Power BI vs Tableau

Power BI vs Tableau

OutlineWhat is BI?Overview of BI lifecycleTableau: products, features and pricingPower BI: products, features and pricingComparing Power BI and TableauWhich one is better for your company?

What is Business Intelligence?Raw Data Useful InformationUses a set of tools and skill sets to help business owners make informative decisions

BI is a process that converts raw data into useful information. 3

Common Business Areas Customer ProfilingProduct ProfitabilityMarketing Inventory and Distribution AnalysisKey performance indicators

Data InformationData from multiple sources are organized and loaded onto a common storage (using ETL)Reporting tools are then used to build reports based on user needs.

Reporting Tools100s of reporting tools available for building visualizations Two main tools for discussion:TableauPower BI desktop

Tableau

Visualization tool designed to support faster solutionsBuild reports in a matter of minutes using drag and dropNo programming language knowledge neededCreate customized dashboards to fit the need of the business. Create a story using a sequence of worksheets.

Tableau products Tableau DesktopTableau ServerTableau OnlineTableau PublicTableau Reader

Tableau DesktopThe tool used to create visualization and analyze the dataCreate workbooks, dashboards and storiesTwo editions:Personal Edition: limited data sources: can only connect to flat filesno ability to connect to Tableau Server Professional Edition: full enterprise capabilitiesPublish visualizations onto Tableau online or Tableau public.

Tableau Server

An online solution for sharing, distributing and collaborating on content created in tableau. Interactive dashboards on web browsers or tabletsSubscribe to a dashboard and automatically receive updates Priced per user or server coreRequires planningOptimal hardware and IT resourcesSecurityAbility to create user filter based on necessary fieldBehind firewall, hence provides the most security

User filter: allows specific users to see only allowed filtersTableau server allows viewing data on mobile device10

Tableau OnlineCloud based visualizationPriced per user per yearHosted version of Tableau ServerAutomatically schedule refreshes and add data modelsVisualizations created on Tableau Desktop can be published onto Online within secondsNo setup, no hardware, no management necessary

Hosted in the cloudEveryone will be working from a single point of truth no matter where they areNo, you wont be able to brand your sites with your own logo11

Tableau PublicAllows to view visualization freeVisualization will be public Free toolTableau ReaderFree toolDesktop application viewing visualizationNo ability to edit visualization / Read-only

Data ConnectionTwo kinds of connection to source data:Live Data ConnectionUsed for real-time analyticsPerformance is based on database performanceExtractionData is brought in memoryPerformance is not based on database performanceUsed for interactive analysis

13

Dashboards

Each tableau visualization is created on a worksheet. Multiple worksheets can be combined to create a dashboard Dashboards provide an over view of the business system at a glance. Show multiple dimensions of the data summarized in one pageEfficient and quick to respond to critical issues and/or opportunities.

Dimensions: region, product category, age-group (helping businesses with marketing strategies)14

Stories

Data-driven storytellingSheets that contain a sequence of worksheets or dashboards to convey information Story points are connected to underlying data

Story points are not collections of static screen capturesIndividual story points are either worksheets or dashboards15

Example

PricingTableau Desktop Personal Edition: $999 per userTableau Desktop Professional Edition: $1,999 per userTableau Online: $500 per user, per year Tableau Public: FreeTableau Server: two options: enterprise option: no restriction on number of users/ restriction on hardwarenamed user: no hardware restriction / restriction on user / pay per userFree Trial Available

*****please contact Tableau for more pricing information (check Tableau website) *****

Power BI

Microsoft product

Cloud-based business analytics service

Share reports and dashboards across a wide range of browsers, and devices such as tablets and mobile phones.

Integration with familiar Microsoft products: Excel, PowerPivot, etc.

Easy connection to multiple data sources: Excel spreadsheets, cloud services, on premise databases, etc.

Uses DAX formulas to create calculated columns, as well as Quick Calculations such as % of grand total

The Power BI team releases 20+ features every month: free to incorporate.

Features

Real-time dashboards; helping business owners solve problems as they occur

Power BI Embedded: azure service that enables applications to interact with Power BI

Q&A feature: allowing users to ask questions using natural language to get answers in graphical form.

Content Packs: for sharing dashboards with team

PowerBI Embedded allows to easily embed interactive visuals in you app using REST APIs and Power BI SDK. Use Power BI Rest APIs to enumerate datasets and reports, provision datasets and reports, embed reports, set connection strings and credentials programmatically. 20

Power BI productsPower BI DesktopPower BI MobilePower BI Publisher for Excel

Power BI Desktop

Application where all visualizations are createdTransform and clean data with Query Editor3 views:ReportsDataRelationships

Reportview where you use queries you create to build compelling visualizations,arranged as you want them to appear, and with multiple pages, that you can share with othersDataview see the data in your reportin data model format, where you can add measures, create new columns, and manage relationshipsRelationshipsview get a graphical representation of the relationships that have been established in your data model, and manage or modify them as needed.

