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Saikat-Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Techinal programmer at Walmart
Real User
Top 10
Provides good scalability, but it could be better in terms of readability
Pros and Cons
  • "The product has the best features for analytical views and filters."
  • "When we put more information on a single screen, it gets compressed and superimposed in many places while scrolling."

What is our primary use case?

We use Tableau for the dashboard features. It helps us with the global planning of our business.

What is most valuable?

The product has the best features for analytical views and filters. Its integration with Jira helps us prepare intuitive dashboards with filters to share different details of broad-scale planning for a quarter or a year of our business.

What needs improvement?

The product’s router could be better in terms of readability. When we put more information on a single screen, it gets compressed and superimposed in many places while scrolling. It could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

We are using the beta version of Tableau.

Buyer's Guide
Tableau
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Tableau. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the product’s stability seven or eight out of ten. I have never seen it crash.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product’s scalability is good; I rate it a seven or eight out of ten. I have seen many people concurrently using it.

How was the initial setup?

The product is deployed on the cloud. I rate its initial setup process a five or six out of ten. It is difficult because it has complex documentation, and I am still learning it. A team is involved in the implementation. It takes three hours to complete the process.

What other advice do I have?

I advise others to opt for a POC and proceed with the product. I rate it a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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 2025
Learn what your peers think about Tableau. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1160580 - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
A BI solution with a useful calculation feature, but it would be better if there was more automation
Pros and Cons
  • "I like the calculation feature. I would not say it's such a good feature in Tableau, but if you have the knowledge, you can make that feature visible to everyone. It's not a feature that we can drag and drop and get the information. But whatever the data, whatever the calculation, I'm able to do. It's basically the knowledge base. Whatever knowledge I have, I can make that information public and publish it for management."
  • "Many things have to be improved in Tableau. Right now, we make the calculation, and then we get that information. It would be better if business users could do that. I would ask the people at Tableau to provide that option to business users to get that information in one click. It would be better if they automated some calculations. There should be more automation in Tableau. However, there are many things in automation mode, but it is very limited at the moment. We need automation for people who do not know much about Tableau. It would also be better if there were good community support like in Alteryx."

What is our primary use case?

We use Tableau to make dashboards and valuable information and insights available for management. We are creating some solutions and a dashboard, and people are using it to see the information. We use it globally across 118 countries.

It is basically the manufacturing clients we have all across the globe. They want to measure the production level, how we are getting the product delivered to the customer, and where they are lacking. They want answers to questions like "why are we not getting it up? Where do we need to improve?" They are preparing and analyzing which steps are taking too much time to get that delivered.

How has it helped my organization?

Tableau has helped improve our organization by enabling layman people to use it.

What is most valuable?

I like the calculation feature. I would not say it's such a good feature in Tableau, but if you have the knowledge, you can make that feature visible to everyone. It's not a feature that we can drag and drop and get the information. But whatever the data, whatever the calculation, I'm able to do. It's basically the knowledge base. Whatever knowledge I have, I can make that information public and publish it for management.

What needs improvement?

Many things have to be improved in Tableau. Right now, we make the calculation, and then we get that information. It would be better if business users could do that. I would ask the people at Tableau to provide that option to business users to get that information in one click.

It would be better if they automated some calculations. There should be more automation in Tableau. However, there are many things in automation mode, but it is very limited at the moment. We need automation for people who do not know much about Tableau. It would also be better if there were good community support like in Alteryx.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tableau for the last three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Tableau has been stable for us.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability depends on your data and how you make calculations. That becomes your scalability. About 20% of all our organizational users are currently using Tableau.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support for Tableau is just online, and they don't have an option where I can call support.

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

We used OBIEE Oracle before, but it was very limited. We were moved on to a different solution because we saw it as a better option. Tableau is a better option when compared to OBIEE, and we have been using it for six or seven years. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward for people who are using it at a basic level. The advanced level is highly complex. The implementation strategy depends on the requirements we are getting from the people and the stakeholder. I would say that management is talking to us, and they are asking us to build the solution they want to have in place. They do not know whether it is technically feasible or not, but they know that this is the requirement. 

