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Data Teamlead at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Jan 3, 2022
Raw data aggregation gives us real insight into how different business areas are performing
Pros and Cons
  • "Although Tableau isn't the best for us when it comes to processing and working on live data, it is very good at extracting data for analysis."
  • "Most of the problems in Tableau Online that I have noticed have to do with performance or weird, inexplicable bugs that I can't pin down. For example, you might try unloading some data, and you'll be waiting for a long time without anything happening."

What is our primary use case?

I work in the hospitality industry and I use Tableau Online and Tableau Bridge with our food ordering company. In our specific uses, I have found that Tableau is very good for extracting data, rather than for working live on the data.

Although the process of transferring data to Tableau isn't the best, once the data is already on Tableau, it works completely fine. I will typically make use of layer aggregation and other operations such as slicing and analyzing it by getting right inside the data in various ways.

How has it helped my organization?

Due to the demands of our industry, we always have things that we would like to see more in-depth over different dimensions, such as restaurants, branches, cities, and so on. With Tableau's help, our company can aggregate all the raw data and then analyze by rows, to see, for instance, which restaurant is doing the best by comparing them with one another. It also enables us to easily split areas into zones and use the data to test for not only which restaurants are doing the best, but also where (i.e. in which cities and branches). 

What is most valuable?

Although Tableau isn't the best for us when it comes to processing and working on live data, it is very good at extracting data for analysis. Once you have extracted the data, the aggregate layers you can create, along with slicing and other operations, are very handy. It allows us to really get inside the data, and it is, in my opinion, better than any other tool I have used with the same pricing model.

Of the best analysis features, multi-aggregation layers come out on top for me, because they let you extract raw details while making multiple aggregations on different time levels and different dimensions, and you still manage to get your work done quickly without having to load a lot of data grouped over different dimensions.

Tableau Bridge is also a very good tool, however I can tell that it does need a few fixes and some maintenance. That said, it's still good for its first few years since release.

What needs improvement?

Most of the problems in Tableau Online that I have noticed have to do with performance or weird, inexplicable bugs that I can't pin down. For example, you might try unloading some data, and you'll be waiting for a long time without anything happening.

These bugs always seem to happen when we perform big upgrades or do maintenance work, and we have had to send a lot of tickets for unexplained issues during these times. It doesn't seem to be a problem only for us, but also for customers all over the world, such as in Ireland, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the US, too.

As for future features, I would like to see major upgrades in Bridge and the Flow Tool, allowing us to do more data engineering work. I think it would give Tableau a big edge in the market to look into how to incorporate more data engineering tools into their product. 

Besides that, I would also like the charts to be more realistic and easier on the eyes.

Buyer's Guide
Tableau Enterprise
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about Tableau Enterprise. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
881,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tableau Online for three years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is okay. It's not 24/7, but you can say it's stable enough. In the start, it's more stable, especially compared to our OBIEE problems, which have taken two or three days to solve in the past.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's easy to contact Tableau and ask to increase users or resources. They'll do it in the blink of an eye.

At present, we have 20 users, 12 of which are shift users. The majority of our users in total are board members or high-level managers. 

How are customer service and support?

I wouldn't give their support more than a seven out of ten rating.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have previously used Power BI, Qlik Sense, and Qlikview. I switched because Tableau was better in working with different sources compared to Power BI which was the only one that was truly on par. Qlik Sense and QlikView were easy to use but didn't have most of the features that Tableau and Power BI offered. Then there's OBIEE which I have used for the past two years, but it is quite difficult for non-technical users.

I also didn't like that Power BI is typically coupled with Microsoft Azure, whereas Tableau works well with AWS and Google which are a lot easier. 

How was the initial setup?

The setup is straightforward. I mean, there's not much setup at all. It's easy for any mid-level user to do it. For example, I just used the documentation they provided and did everything myself. The documentation was sufficient
and the implementation strategy doesn't take more than 20 days.

What about the implementation team?

I implemented Tableau by myself using the documentation they have made available. And for maintenance on one single node, you might need only two to three people involved.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

For data extraction and analysis, Tableau is better than any other tool I have used with the same pricing model.

What other advice do I have?

My ultimate advice is that you should know what the tool is capable of first and what your needs are. I think it's better to use the Server edition, and not Cloud, because there are a lot of problems in the Cloud version that don't seem to be present in the Server version. As for myself, I will likely switch to Tableau Server next year after doing a bit more research on how to do the changeover.

I would rate Tableau an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1659204 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager.Marketing Strategy & Analysis. at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Reseller
Top 10
Sep 15, 2021
Expensive, not scalable, but customizable
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has great features which nobody can beat, you can do a lot of customizations, such as use different dimensions and colorize them. Additionally, you can use the numeric values for the customization, which is an exceptional feature."
  • "Whenever it comes to specialized visualization, Tableau is an absolute failure."