22

Query Editor

Load data from multiple sourcesTransform data to meet analysis needsCreate new columns of calculated resultsRemembers all applied steps

Power BI MobileAllows to view dashboards and reports anywhere.Interact with data easily in a touch-optimized experience with Power BI native windows, iOS and Android apps.Data-driven alerts

Power BI publisher for ExcelAdd-in for ExcelAllows to pin pivot tables, charts and ranges in excel onto Power BI. A new tile will be created on a Power BI dashboard when snapshots have been pinnedNote: new tile is a snapshot (not dynamic) no automatic updateAllows for manual update

Publish to WebEasily embed interactive visualizations online such as blogposts, websitesCreates an embed code (iframe to use in web page)Creates link(to share via email)Allows for narrating stories over the web and to use visualizations in blogsAutomatic data refreshes (unless disabled) Can not publish to web with reports shared with you (security)

Data ConnectionsTwo kinds of connection to source dataDirect QueryLive connection to data sourcePerformance will be based on data sourceNo need for data to be refreshed on scheduleImportBrings data in memoryRefresh needed to view changes that occurred in the underlying data.

Content Pack LibrariesRequires Power BI Professional versionIntegrates with existing office 365 Active Directory ConfigurationCentralized repository for sharing dashboards with teamMakes it easier for members to browse and discover dashboardsNo need to email dashboard to team matesJust notify of new content packReport developer can change security settings

PricingPower BI free versionLimited data capacity limit (1GB/user)Data refresh- daily vs multiple times a day with Power BI PROLimited data sources cannot connect to on-premise database serverPower BI PRO - $9.99 per user per monthData Capacity limit : 10GB/userData refresh- up to 8 times per day

***** Please contact Microsoft for more information on pricing *****

TableauPower BISupports SSBI (Self Service BI)

Can connect to multiple data sources

View visualizations on different devices

No technical knowledge required hence less training cost

Customizing user-specific dashboards

Licensing is based on a Per Processor Model

Story-telling feature

Ability to customize tool-tip content per user needs

Easier grouping ability: creating a new field with groups

What-if Analysis using parameters

Data interpreter

Supports SSBI

Can connect to multiple data sources

View visualizations on different devices

High level of DAX knowledge hence more training cost

Licensing is based on a Per User Model

Plotting limitations of 2500 marks (takes away plotted points)

Q&A Feature

Ability to customize tool-tip content

Allows for sharing of content through content-packs

Applied steps visible (easy to undo)

Which tool is better?Depends on budget and visualization needs

Power BI prosAffordableAttached to a major brand: tight integration with familiar tools such as Excel, Azure, etc.New features added frequentlyGreat for excel usersExtensive database connectivity capabilitiesQ&A featurePublish to Web

Power BI ConsMost advanced calculations require DAX knowledgeMore training costNo solution for data quality

Tableau prosExcellent user interfaceLess training costvery fast and easy to create visualizationsGood customer supportData InterpreterStory-telling abilityTableau ConsRelatively high costNo change management or versioning

Data interpreter: senses when data doesnt look right and fixes itAll in all if budget is not an issue and if the report developers are not IT professionals, Tableau is a better option. If budget is limited and your company has IT professionals for developing visualizations, Power BI is a better choice. Versioning: tableau online would always show the latest version (no previous version retrieval)32

SummaryIf budget is an issue and you have the right technical professionals to publish reports, Power BI would be the more affordable option

If budget is not an issue and you have non-technical users publishing reports, Tableau would be the easier option.

IT Professionals that either already have DAX knowledge, or easier to train on DAX33

Sourcehttps://www.quora.com/What-are-differences-between-Tableaus-Desktop-Server-Public-Online-versions-Does-Tableau-server-online-versions-need-Tableau-Desktophttps://www.interworks.com/blog/bfair/2014/08/26/tableau-online-vs-tableau-server-5-things-consider http://www.butleranalytics.com/microsoft-power-bi-vs-tableau/ http://sqlmag.com/power-bi/introducing-free-power-bi-designer-desktop-app http://public.tableau.com/shared/QH6PH5GMG?:display_count=yes&:showVizHome=no http://content.criticalpathtraining.com/blog/road-ahead-power-bi/ https://onlinehelp.tableau.com/current/pro/online/mac/en-us/stories.htmlhttps://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/ http://www.marquisleadership.com/messages/tuesdays-with-tableau-tableau-server-vs-tableau-online https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/power-bi-embedded-get-started/