What about the implementation team?

We implemented this solution on our own.

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

In Indian Rupees, Tableau costs about 30,000 to 40,000 per year. 

What other advice do I have?

I would tell potential users that many things are not available in Tableau. Even Power BI is better than Tableau because there are many things that are good for the business. Effective visualization is not there in a Tableau. If I know of a better solution than Tableau, I would surely go for that other solution.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Tableau a four.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Data Visualization Specialist at Data Catalyst
Real User
Good dashboards and visualizations, helpful support, and suitable for non-technical users
Pros and Cons
  • "Show Me is a feature to help with knowing which chart is an appropriate one for the selected variables, and it makes helps in creating appropriate visuals."
  • "The forecasting feature in Tableau in my view is too limited because it must have dates but I should be able to predict the outcome of an event without having a date as part of the input."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case is for household survey and population, and housing census analysis. I have also been using it for monitoring and evaluation of projects.

I provided Data Visualization skills to selected staff of The Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS) in 2018 using Tableau. Previously, SPSS was used to analyze the data but after I introduced them to Tableau, the team was so happy that together we decided to look at the Census 2013 dataset and analyze it using Tableau.

I have also used it to develop a key indicator list based on the Living Standards Measurement Survey.

How has it helped my organization?

GBoS, with the help of the European Union, bought Tableau and have since been using it to analyze household surveys instead of SPSS or Stata, as they were doing before.

Another project that I am about to complete using Tableau is the Data Lifecycle Assessment of the Planting for Food and Jobs project in Ghana. I am working on this project with the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation and it is being sponsored by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa.

Already, the staff is so much in love with Tableau that they want me to provide Advanced Training for them so that they can adopt it as their Data Visualization Tool.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are the ability to classify variables into Dimensions and Measures, Ask Data, and Show Me.

The Dimensions and Measures feature solves one of the basic problems most would-be data analysts have, which is to determine which variables to analyze or focus on. Tableau makes this easy by splitting them into Dimensions and Measures and then use Dimensions to dissect or dice and slice the Measures.  

Ask Data enables non-technical personnel to quickly derive insights from data just by knowing which variables are available.

Show Me is a feature to help with knowing which chart is an appropriate one for the selected variables, and it makes helps in creating appropriate visuals.

I cannot end without mentioning the overall seamless flow of how to derive insights from data using Worksheets, Dashboards, and Stories.

What needs improvement?

I think predictive analytics is the main driver of business decisions and hence Tableau should strengthen the ability to make predictions.

The forecasting feature in Tableau in my view is too limited because it must have dates but I should be able to predict the outcome of an event without having a date as part of the input.

In situations where you are analyzing or using just one measure such as Sales, Tableau does not create the header for you. Furthermore, it is not straightforward as to how to create it.

I would like to have the ability to perform multiple pivots and creating different variables. For example, if I have the regional population for six regions and branch offices, together with the number of clients per branch, all as a record or observation, then I should be able to pivot them separately resulting in the Region, Population, Branch, and Clients.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tableau for three years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is simply awesome.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is awesome.

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

I have worked with Excel, SPSS, and Power BI.

Tableau is easy to use and the support from the community is awesome. Also, I see Tableau as a product for the future due to the commitment from the development team.

The Tableau Development Team listen to suggestions from the users and follow discussions on the community forum and factor that into product upgrades. 

End users want things to be done quickly and intuitively and the only way that any product will survive is by listening to end users 

How was the initial setup?

The deployment was straightforward. I would say that it was a nice and easy, no-brainer setup.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was done in-house but there was an occasion that I had issues. I contacts support and it was super.

What was our ROI?

The ability to make insightful decisions quickly is a big benefit to all and therefore reduces cost in terms of manhours spent in cleaning and creating visuals.

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

It is a bit difficult for some people when they hear $70.00 per month, as some solutions are available for less than $10.00 or for free. What I always tell my trainees is that it is not so much about the cost, but rather, how you can quickly get the insights you have derived into the minds of your audience or stakeholders.