What is our primary use case?

We use Tableau for data analysis. We integrate 15 sources of data and then that data is brought into AWS. From the AWS, the data is uploaded onto a dedicated Tableau server where we have all our dashboards running. We then run code on the data to return results, such as the regression and causation.

What is most valuable?

The solution has great features which nobody can beat, you can do a lot of customizations, such as use different dimensions and colorize them. Additionally, you can use the numeric values for the customization, which is an exceptional feature.

What needs improvement?

There is a lack of visualization in Tableau which could be improved. For example, if you want to do a Sankey in Tableau, you have to do a lot of work to do it. Sankeys are available, they are for sale for a minimum of $400, which is out of the question. Whereas if I wanted to do a Sankey, it is simple for me to use a free visualization and put in the data, and from what I already have, receive a fancy Sankey.

Whenever it comes to specialized visualization, Tableau is an absolute failure.

The integration between Tableau and our statistics software or other software, such as Python is very loose and undefined. If they improve that it would be a benefit.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tableau for approximately two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

If I have web analytic data on session IDs, Tableau or Power BI both fail miserably in scalability because you are not able to go on a session-level and have 18 million rows fire up visually.

We have approximately 100 users using the solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is simple.

What about the implementation team?

We had a local team of two technicians that do the implementation and maintenance of the solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are on an annual license which costs us $1,400 which is very expensive. Microsft BI is less expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated Microsoft BI.

What other advice do I have?

The reason why we are not getting rid of Tableau is because of legacy reasons. Legacy, meaning it is being carried over and our organization does not have time and energy to transfer everything to Microsoft BI.

I will not give any credit to Tableau or Power BI for the very simple reason that everything is in the hands of the developer of how you visualize the data. There is not any magic in what Tableau is doing, the magic is from the developers who are creating the visualization. Any visualization tool which gives that capability sets you apart.

I would not use Tableau if I am working out of a financial organization because it is lacking fancy visualization. However, if I was a bank or a government organization where I am only looking at trend charts and bar charts I think Tableau comes out ahead of other solutions, such as Microsoft BI.

I rate Tableau a five out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Tableau Enterprise
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about Tableau Enterprise. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
881,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Theresa McLaughlin - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Capacity Planner at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Apr 26, 2021
A stable and mature product that provides good data visualizations and is useful for analyzing different sets of data
Pros and Cons
  • "The data visualization piece is most valuable. We do ad-hoc analysis or one-time shot things, but there are things that we have to track every single day. When our management and our customers want to see how things are changing, the dashboarding provides that information. Tableau is key in providing that data on a refresh basis. We use a data blending tool that pumps the data into Tableau, and we just schedule it to run every single day. So, the automation of the data and being able to present it to people who are interested are the most valuable features."
  • "Its price is a concern. It is more expensive than Power BI. The other thing that I never liked about Tableau is its ability to handle large sets of data. To present the data in the dashboards, we have to stage it up exactly like it is going to come into the dashboard. We use another tool called Alteryx that does that for us. So, we manipulate the data, get it staged, and then push it into Tableau. Tableau is terrible at handling large data sets, and we knew right away that we couldn't use Tableau to do data manipulation."

What is our primary use case?

We do tons of data analysis for the organization to try to plan for resources that are needed in the infrastructure, specifically servers, storage, and that kind of stuff.

There are about 30,000 devices that we have to manage. We need to make sure that we have what we need for our internal customers, which is a really tough task unless you can analyze data every single day. We look for all sorts of anomalies about how the devices are functioning or how they are growing in consumption. We pull up about 1.1 billion rows of information every single day about what they're doing, and then we've got to take that mountain of data and pick out what we are concerned about. Tableau is key in providing that information to our internal customers and just analyzing different sets of data, such as the asset data and the consumption data. It is just data analysis all day long. That's basically what we do.

What is most valuable?

The data visualization piece is most valuable. We do ad-hoc analysis or one-time shot things, but there are things that we have to track every single day. When our management and our customers want to see how things are changing, the dashboarding provides that information. Tableau is key in providing that data on a refresh basis. We use a data blending tool that pumps the data into Tableau, and we just schedule it to run every single day. So, the automation of the data and being able to present it to people who are interested are the most valuable features.

What needs improvement?

Its price is a concern. It is more expensive than Power BI. The other thing that I never liked about Tableau is its ability to handle large sets of data. To present the data in the dashboards, we have to stage it up exactly like it is going to come into the dashboard. We use another tool called Alteryx that does that for us. So, we manipulate the data, get it staged, and then push it into Tableau. Tableau is terrible at handling large data sets, and we knew right away that we couldn't use Tableau to do data manipulation.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable and mature product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is able to scale to the user base that we have, but pulling large sets of data into the dashboard can be problematic. You have to reduce the data to only what you're going to present, and that's it. Otherwise, it is unusable in my opinion.

