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Tableau | Data visualisation | Analytics | Tool strategy

Tableau explained in under 10 mins!

You've heard of Tableau, you've seen a demo, but what actually is it? Here's the whole platform in under 10 minutes.

Tim Ngwena •18 April 2020 •4 min read •10 min watch •1.3M

Tableau was founded in 2003 as an academic spin-off, with its core innovation being visual analysis rather than just charting like Excel
Tableau stores and processes data in its own file format, the Tableau Data Extract (TDE), more recently called Hyper
Tableau Prep Builder handles data cleaning and ETL (extract, transform, load) through a visual interface for pivoting, merging and replacing fields
Tableau Desktop connects to almost any data source to build reports and dashboards, while Tableau Public does the same for free but only publishes to the public community space
Tableau Server (self-hosted) and Tableau Online (Tableau-hosted) handle secure, scalable sharing, with Reader for quick interactive viewing without governance controls
New features ship roughly quarterly, patches monthly, and older versions are supported for about three years

0:00So you've heard of this thing called Tableau.

0:02You've seen a demo of it or you've seen it in action, but now you're about to dive in for the first time.

0:08But before you do, you're probably wondering what all the hype is about.

0:12What can it do?

0:13What can't it do?

0:14Or maybe even more basic than that, what is Tableau?

0:17Well on all of those, that's where I get involved.

0:20I'm Tim, aka Tableau Tim, and in this video I'm going to walk you through the Tableau platform in under 10 minutes.

0:28In fact, if this is the first time you're hearing about Tableau, perfect.

0:32A few house rules for the video though, be sure to check the description for links to some of the resources I mentioned.

0:38And lastly, if you get to the end of the video and you think you know someone who should watch it, share it with them

0:44Then hit subscribe and enable alert so you don't miss out on the videos like this that I'll be releasing in the near future.

0:50It really helps my channel out.

0:52Okay, enough begging, let's get stuck in

0:54Tableau was founded in January 2003.

0:57It was an academic spin-off by Chris, Christian and Pat.

1:01In an academic paper

1:03Way back in 2002, they had a simple idea and it was this.

1:07What if you had a tool that allowed you to view your business data in a visual way?

1:12Now if you're hearing that, you're probably thinking, well, Excel existed slash already does that.

1:17I can make charts, tables, and all sorts in Excel or any other tool, as a matter of fact.

1:21So what's different about Tableau?

1:23Well put simply, one thing.

1:25Tableau's innovation was entirely focused around visual analysis.

1:29What does that mean?

1:30Okay, let's take one step back and envisage the typical workflow in every business that collects and uses data to make decisions.

1:38Let's say I run a superstore.

1:40We make cells every day and the data from these cells is stored in a database.

1:44A small business might just record these in a spreadsheet in an Excel file.

1:48Or if you're a web first company like a tech startup, you might make it available via the web or the cloud.

1:54At the end of each month, quarter or even year, you'll want to review these sales to see how you're doing

2:01In order to do that, you need to collect the data for the period you're looking at, make sure it's correct, and make sure there's no mistakes in it, then hand it over to an analyst or a data scientist to do their thing

2:12They, in turn, take the data and start exploring it to find insights.

2:17This might just mean they're looking for new trends and patterns, or they may already have some questions that they want to answer.

2:23For example, did they meet the target this month?

2:26Once they have those questions and answers, it's time to share those insights with colleagues so decisions can be made about what to do next

2:34They might build a basic report, or in the larger business, a dashboard, with lots of perspectives contained in one view.

2:41In some really old school companies you might even get packs with every report printed out for every single aspect of the business.

2:48Senior colleagues or decision makers will then use these reports to reflect on how the business has performed, set new targets or goals, make changes to targets, and then share these decisions back out to the business

3:00Once these goals are shared, staff need to be able to monitor what's going on.

3:04So we end up going back full circle to the beginning and the cycle repeats.

3:10This process is typically termed as analytics or business intelligence, and whether you're a small one-person outfit or a large corporate business with hundreds of thousands of employees

3:21You have the same need.

3:23Okay, so we now understand the analytical process.

3:26Where does Tableau come into all of this?

3:28Well, the short answer is all of it.

3:31Let me explain.

3:33Let's take our cycle and rearrange it a little and take it from the top.

3:39Tableau has six key products which aims to solve some of the problems outlined in a simple to use and connected platform.

3:46The first stage of this cycle where the store collects the data and keeps it safe is called transaction processing by nerds like me.

3:54It ensures the data from each purchase is captured, shipped to the customer, and then stored in a database.

4:00At the time of this recording, Tableau don't currently have a product that meets this need, no database as such, but you will often hear about a file type called the Tableau Data Extract, TDE in short, or more recently hyper

4:14This is the file format Tableau likes to use to store and process data and it has some Smarts built into it.

