The Tableau Product Portfolio
It’s important to think of Tableau as a brand, rather than a product. The Tableau ecosystem includes several different products, and although Tableau Desktop is its cornerstone data visualization software product and the focus of this book, other environments are also offered in the Tableau application suite to support various levels of user needs. What unites all of these products is VizQL, Tableau’s proprietary visual technology that enables simple drag-and-drop functions to create sophisticated visualizations. The primary differences between these core products are the different data sources users can connect to (connectivity), how visualizations can be shared with others (distribution), the ability to automatically update or refresh analysis (automation), and the level of governance required by the user and/or organization (security).
Tableau Desktop
Tableau’s flagship product, Tableau Desktop, is an application that can be installed on either Windows or Mac machines. It allows connection to data on premises or in the cloud, and facilitates the entire visual discovery and analytics process from connecting to data to sharing visualizations, dashboards, and interactive stories using Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud. The software also includes a device designer to help users design and publish dashboards optimized for various form factors. Tableau Desktop enables users with intuitive visual analytics experiences and augmented analytics (powered by AI and ML). Advanced analysts can also integrate and visualize results from R, Python, Einstein Discovery, MATLAB, and other extensions.
Tableau Server
From small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, Tableau Server extends the value of data across the entire organization for enterprise-wide deployments and is intended for organization-wide provision of visual analytics outputs through a central repository for Tableau work. It provides organizations with centralized governance, visibility, and control, while allowing users to curate, publish, and share data sources as well as collaborate, engage, and explore data. Data visualizations and dashboards are typically stored within the organization.
Tableau Cloud
Formerly called Tableau Online, Tableau Cloud is a full-hosted, cloud-based, enterprise-grade solution. It provides similar functionality as Tableau Server, but has the advantages of cloud distribution and automation and is hosted off premises.
Tableau Prep
Tableau’s newest offering, Tableau Prep provides a modern approach to data preparation. Tableau Prep can connect to data on premises or in the cloud, and provides robust data preparation capabilities using Tableau’s familiar visual interface. Outputs can be opened in Tableau Desktop, Server, or Cloud to fit seamlessly into an analytic workflow, reducing friction between data prep and analysis.
Tableau Public
One part data visualization hosting service, one part social networking, Tableau Public is a free service that allows users to publish interactive data visualizations online. These visualizations can be embedded into websites and blogs, shared via social media or email, or made available for download to other users, but must remain in Tableau’s public cloud.
Tableau Reader and Tableau Viewer
Finally, Tableau offers two products that allow anyone, from experienced users to casual users, to access and interact with content created by Tableau creators. While both products are similar, they do have some notable differences.
Tableau Reader
Tableau Reader is a free desktop application that allows users to open and interact with data visualizations built in Tableau Desktop in a view-only mode (or, conversely, to distribute content built in Tableau Desktop). Tableau Reader lacks governance, security, and administration capabilities, so it is not possible for users to make any changes to visualizations provided in Tableau Reader. Thus, the application is essentially a distribution platform with no analytic capabilities.
Tableau Viewer
Tableau Viewer is a role-based license option on Tableau Server that allows users to access and interact with trusted content without putting the security of data at risk. Tableau Viewer users benefit from the security of a governed server-based deployment and can actively engage, interact, and collaborate with shared content.