It is important to consider the ease of use. If a product is free but usability is a problem then it is not actually free because it cannot be even used.  

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I had already used other tools and also wrote my own program in VBA to analyze data.

What other advice do I have?

Customers need more insights and hence, they should look into Natural Language Processing (NLP). The ability to analyze text data or focus group discussions or radio phone-in programs would be helpful. 

When there is a major upgrade and you install it, it wipes off all of the recently used files and newbies get frustrated. If something can be done about it then that will be very helpful

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
Vice President Engineering Intellicloud at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
The diagram drop facilities help to double up hard drive reports
Pros and Cons
  • "I work for clients. That is my business model. Business people really like to see Tableau. They love Tableau because it is very user-friendly. The platform provides an easy to use interface, which is what most people like about it."
  • "From the developer perspective, the data connection handling the target data set is what most needs to be improved."

What is our primary use case?

I have a lot of experience using Tableau for the Healthcare Market. I use Tableau for visualization and reporting mostly. Main observations:

  • Tableau is nice and smooth. 
  • Tableau is quite user-friendly and easy to use. 
  • The digital agents were really great. 
  • Clients and customers liked the visualizations. 

Overall, I got positive feedback from clients by using Tableau.

How has it helped my organization?

I work for clients. That is my business model. Business people really like to see Tableau. They love Tableau because it is very user-friendly. The platform provides an easy to use interface, which is what most people like about it. 

Being easy to use is more important to me than the look and feel Tableau gives to your data. Nevertheless, data analytics is what we value the most. 

Tableau definitely has a big user community. If you get stuck or anything, you can easily seek help through that. Whenever you do this, you get good results.

What is most valuable?

The diagram drop facilities help to double up hard drive reports. The map facilities and the ability to connect with different data sources are the most valuable features. 

Tableau has a lot of different connectors, many of which are very new. You can connect many different data sources with Tableau. 

Overall, it was a good experience with Tableau and the visualization looks quite attractive with the proper combination of colors.

What needs improvement?

I have a lot of experience on the desktop version of Tableau. My recommendations for improvement for Tableau would be:

  1. From the developer perspective, the data connection handling the target data set is what most needs to be improved. 
  2. Tableau keeps evolving with each version. With Tableau 192019.2, they're coming again with some more features. 
  3. Data preparation is where Tableau needs to work a lot on. Every time with Tableau you have to invest a lot of time preparing the data before you start using the visualizations.
  4. Tableau doesn't perform well on big data processes. Suppose I was working with a file of like 1 or 2 gigabytes, then in that case Tableau is really slow. 

Sometimes I feel that Tableau is too slow when you have a big data file.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's quite stable, aside from the data file which is not. Otherwise, Tableau doesn't hang.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Good scalability. Not that bad, not that great, it's good.

How are customer service and technical support?

I didn't need technical support with Tableau.

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

We don't have any preference for other solutions. We depend on Tableau for the solutions based on the client's requirement. If a client requires Tableau, we develop the application and customize it.

How was the initial setup?

A lot of complexity happens initially. Tableau is a little bit too complex. I started using the clear tool and application. Then you will feel comfortable with the tool and with the data. 

There will definitely be some tough, complex things in your development, especially with the data. The data preparation (combining everything else) has to work. 

Initially, all the data preparation tools have that kind of experience. In the beginning, you have some tough times and little complexity. Once you resolve this, the future and further development will come relatively easy.

What other advice do I have?

First, clients should be comfortable with the existing resources or existing platform which the organization is using - that is one of the very important aspects before you decide on any new tool or any kind of new technology. 

Second, you want to go ahead and invite a new application into your current system. Ask how compatible the application is before you decide on any new product in your organization.