4:19Check out my podcast on this topic in the description below.

4:22Okay, next up, the most important part of the process, connecting to your data and analyzing it.

4:28There's two steps here.

4:30Firstly, you see, most of the time data is stored correctly.

4:34That's a good thing.

4:35But often you might look at data and spot a mistake, for example, a transaction where the wrong item was scanned, or maybe a missing category.

4:43In order to handle this, you'll need to fix these mistakes either manually or in bulk at scale.

4:49In my field, that's called either data prep, data cleansing, or if you want to be a real consulting nerd

4:55The process of handling this is called ETL, Extract, Transform and Load.

5:00And for this, Tableau have a fairly new product in Tableau Prep Builder.

5:04It allows you to clean, shape, and transform your data by making it really easy to do things like pivoting your data, removing empty fields, replacing fields, or merging fields from different data sources.

5:15It does all of this with a visual and easy to understand interface.

5:19Again, I've done some basic intro videos on this channel, so check those out, but I'll be doing more in due course

5:25Okay, we've cleaned our data and we're now ready to connect to it and analyze it.

5:29This is where Tableau Desktop and Tableau Public come in

5:33This is by far the most valuable part of the cycle and Tableau's platform.

5:38Tableau Desktop allows you to connect to virtually any data format you can think of, from Excel all the way out to large multi-billion row databases.

5:46devices and even web APIs.

5:48Once connected, you get the ability to start exploring your data using a really simple to understand innovative visual system.

5:56More on this in the future video, but for now all you need to understand is Tableau Desktop is where analysts and business users can explore their data and build reports and dashboards that can be shared out across the organization.

6:09Tableau Public is free, does all the same things but only allows you to share your reports and dashboards to Tableau Public, the Google Docs of the Tableau community.

6:19This is a great use case for charities, nonprofits, journalists, or local authorities who need to share their data with their community.

6:26Alongside this, Tableau Public is a great place for new users to find new ways of building reports and learn from others.

6:35Right, we know how to clean our data, we can connect to it and build reports and dashboards, but the issue is that analysis and those questions that need answering can't be done by just one person.

6:45In order to share these across the business, you're going to need several things.

6:49One, a safe and secure way to share this data.

6:52You wouldn't want someone to get access to your data that shouldn't have access.

6:56Number two

6:57Allow others to build on your work as an analyst and ask more questions with interactivity and the ability to build your own perspectives.

7:05Number three, a robust system that can withstand hundreds of users asking questions all at the same time.

7:124.

7:13Powerful and well-documented management source so your IT team can manage it without needing to require external consultants for small changes

7:22Number five, the ability to run it internally in your company's data center or in the cloud.

7:28Tableau Server and Tableau Online meet these needs.

7:32They're both essentially the same, except Tableau Server gives you full access and control of your server, hosted in your own data center, whereas Tableau Online is hosted by Tableau on your behalf, and they take care of making sure it runs smoothly.

7:45I'll dive into the difference in more detail, you guessed it in a future video.

7:49Whilst most colleagues might work alongside you in the office or at their desk, others might be out and about on the go.

7:55And so Tableau have mobile apps that allow you to access reports

7:58and dashboards on the go on your mobile device.

8:01Because every business is different, Tableau recognizes that you might want to have Tableau products behave in a certain way

8:08Or you might want to connect Tableau to other systems.

8:11In the IT world we typically do this using APIs, application programming interfaces.

8:17Think of it as a string and tools between lots of different systems, allowing them to communicate and work with each other.

8:24Tablay has over 20 APIs and tools you can explore.

8:28And yes, you guessed it.

8:29Of course I'll cover this in more detail in a future video.

8:33Last we have Tableau Reader and the use case here is quite simple

8:37It lets you open and interact with Tableau Workbooks, but not edit or create them like Tableau Desktop or Tableau Public.

8:44This is used in instances where you just need to share a workbook with someone quickly.

8:48Who doesn't have access to your Tableau server?

8:50Word of caution here though, you don't get any of the security and governance control.

8:54So typically, this isn't heavily used in instances where security and governance are paramount.

9:00We've covered the platform, but how often does Tableau add features or even products to its platform?

9:06In summary, all the time.

9:07This video will get old real fast.

9:09The general release cadence for new features in the Tableau platform is roughly every quarter.

9:14In fact, you can take part in betas and help improve the features by visiting

9:19Beta.

9:19tableau.

9:20com Patches and fixes to all their products are usually fixed immediately for urgent and security fixes or generally monthly for patch fixes

9:29And they support older versions going back roughly three years.

9:33But if you head to tableau.

