Having skills in Tableau will get you one step ahead on the pedestal of this data-driven corporate world, boosting your career. Irrespective of the field you work in, be it operation, product development, marketing, HR, finance, etc., having skills in this tool can help you make better decisions and improve the efficiency of your company.
First, let us get a basic idea of what Tableau is.
What is Tableau?
Tableau is one of the highest used visualization and reporting tools today. It is a Business Intelligence (BI) tool that allows its users to visualize raw data to gain insights. Using Tableau, users can build and distribute dashboards that can be shared and are interactive. These Tableau dashboards represent variations, density, trends of data using charts and graphs.
The Tableau tool has features allowing it to connect to several relational sources, Big Data sources, and files for acquiring and processing data. One of the unique features of this data visualization tool is that it allows users to perform real-time collaboration and data blending.
Enroll in Intellipaat’s Tableau training to get a better understanding of this tool and become an expert in it.
Now, let us get into what this tool has to offer.
Software and Products in Tableau
Tableau offers a diverse range of software and products that allow users to work with them as per their features and user requirements. These components are available to you at different prices. These components include:
- Tableau Desktop
- Tableau Public
- Tableau Prep
- Tableau Online
- Tableau Server
- Tableau Mobile
Further, you will read about them briefly.
Tableau Desktop
This is one of the most basic products of Tableau that allows users, including novices, to generate analytical data formats like dashboards and visualizations. It has a 14-day trial period which gives you enough time to play around with the product and understand the use of its features before making a payment.
Tableau Public
Tableau Public is Tableau Desktop’s free version that helps novices understand and learn the features of the software. Its only drawback is that the data you upload gets saved in the cloud and is available for everyone to access it. Although it is the best product to learn, users must be cautious while using their data and avoid leaking the crucial data of the company to the public. For the same reason, it is important that you have irrelevant data that you can use while learning and using this product.
Tableau Prep
Tableau Prep has a variety of tools that allow users to connect to data and analyze the same. This product is licensed with the Tableau Desktop.
Tableau Online
Tableau Online lets its users host its data on the cloud, making noticeable reductions in the cost of maintenance and hardware, and the time to set it up. When organizations buy the Tableau Online version, they also purchase, license, and make this tool available to the users via the internet.
Tableau Server
The Tableau Server allows organizations to host Tableau for offering data analytics techniques and abilities to a countless number of employees.
Tableau Mobile
The application of Tableau allows organizations to grant access to their employees with Tableau Server or Tableau Online, letting them use dashboards and data analytics.
Now, let’s learn about the reasons why you must opt for the Tableau BI tool.
Reasons for Choosing Tableau
Alone in the US, there are over 24,000 job vacancies for professionals with Tableau skills as per LinkedIn.
Listed below are a few reasons why you must use Tableau for data analysis:
- Its drag-and-drop feature allows beginners to learn this tool easily and convert data into useful visualizations
- It allows users to create the visualizations much faster compared to other tools like MS Excel
- Since it used the best visualization practices, the data is represented in a manner that is comprehensive to a layman
- Tableau is compatible with some of the most commonly used data sources, including Google Sheets, MS Excel, etc., databases, statistical language, and more
- Its interactive dashboard allows anyone to get valuable information from the data
- Unlike most tools, in Tableau, users do not need to know coding to use it
After reading in detail about the various reasons why this is one of the best tools for data visualization and you should opt for it, let us discuss some of the pros and cons of Tableau.
Advantages of Tableau
- It has better features for visualization as compared to Microsoft Excel
- It allows users to begin with point-and-click abilities to learn this tool easily and use programming only when you wish to, unlike Python
- It offers a robust community that allows users to expand their knowledge on Tableau and request assistance when required
Disadvantages of Tableau
The only disadvantage of Tableau is that it is comparatively more expensive than Python or Excel.
Become a Tableau Expert
Here, you got a gist of what this tool is, what it offers, and its various benefits. Become an expert in this popular BI and data visualization tool by taking a course from Intellipaat.
Author: Usman Raza is the co-founder of a Christian Marketing Agency and marketing strategist working with various brands online. Usman is the content marketing manager at PSD to WP Service, Inner Healing and Deliverance, and The Dressing Table. He is devoted to helping small businesses bridge success gaps by providing in-depth, actionable advice on digital marketing, SEO, and small business growth.
