What Is Tableau? Features, Use Cases, and More

Tableau is a popular analytics tool used to analyze and visualize large quantities of data. In the work world, it is a prominent suite of business intelligence software commonly used to process large amounts of raw data and transform it into visualizations for business users. As a result, it can help users make informed decisions about products or predict future performance based on current performance.

In this article, you'll learn more about Tableau, including its uses, functions, features, and products. Let's get into it.

Tableau’s uses and functions

Tableau organizes various types of data into visual formats to make it easier to explain and analyze. Individuals and businesses use Tableau to better understand data, produce actionable insights, and make faster business decisions.

The tool includes several different products, such as data analytics visualization with desktop and web versions, as well as server and cloud services. These services require a license and fees to use, but public and reader versions are available for free.

Read more: Data Visualization: Definition, Benefits, and Examples

Tableau features

Tableau has several features that make it a good option if you need a data visualization tool. When deciding if Tableau is suitable for your project or organization, consider the following features: 

• Charts: With Tableau, you can organize your data into various visual formats called charts, although they include graphs, maps, tabular formats, and diagrams. Tableau charts include pie charts, bar charts, line charts, scatterplots, histograms, bullet graphs, packed bubble charts, box and whisker plots, and treemaps.

• Data blending: Seamlessly pull data from different sources into one project with data blending. This feature allows you to compare different data sets to find potential answers to questions or help you better understand case queries.

• Sharing and collaboration: You can use products like Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud to collaborate on projects with co-workers or other parties pulling from the same data. You can also share what you've created via Tableau Public.

• Augmented analytics: This feature uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to contextualize data and make it more accessible for users. For example, you can ask it questions using natural language to get answers or have it create easy stories to explain your data.

Hear about how visual analytics and models are used for business intelligence in this lecture from Tableau's Business Analysis Process course:

Product types

Tableau has several different products that you can use individually or together. They can help you visualize information for organizations, customers, or other end users. Here are some of the products you can choose from to analyze, share, and make sense of data: 

Tableau Cloud

Tableau Cloud allows organizations and customers to put their data and visualizations on a cloud server that can be accessed remotely. This allows you to collaborate without needing on-site servers for your company. You also get real-time updates and upgrades. It also integrates with other cloud-based tools like Google Analytics and Salesforce, the latter of which acquired Tableau in 2019.

Tableau Desktop

Tableau Desktop allows you to operate Tableau’s functionality from your desktop rather than a server or cloud version of the software. You can download a paid version of the software on your desktop to analyze data from your own computer system and then share your data reports, graphs, maps, and other visualizations with others through Tableau Cloud, Tableau Server, or Tableau Public.

Tableau Server

Companies and organizations with in-house computer infrastructure may want to consider Tableau Server. This version is similar to the cloud version, but the software and data are housed on a server that your organization controls rather than cloud-based operations. This version gives you more information control, especially if you have strict data security issues or compliance guidelines. 

Tableau Prep

It’s important to digest your data before Tableau can sort, organize, and visualize it. Tableau Prep is an ETL tool, meaning it allows you to extract, transform, and load data cleanly to prepare it for visualization. Using an ETL tool like Tableau Prep will make your data more manageable for Tableau’s other features.

Tableau Data Management

One key feature of Tableau is its ability to use data from different sources and combine them together. Tableau Data Management can keep all of this information organized. It catalogs the information so you and those you collaborate with can easily find it.

Free Tableau services

Not all users need Tableau’s enterprise options. Fortunately, two free options are available for users. Tableau Public lets you share data publicly with others or practice your skills as a Tableau user.

Tableau Reader allows you to work with data in Tableau with a desktop application. Reader is a bare-bones version of Tableau that lets you visualize data using data files on your desktop. Like Tableau Public, it’s a useful way to interact with Tableau and learn about its features for free.

Who uses Tableau?

Tableau works in a variety of industries. Here are some examples of fields in which Tableau could help companies and organizations.

• Manufacturing: Tableau can help manufacturers pinpoint specific steps along the supply chain to reduce money and resource losses.

• Health care: Data from multiple hospital locations or offices can help organizations distribute resources better. 

• Retail: A company can analyze the profitability of its retail spaces based on location, segment types, or specific products. It can also use Tableau’s maps to visualize specific physical areas or locations that generate the most profit or need improvement.

Tableau careers

Tableau is often used by data professionals like business intelligence analysts, data analysts, and data scientists.

Due to the value of the data-driven insights they produce, data professionals are in high demand. For example, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of job openings for data scientists is projected to grow by 36 percent between 2023 and 2033, which is far above the national average of 4 percent for all professions during the period [1].

Learn Tableau on Coursera

Tableau offers a suite of impactful business intelligence tools that can be used by both non-technical business users and seasoned data pros. Start learning Tableau on Coursera today.

In the Tableau Business Intelligence Analyst Professional Certificate, you'll prepare for entry-level data roles and build fundamental Tableau skills, such as crafting data visualizations, preparing data for analysis, and identifying data-driven insights.

You can also learn more about Tableau to explore its uses in your career by checking out the Fundamentals of Visualization With Tableau course with the University of California Davis on Coursera. You'll discover the principles of Tableau Public Workspace and get practice connecting to different data sources.