Tableau is a data visualization software that is used for
data science and business intelligence. Tableau can create a wide range of
different visualization to interactively present the data and showcase
insights. It comes with tools that allow to drill down data and see the impact
in a visual format that can be easily understood by any individual. Tableau also
comes with real-time data analytics capabilities and cloud support. Here we
will discuss the different versions of Tableau, it benefits and implementation.
We will see how Tableau is different from Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheet
tools.
Tableau Desktop:
Tableau Desktop is a business intelligence and data
visualization tool that can be used by anyone. It specializes in transforming
boring tabulated data into eye-candy graphs and representations. With tableau
desktop, you can enjoy real-time data analytics by directly connecting to data
from your data warehouse. You can easily import your data into Tableau’s data
engine from multiple sources and integrate them by combining multiple views in
an interactive dashboard.
Tableau Server:
Tableau server comes with all the features of Tableau
Desktop along with networking capabilities. With Tableau Server you can share
dashboards created in Tableau Desktop. This makes it an ideal choice for
enterprise-level projects and reporting. When leveraged with real-time data
processing this can become a very dynamic and powerful tool for ensuring
instant communication of data and insights.
Tableau Online:
This is a hosted version of Tableau server. It is usually
powered with the help of cloud computing to make the software available to
everyone. This enables faster and easier access to business intelligence on the
go. You can publish dashboards created in Tableau Desktop and share them with
colleagues.
Tableau Reader:
This is the free desktop version of Tableau. Its features
are limited to only viewing the visualizations created in Tableau. This means
that you can filter and drill down the data but cannot edit or perform any kind
of interactions or edits.
Tableau Public:
This is a free version of Tableau software which can be used
to make visualizations. The downside is that you need to save your workbook and
visualizations in the Tableau Server which can be accessed by anyone.
Tableau vs. Excel:
Excel vs Tableau
People are easily confused between Tableau and Microsoft
Excel. For a person who has never used these tools in depth, they appear to be
similar to each other. Both these tools can be used to create interactive
visualizations and have the tools to analyze data. But the approach each of
these tools uses to reach the insights is very different.
Tableau is a data visualization tool, meaning that it
formats data in the initial stage into pictorial representations. As and when
users drill down the data, the representations change accordingly. Excel, on
the other hand, needs the user to first analyze data in tabular format and then
opt for visualizations for better understanding and insights. Here are two key
differences between the Excel and Tableau:
tableau vs Excel
In Excel, you need to know the insights you are looking for
and accordingly place the formulas and arrange tabulation. While Tableau can
take you to insights you never thought would exist. Using interactive
visualizations and data drilling tools you can freely explore data without any
specifics in mind.
While both Excel and Tableau support real-time data
visualizations, Excel needs programming to enable such processing while Tableau
uses an easy and interactive approach to the same. Overall Tableau is designed
for business executives enabling them to find correlations in data without any
need for specialized knowledge of data science.
3 Benefits of Using Tableau:
Advantages of using tableau
1. Awe-inspiring
Visualizations:
Tableau provides great data visualizations at scale. It
takes unorganized data and provides a range of visualizations for a deeper
understanding of trends. It makes it easy for users to analyze data by using
differentiating factors like colors, labels, and shapes. By allowing for easy
switching between different visualizations it brings in greater context as we
drill down the data and explore on a granular level.
2. Greater Insights:
Tableau allows the user to analyze data without any specific
goals in mind. You can freely explore the visualizations and look for different
insights. By using “what if” queries you can adjust data hypothetically and
visualize data components dynamically for comparisons. When combined with
real-time data these capabilities enhance dramatically.
3. Ease of Use:
Tableau is a highly interactive solution for business
intelligence. It is designed for people who don’t have coding skills. With
Tableau, anyone can visualize and understand data without the need for any
advanced skills in data science. As compared other tools Tableau showcases
visuals in a presentable way hence, they can be used in presentations and
reports. All of this makes Tableau a great tool not only for data scientists
but also for business executives croxy.
Implementation of Tableau:
Tableau comes with a variety of implementation and
consulting options. It comes with quick-start options for small-scale
deployments which can complete the setup in just a few hours. While for
complicated enterprise-level deployment it comes with the following four-step
process:
The first deployment phase involves IT planning,
architecture consulting, pre-install check-up, server set-up and verification,
and security configuration.
In the next step involves working on data and its migration
- this includes data modeling, data mining, data extraction, data sources and
business workflow.
With this step, the company ensures that employees are
actually able to use the tool. A two-day classroom training is provided for
Tableau fundamentals, hands-on advanced coaching, and for building and
formatting visualizations data.
The final step helps companies expand Tableau usage across
their business. Implementation workshops are conducted where topics like the
evaluation of action plans and the process of defining measurable outcomes are
discussed.
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