tableau software · output from tableau into other applications ... tableau software ... what can...

C A T E G O R Y : M A R K E T I N G O P E R A T I O N S

C L A S S : B U S I N E S S I N T E L L I G E N C E P L A T F O R M S

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While considerable hype has surrounded soft-

ware-as-a-service (SaaS) in the business intelli-

gence (BI) market, several companies are inno-

vating using a traditional, on-premise model as

well. Tableau Software offers both options; its

toolset is designed for those who are not trained

in the science of creating data visualizations but

still need to share analysis as part of their every-

day jobs. Tableau’s toolset is offered in different

levels, including:

• Tableau Desktop. This basic tool is

designed for download by individual users

who want to analyze structured data and

create output, including charts and/or

dashboards.

• Tableau Server. Server enables enterprise-

wide sharing of interactive dashboards,

reports and graphs created with Tableau

Desktop; it enables more users within an

organization to have faster access from a

dedicated server, and users to incorporate

output from Tableau into other applications

or portals such as Microsoft SharePoint.

Server provides Web-based access to the

tool as well. In most cases, IT is involved in

setting up the server, as opposed to limited

or no IT involvement required for the

Desktop option.

• Tableau Reader. Reader is a free tool for

those who want to access packaged or

saved results, but not to conduct analysis,

generate reports or connect to live data.

Users can interact with and drill down into

data.

• Tableau Public. This free, online version of

the software is used to deliver data visuali-

zation on-demand which can be incorpo-

rated into a Web site. Tableau allows free

use of the tool, and hosts the resulting

analysis.

Tableau pricing is based on the number of users

and user type, as well as core-based. Individuals

can download Tableau for $999; the lowest

enterprise server license fee is $10,000. A typical

installation with 15 to 20 users (including two or

three analysts) would deploy Tableau with a per-

petual license for $15,000 to $20,000 plus a 20

percent annual maintenance fee for upgrades

and support. The cost per user goes down as the

number of users goes up. Most business deploy-

ments take fewer than five days to implement.

FUNCTIONALITY AND VISION

The presence of functionality is a dimension we

use to evaluate a vendor’s offerings; in addition,

vendors must demonstrate the functionality is

capable, and have a vision for continuous

improvement. Our analysis of Tableau around

these components follows:

Tableau Software

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VENDOR AT-A-GLANCE: TABLEAU SOFTWARE

Contact Information Client Roster Operations

837 N. 34th St.

Suite 400

Seattle, WA 98103

[email protected]

www.tableausoftware.com

ADP

EDS

Google

Microsoft

Oracle

Revenue: $20MM-$40MM

Employees: 136

Global Presence: Europe

Key Industries Served: Business Services,

Financial Services, Healthcare, High

Technology

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• Functionality presence. Tableau can access data from any struc-

tured source – where data is formatted consistently – including

spreadsheets, as well as link to databases from customer relation-

ship management (CRM) systems, marketing automation plat-

forms, Web analytics tools, finance, data warehouses and more.

Once data is available to the Desktop tool, users can pull informa-

tion drag-and-drop style to create different charts and other visual-

izations. These visualizations can be adjusted in many ways (e.g.

placed in a map format) to explore different aspects of the informa-

tion and highlight specific regions; once created, visualizations can

be built into a custom dashboard with multiple charts. Reports can

be read by anyone with a browser, but whatever security was built

into the data source used to create the report will be maintained.

For example, if a sales report includes data for multiple reps, reps

viewing the report will only be able to see their own data if that

security level has been set. Tableau also has its own field-driven

security settings (including role-based) to ensure the right users see

the right information.

• Functionality capability. Tableau’s user interface looks much like

the pivot table tool in Microsoft Excel; it has been designed for

those comfortable working with spreadsheets; of course, the key

difference is that it’s not limited to data within the application. The

tool will look for like fields in data sources, and suggest ways to link

tables; users can map fields manually to link data as well. The

Tableau analysis tool reads the type of data being used and displays

it via a default format; however, users can choose from a range of

chart types. Charts and embedded data points can be annotated

for description (e.g. for a time series of Web site traffic, a label can

indicate the cause of a spike or drop in visitors). In addition, many

types of sales and marketing data analysis can be done (e.g. track-

ing of lead source to close from marketing automation and CRM

data; sales pipeline reporting showing different types of deals and

their average size or opportunities by region; or visualization of

Web analytics data).

• Vendor vision. Tableau’s stated mission is to “Help People See and

Understand Their Data.” This mission references a focus on ease of

use for non-analysts as well as the vendor’s emphasis on data visu-

alization and presentation. Future development plans include

expanding the range of data sources that the Tableau tool can

access quickly, as well as the forms of visualization that are available

to users.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS

As important as features and functionality is a vendor’s ability to deliver

and implement its solutions. Our analysis of Tableau along this dimen-

sion that we call “essential elements” is as follows:

• Integration. As with most BI or analytics tools, Tableau can tap

into sources that range from desktop applications (e.g. spread-

sheets) up to corporate data warehouses in Oracle or Teradata.

Applications that maintain structured data sources such as market-

ing automation platforms and CRM can be integrated as well. The

Tableau tool also can be incorporated into tools from other soft-

ware companies, and output integrated into Web sites.

• Training. Tableau training is offered online, and live webcast-

based demos are provided three times per week, both at no charge.

Both introductory-level and advanced content is available, and a

free trial version of the product is available to anyone who’d like to

take the application for a test drive. Custom help to create dash-

boards is also available, delivered onsite by a Tableau professional

services rep.

• Support. Standard service and support is offered 24/7 as part of

the software fee. Online support is provided via a knowledge base

with FAQs and a forum; a number of local user groups have also

formed.

• Best practices. Recommendations for how best to visualize (e.g.

time series in a line chart) or categorize data (e.g. by product or

location) data are built directly into the software. The best practice

for each data type is the default chart that is delivered when a par-

ticular type of data is used.

• Vendor viability. Founded in 2004, Tableau is privately held. The

company has 5,000 customer accounts and 50,000 users. As with

any private company, we recommend securing references from sim-

ilar organizations as part of your due diligence.

THE SIRIUS DECISION

From sports cars to movie stars, cool counts. And Tableau wants you to

know that there’s even something to be said for “the cool factor” when

it comes to helping marketing and sales professionals adopt a new tool.

What can help put some spring in the step of data-crunching marketers

and sales professionals alike is the ability to present data in interesting,

highly visual ways that tell the story better than just numbers on a page

could ever do. Tableau helps users dig deep to gain a personal under-

standing of the numbers that create a compelling chart; it stands out

from other SaaS-based or on-premise tools in the space for its breadth

of visualization options and the built-in help it provides to users who

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might not know what options are possible to share data in a more

appealing manner. With a reasonable price and compelling features,

Tableau should be on the short list for marketing and sales functions

evaluating reporting and analysis options.

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