have the web page open and there's a browser refresh every 10 minutes, or every 30 minutes, whatever IT sets as the refresh rate. You lose everything when you have to refresh the page and it may take 30 seconds. So, that's a bit frustrating too. You expect that when you leave a browser page open, you want it to keep that view there.

I don't know if they've introduced it yet, but there is a connector with Smartsheet. We use Smartsheets a lot for project management and capturing data. We are basically exporting from Smartsheet to Excel, and then creating in Tableau and publishing it. I believe there is a connector now but I haven't actually used it. So that would be one useful feature; more connections to data sources.

I would sometimes get an error message stating “out of system resources”, but when I checked the RAM/CPU utilization in my laptop, it would appear that I had lots of resources.

For how long have I used the solution?

Cisco has been using it for about seven years. Teams that I work with use it. I've contributed to the requirements of building dashboards with IT. I have been using Tableau for about three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There can be a memory hang, or the memory crashes sometimes. I'm not sure, but generally it's stable. I think it's when I build complicated data sets, like too many worksheets or too many reports in my workbook, this can happen, which is annoying.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I don't think it is scalable because of the stability issue. I think it's good for desktop; it's quick and dirty, making things you need, and you can actually build some really nice dashboards. It's scalable when you publish it to the server. Also, you can have as many users as you want accessing it. I have some impressions on how much data you can actually use at a time when you're building your reports.

How is customer service and technical support?

I think technical support is OK. We have in-house support at Cisco, which is a team that supports Tableau as well, but we can go outside to Tableau support itself if we need help.

How was the initial setup?

I found it easy to get started. I'm more of a technical user with an IT background, so I had no problems setting it up.

What other advice do I have?

Get started using Tableau as it serves the purpose for most people.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user310710 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user310710Project Manager at a tech services company
Consultant

It is decent. Comparatively other BI Tools. May be it is Quick Build & Maps leading to Topper in BI Space.

DW/BI Architect at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Real User
User-friendly, flexible, customizable reports, and the support responds well
Pros and Cons
  • "There is a lot of APIs available, which means that Tableau can be customized to a large extent."
  • "When there are millions of records, scaling up is quite difficult."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use Tableau for fair-market reporting.

I've been using it a lot for our dashboarding needs, circulating data to the business, generating PDFs, and publishing on the portal.

What is most valuable?

Over the time that I have used this solution, I've found the interface to be extremely user-friendly.

I especially like the flexibility that Tableau provides. You can quickly make web edits from version 9.0 onwards. My understanding is that Tableau 2020 has many more features for this, as well.

I customize the reports to my needs and preferences.

There is a lot of APIs available, which means that Tableau can be customized to a large extent.

What needs improvement?

Tableau had some issues with parameters. In particular, prior to version 2020, they did not have dynamic parameters.

Tableau cannot work with cubes or MDX (multidimensional expressions).

For enterprise-level users that are computing millions of records, they need to improve the features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tableau for close to five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In all aspects, Tableau has been very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

When there are millions of records, scaling up is quite difficult. There are, however, workarounds.

For example, you have to create summary tables or aggregate tables so that Tableau can be faster. There are third-party solutions like Kyvos available but if Tableau can integrate that and address the scalability, then it'll be an undisputed champion in the space.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is extremely good. Since we have been a customer of Tableau, they have always responded really well to our queries. This is true regarding price, as well as in the technical aspect.

They have a good knowledge forum.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have worked with SAP BusinessObjects, Domo, SAP, and Birst.

One of the reasons that I prefer Tableau is that it's very user-friendly. Anyone who is familiar with Excel can easily adapt to Tableau.

What was our ROI?

We have been using Tableau for a long time, and we have seen a return on investment. The reason is that we have been able to scale it up to an enterprise level.

In the long run, there is definitely a return on investment.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Licensing is slightly on the higher side compared to other products, such as Birst. There are different licensing options so you really have to be careful when choosing them. I recommend that you discuss your needs with the salesperson and try to negotiate the price.

In general, the price is slightly higher than products such as Power BI and Birst.

What other advice do I have?

Tableau is a solution that is near-perfect.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Application Development Assoc Manager at Eccenture
Real User
Good features, user-friendly, and helpful for quickly developing dashboards
Pros and Cons
  • "All features are valuable. It is very user-friendly, and it is mostly drag-and-drop. If we have the dataset available, then we can develop any dashboard very quickly."
  • "SAP BusinessObjects has some semantic layer designs that give the flexibility to do ad hoc reporting or dashboard designing. If that can be brought into Tableau, it would be great. We have the data in the database, but we should also be able to bring something between the database and the dashboard and do some semantic layer modeling for ad hoc reporting requirements."

What is our primary use case?

It was used for a project in the capital finance domain. We used it to develop the dashboards. My role was to plan the development activity and prepare the dashboards.

What is most valuable?

All features are valuable. It is very user-friendly, and it is mostly drag-and-drop. If we have the dataset available, then we can develop any dashboard very quickly.

What needs improvement?