Third, you should consider if your employees are comfortable with the new incoming technology in terms of whether it’s easy to learn or adapt. Ask how comfortable your employees are before you bring any new tool into your organization

These are the key important points. I will rate Tableau at eight out of ten because there will be some shortcomings in the application that are not up to the mark.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Partner at Bambino & Partners
Real User
Tableau Prep is a useful integration feature because I can prepare data in simple ways without errors
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the drag and drop, then the simplicity to build dashboards which allows us to provide more usable data to our customers."
  • "I would like them to include the Italian language, as I can see there are other foreign language in the product."

What is our primary use case?

We use Tableau in my company because we are trying to add another revenue line because we use Quantrix modeler, which is a multi-internal spreadsheet to build our financial models. We had intended to deploy another step of our value chain for our customers, because it is simpler to view the data via Tableau instead of reading across tabs. It's an applet form that can improve the decision-making process.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the drag and drop, then the simplicity to build dashboards which allows us to provide more usable data to our customers. In this version of Tableau (the latest version), the most valuable feature is Tableau Prep, which is a useful integration because I can prepare data in simple ways without errors.

What needs improvement?

I would like them to include the Italian language, even if it's not a problem for me to use English, because the Quantrix modeler is only in English. I can also see there is Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese, so why not Italian?

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is super stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It has a very high scalability.

How is customer service and technical support?

I have not needed to use technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very simple.

What about the implementation team?

I did the implementation for my company.

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

The price is good. The price could be higher for the quality of software, so they revised the pricing in this version, and I agree with the price for top version. The top version costs about $70 per month, and the price is cheap for the quality.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I did try another platform, MicroStrategy. I spent one year and several webinars on both companies, Tableau and MicroStrategy. I decided to invest in Tableau because of its simplicity; it's more simple to understand and less complicated than MicroStrategy. With Tableau's infrastructure to build a dashboard, I found the perfect instrument.

I also had interest in QlikView, but it did not fit my requirements.

What other advice do I have?

I am very satisfied with it. I would recommend it.

Most important criteria when selecting a vendor:

  • Customer care quality
  • The learning instruments provided via webinars and YouTube videos to improve my skills as fast as possible. 
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
CEO with 1,001-5,000 employees
Consultant
Top 20
Geo-encoding, shape content, cluster analysis, and cross-DB joins are helpful.

What is most valuable?

I have been using Tableau since 2006; 3.5 years as an employee of Tableau Software and 7 years as a trainer/consultant. The more robust features include improved geo-encoding. Shape content is a big winner, as is cluster analysis. Cross-DB joins are helpful, as well. A huge improvement is the ability to render DV to any device from phone to PC.

How has it helped my organization?

As a training organization, the subject of improving organization functions is somewhat opaque. The overall view is that we see software as a service as the big win for any client. Note well: To truly realize organizational change, top management must embrace the use of Tableau.

What needs improvement?

  • 100% in the cloud.
  • Reduce the price once in the cloud.
  • Go back to emphasizing simplicity.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used it for 10 years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

We have not encountered any deployment issues; still fast and easy overall.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have not encountered any stability issues. The QC process seems to improve with each major release.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not encountered any scalability issues.

How is customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

On a scale of 1 to 10, customer service is an 8. It is helpful to hear a tel call from support but not without advance notice. Also, some of the new support folks are not up to speed with more challenging subjects.

Technical Support:

There are no 10s in real life; technical support is 8.5.

How was the initial setup?

Initial setup was not complex at all.

What was our ROI?

Generally, assessing ROI is a very open-ended question. Real ROI if that significant will never be revealed. Day-to-day savings are in time savings, which are viable, to say the least.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We do studies for firms as part of our services. QLTek is still viable but more and more we are hearing about Power BI. Carolina Health Systems just adopted Power BI to replace Tableau due to server costs.

What other advice do I have?

We find that there is a new type of Tableau user emerging. These new users do not abide by the tenets of data visualization by thought leaders like Stephen Few. Hence, we created a blog for an open discussion comparing the work of the artist Jackson Pollock with this new generation. That blog is accessible below.

http://www.viainsights.com/Blo...

Note well: VIA Insights has no formal relationship with Tableau; we are completely independent.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Tableau Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Tableau Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.