3 Replies Latest reply on Dec 6, 2011 12:24 PM by Katherine Goff

    Tableau v SQL BI

    John Lincoln
    John Lincoln Nov 17, 2011 5:04 AM

      Hi there. I work in finance and we are currently using Tableau desktop to produce dashboards and reports connecting to a SQL database. We now want to purchase Tableau server to automate some of the reports,dashboards etc. We are however getting resistance from our IT department because SQL server can also do all of this.

       

      Has anybody had direct experience of something similiar? Tableau seems so much easier to use and implement and I am trying to justify why we should use Tableau server instead of SQL reporting/analysis services. I would have thought the implementation time would be a lot longer and the technical skills needed would be much higher for SQL server? I must add that although we do have SQL skills in IT we do not have any previous experience of delivering a reporting solution.

       

      I know Microsoft currently has much more overall capability as a platform but for our purposes Tableau should be more than sufficient. (We are a small to medium size company of 500 employees)

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        • 1. Re: Tableau v SQL BI
          Russell Christopher
          Russell Christopher Nov 17, 2011 10:25 AM (in response to John Lincoln)

          Hey John!

           

          I'd suggest you reach out to the Sales Area Manager who helped you with Desktop. They should have tons of "ammo" for you. I'd also be happy to chat with you at some point.

          • 2. Re: Tableau v SQL BI
            Ed Egan
            Ed Egan Nov 29, 2011 10:55 AM (in response to John Lincoln)

            Hi John.  Ask your sales rep to involve a product consultant from Tableau as well.  I work for a financial related company as well and we use reporting services (SSRS) for reports but also use Tableau (desktop and server) for analytics. 

            • 3. Re: Tableau v SQL BI
              Katherine Goff
              Katherine Goff Dec 6, 2011 12:24 PM (in response to John Lincoln)

              Hi John - I am facing a similar problem with resistance from IT who favours microsoft technology.  With desktop we have produced dashboards and reports that have won over business users, but we are now spending a lot of time manually updating reports/dashboards etc.  The business users are supportive of purchasing server, but it's not possible to move forward without consent from IT.  The company I work for is Entertainment/ Motion picture. Rather that trying to substitute SSRS with Tableau, I am positioning it as a tool for analysis and research that can compliment corporate reports made with microsoft technologies.