SAP BusinessObjects has some semantic layer designs that give the flexibility to do ad hoc reporting or dashboard designing. If that can be brought into Tableau, it would be great. We have the data in the database, but we should also be able to bring something between the database and the dashboard and do some semantic layer modeling for ad hoc reporting requirements.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for almost three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable and user-friendly. It is overall good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have used it only for building dashboards. I have not used it much for other areas, so I don't have any inputs about its scalability.

Its users are from the finance department. There are more than 20 people for that project, and they are using different dashboards. Its usage would expand in the future. They have a plan to also use it for machine learning. I am not sure if that would be a different team or if we will be involved, but machine learning is coming into the picture in the future.

How are customer service and support?

We have experienced people in the company. Whenever we are stuck with something, or we want to achieve something new in Tableau, we consult each other. We help each other, and we get the solution. There is also a Tableau community where we can get help.

For any technical support, Tableau administrators raise the ticket and get the answers from Tableau's support team.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Initially, they were working on SAP BusinessObjects, and then they moved to Spotfire. After that, they moved to Tableau. SAP BusinessObjects was more for reporting purposes, whereas Tableau is for dashboarding purposes.

We also liked Tableau, and that's why we moved to Tableau. It is more user-friendly, and it is also better than SAP BusinessObjects in terms of look and feel. 

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup was easy. The time taken to develop dashboards depends on the dataset that we want and the data source with which we have to connect. We have to create the data source and the dataset, and then we have to develop the dashboards. If we have the datasets available and we have an understanding of the requirement, then in one or two days, we can develop a dashboard.

What about the implementation team?

For its maintenance, there are three people in a project, and we are able to manage their requirements. There is one administrator and two developers.

What other advice do I have?

If you have more ad hoc requirements, then I would recommend evaluating other BI tools as well. If you have fixed requirements and you know what type of dashboard or reporting is needed in advance, and it is not going to change very frequently, you can go for Tableau. It is very user-friendly. If product owners or users want to go for a self-serving tool, Tableau is the best option.

I am satisfied with it, but there is always a scope for improvement. This is a competitive market, so there will always be some scope for improvement. I would rate it a nine out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
IT Manager at Glovis Europe
Real User
Enables you to make a dashboard for internal users and generate KPI reports
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is that we can integrate with our own database, and it will displays the KPIs. This is highly required from the business side."
  • "It's already using 32 gigabytes of memory, but the performance is not so good. It's very heavy."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Tableau to make a dashboard used by our internal users, and then it is being used for a KPI report. This part is also shared with our customers. The customers access the web, and they check some limited version of the KPI report.

We are using the Tableau server for clients and desktop. The solution is deployed on-prem. We are kind of a 3PL provider, and we are using Tableau to meet the requirements of our customers. We are implementers.

How has it helped my organization?

We introduced Tableau because it provides many features that can be customized by users. We provide training to make the dashboard look how our business side wants, and they are manipulating the dashboard for their needs.

On the technical side, we are IT support and sometimes we provide some education and information on how to use the solution.

I think it would be much better if Tableau provided some API-based integration. I did try to integrate the Tableau web page and web dashboard into our own application. Some parts were successful, but other parts have some open points. If Tableau provided this kind of package with some integration, it would be much, much better.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is that we can integrate with our own database, and it will display the KPIs. This is highly required from the business side.

What needs improvement?

An improvement would be changing the design of the layout of the dashboard from the business side. Sometimes there are requests for the possibility to enhance the performance and the data depending on what they need more of. It depends on the situation.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tableau for about four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's already using 32 gigabytes of memory, but the performance is not so good. It's very heavy.

We have roughly 20 people using this solution. Most users have the role of logistics operator. Most users are doing their job regarding logistics, and they take more effort to make dashboards.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Currently, we have a strategy to open the reports to all customers, but I think we should develop more business-related skills, not only with the system or in some application terms. Our users do not have enough skills or insights for the dashboard.

How are customer service and support?

We are doing our own technical support by searching the technical Wiki or things like that.

How was the initial setup?

Initial setup is straightforward because it's a simple concept.

I'm not sure how long deployment takes because this is usually managed by our data engineer. There's no strategy regarding deployment itself. We just make some temporal or test dashboard and then communicate with our users. After confirming, we just announce it with email, and then they start to use it as an official version of the dashboard.

What about the implementation team?

We didn't use an integrator, reseller, or consultant for the deployment. The number of staff required for deployment and maintenance just depends on the case. Sometimes it will be simple, so there are only two or three people to make suggestions. After they apply that, sometimes we officially open it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Basically, we prefer a permanent license. A one-time charge is much better.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We didn't really evaluate other options. Every application provides some concept of a dashboard in using the data in that application. We have our own homemade dashboard and our business application, but users normally don't use it.

I think Tableau has many features for display, like graphs or pie charts. We can change dynamically, but our own dashboard doesn't provide that. It takes much more time if we change the layout there.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution 8 out of 10. Tableau has many features, and it's very nice, but it is very heavy. Tableau has to consume a lot of server resources.

It has many options and features but it's complicated. The users are having problems or difficulties to adapt or to learn the Tableau software because there are so many features. The many possibilities means that users should run a lot of it. It takes time to get used to Tableau. From my point of view, it's harder to learn.

For those who want to implement this product, I recommend that they research it themselves.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
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Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Tableau Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.