9:34com forward slash support and check out the release notes, you can find all this information documented there.

9:40Okay, that's the entire platform

9:42That's it, you've made it to the end of the video, and you now know all the products and services available in the Tableau platform.

9:48I've included links in the description to Tableau product pages if you want to explore them in more detail.

9:54My next video will build on this and cover the different licensing models, each product and how to get started with Tableau.

10:00In order to make sure you don't miss out on these and more videos, hit subscribe.

10:04Hit the bell so you get notified.

10:06And lastly, please share this video with others.

10:09It's a great way to support my channel and the work I do.

10:12I have no ads on the channel and I don't monetize my videos because most of what I've learnt

10:16came through extremely generous members of the Tableau community.

10:20And so this is my way of giving back.

10:22I'm Tableau Tim and I'll catch you in the next video.

What is Tableau and why it exist

Tableau was founded in January 2003 as an academic spin-off by Chris, Christian, and Pat. The idea, set out in a 2002 academic paper, was simple: what if you had a tool that let you view your business data visually?

Your first reaction is probably that Excel already does this, you can make charts and tables in Excel or plenty of other tools. So what makes Tableau different? Put simply, one thing: Tableau’s innovation was entirely focused around visual analysis.

The business analytics cycle

To understand where Tableau fits, picture the typical workflow in any business that collects and uses data to make decisions. Say I run a superstore. We make sales every day, and that data lands in a database, a spreadsheet for a small business, or the web and cloud for a tech startup.

At the end of each month, quarter or year, you review those sales. That means collecting the data for the period, checking it’s correct, and handing it to an analyst or data scientist. They explore it to find trends, spot patterns, and answer questions: Did we hit the target this month? Those insights then get shared as a report or dashboard so senior colleagues can reflect on performance, set new goals, and feed decisions back into the business. Staff monitors what’s happening, and the cycle repeats.

This whole process is what we call analytics or business intelligence, and whether you’re a one-person outfit or a corporation with hundreds of thousands of staff, the need is the same.

Data storage and the Hyper format

The first stage of the cycle — capturing each purchase, shipping it to the customer and storing it — is called transaction processing. At the time of recording, Tableau doesn’t offer a product for this; there’s no database as such.

What you will hear about is a file type called the Tableau Data Extract (TDE), more recently Hyper. This is the format Tableau uses to store and process data, with some smarts built in.

Data prep with Tableau Prep Builder

Most of the time, data is stored correctly, but you’ll often spot mistakes — a transaction with the wrong item scanned, or a missing category. Fixing these, manually or in bulk, is called data prep, data cleansing, or ETL (extract, transform, load).

Tableau Prep Builder handles this. It lets you clean, shape, and transform your data with a visual, easy-to-understand interface — pivoting data, removing empty fields, replacing fields, or merging fields from different sources.

Analysis with Desktop and Public

This is the most valuable part of the platform. Tableau Desktop connects to virtually any data format you can think of, from Excel right out to multi-billion row databases, devices, and even web APIs. Once connected, you explore your data through a simple, innovative visual system and build reports and dashboards to share across the organization.

Tableau Public is free and does the same things, but only lets you publish to Tableau Public — the Google Docs of the Tableau community. It’s ideal for charities, nonprofits, journalists, and local authorities sharing data with their community, and a great place for new users to learn from others.

Analysis can’t be done by just one person, so you need a secure way to share data, let others build on your work interactively, withstand hundreds of simultaneous users, give IT well-documented management tools, and run either in your own data centre or in the cloud.

Tableau Server and Tableau Online meet these needs. They’re essentially the same, except Server gives you full control hosted in your own data centre, while Online is hosted by Tableau on your behalf so they keep it running smoothly.

Mobile, APIs, and Reader

Some colleagues are out and about, so Tableau’s mobile apps let you access reports and dashboards on the go. Because every business is different, you might also want Tableau to behave a certain way or connect to other systems — done through APIs (application programming interfaces), the strings tying different systems together. Tableau has over 20 APIs and tools to explore.

Finally, there’s Tableau Reader, which lets you open and interact with workbooks but not edit or create them. It’s handy for quickly sharing a workbook with someone who has no server access but a word of caution: you lose all security and governance controls, so it’s rarely used where those matter.

Release cadence and support

Tableau adds features and products all the time, so this overview will age fast. New features generally ship roughly every quarter, and you can join betas at beta.tableau.com. Urgent and security patches go out immediately, other patches roughly monthly, and older versions are supported for about three years. Check tableau.com/support and the release notes for the details.

Wrap up and next steps

That’s the entire platform; you now know all the products and services available. Links to the Tableau product pages are in the description if you want to dig deeper. My next video builds on this to cover the licensing models for each product and how to get started with Tableau.