Tableau Software is a great data visualization and data discovery tool. It does one thing, and does it amazingly well. So, if you’re looking for a great visualization tool, and don’t much care for statistical capabilities and advanced analytics, then look no further!
Regarding the question of how much does Tableau cost is a simple yet complex question to answer. The initial startup costs for Tableau are low, and Tableau is quick to install, connect to a range of data sources, and implement. So, Tableau gets quickly off the ground, the results look pretty and it can scale to hundreds of users – what else could you ask for?
More often than not, clients do not need much consulting help to get the project off the ground since there are plenty of start-up videos available at Tableau’s website. Sometimes though, this can be misleading; so let me peel the onion for you. While Tableau is a cool and easy product to use, it is also a fairly deep product with more functionality being added to each release cycle. The first layer of Tableau visualization is easy for anybody and everybody, and I am sure that a large percentage of users stop at this level. However, Tableau is a much deeper product and in order to leverage all of its capabilities, it does require additional training and experience. Personally, I would highly recommend Tableau training and/or a couple of weeks of consulting help in order to kick your game up a level. The next layer of complexity comes when you want to scale your Tableau Server footprint; this is where you will need to invest in architecting the overall solution. You will want a Tableau Server Certified consultant to do this, and yes, these people are expensive. The same goes with tuning your server environment; you will need strong, experienced (i.e. expensive) consultants to keep tuning and keeping your environment in top shape. This is where you will be spending more of your money with Tableau.
If you really want to extend Tableau and conduct real analytics, you will need to add one or some of the following products:
- Advanced Statistical Analytics: Tableau has a strong partnership with Alteryx. Alteryx pricing starts at $3,995.
- Mobile Enablement: Tableau again has a strong partnership with Metrics Insight. It is a robust product with data driven alerts as well as many more bells and whistles. Pricing is not available on the website – call me and I can share some insight!
To truly identify if Tableau is the best analytics platform for your BI needs, sign-up for the FREE 30-day Tableau Trial and send us an email if you have any questions. We’d be happy to discuss your questions and see if Tableau is the right platform for your analytical needs.