We've got hundreds of users on the product. When I came to this organization about five years ago, Tableau was fairly new, but it grew very quickly. Initially, only I and a couple of other people were using it, but now the user base has grown significantly.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their support is good. They provide good training and all sorts of stuff.

How was the initial setup?

We have a whole group that manages that. We don't get involved in it. We just ask for it to be installed and available, and they support it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Its price is a concern. It is more expensive than Power BI. My guess would be that it is $1000 or less per year.

We might go for Power BI in the future because of its umbrella with Microsoft licensing. It is much cheaper for us to use Power BI, and some folks will go in that direction because they don't want to pay the higher license.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend getting Tableau to help with the training because there is a learning curve with it. Make sure the training piece is in place, and your account rep provides resources to get people started because it does take a little bit of training to get proficient at it.

I would rate Tableau an eight out of ten. It is not perfect, but it does the job for us.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Syed Fahad Anwar - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal System Developer at a government with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Sep 16, 2024
Substantial amount of customization available, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has a lot of customization when comparing to Microsoft BI."
  • "The customization requires a lot of effort and should be simplified. The performance could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We use Tableau for the all kind of dashboards.

How has it helped my organization?

Tableau as a BI solution provides a platform to develop user-friendly, story telling dashboards, which provide insights to help management take decisions.

What is most valuable?

The solution has a lot of customization when comparing to Microsoft BI.

What needs improvement?

The customization requires a lot of effort and should be simplified. The performance could be better. When comparing the performance of Tableau to other solutions, such as Microsoft BI, they are not as good.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tableau for approximately four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is very good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Tableau has good scaling capabilities.

We have approximately 30 to 40 users using this solution in my organization.

How are customer service and support?

The support is good for Tableau. However, if we ask for a certain feature they will not entertain us, unless other customers are also asking for the same feature.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously were using Microsoft BI and we switched to Tableau because of the increased level of customization it provides. Microstrategy can also be a considerable alternative.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is complicated and took us approximately four hours.

What about the implementation team?

It would be best to use an integrator or other professional assistance for the implementation.

We have approximately two engineers that handle the maintenance of the solution.

What was our ROI?

Our management can take decisions based on insights provided by Tableau, which are smart and help us reduce costs and data issues.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There is a license for the use of this solution and it is on a per-user basis. The server is free but the users you have to pay for.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We performed a POC before going with Tableau, we tried Power BI because Power BI is competing against tableau. But to use Power BI at its full potential, you need the Power BI cloud edition, which our organization cannot go with. So the obvious choice was to go with Tableau.

What other advice do I have?

Tableau is very good, but customers have to understand the requirements of hardware and software the way Tableau works. If they have some requirements that Tableau cannot meet, they will understand how to do it in an alternate way.

I rate Tableau an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Aruna  Basnayake - PeerSpot reviewer
AGM - Digital Engineering & Strategic Solutions at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Reseller
Jul 26, 2023
Scalable platform with a straightforward initial setup process
Pros and Cons
  • "Tableau's most valuable feature is its ability to connect with various data sources and display real-time data on three different dashboards."
  • "There should be stronger data modules for the platform."

What is our primary use case?

Our clients from different industries use Tableau for data visualization purposes. 

What is most valuable?

Tableau's most valuable feature is its ability to connect with various data sources and display real-time data on three different dashboards. It stands out in handling and utilizing data compared to other products like Oracle BI.

What needs improvement?

There should be stronger data modules for the platform.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Tableau for the past one and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The platform is relatively stable. I rate its stability a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The platform is highly scalable. I have five clients, and the total number of users across all clients is around 300 to 400. I rate its scalability an eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

The platform's technical support services require improvement. There should be enough support during the deployment.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The platform is deployed on the cloud and on-premises. Its initial setup is straightforward. It took about an hour or two to deploy. I rate the setup process as a nine out of ten.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing of Tableau should be better to remain competitive in the market, especially when compared to alternatives like Power BI. By adjusting the pricing, it can appeal to a broader range of markets and attract more customers.

What other advice do I have?

I rate the platform an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. reseller
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Global Data Architecture and Data Science Director at a non-profit with 11-50 employees
Real User
ModeratorTop 10
Sep 5, 2022
A flexible and easy-to-learn solution with excellent visualizations, good design, and a community version
Pros and Cons
  • "Tableau is very flexible and easy to learn. It has drag-and-drop function analytics, and its design is very good. It is a very good tool, and it basically brings life into data with good design. We have been creating a lot of interactive visualizations and dashboards. It has a public version. There are public communities from where you can get a lot of examples for practice."
  • "Its price should be improved. Its price is much higher than Power BI and QlikView. Programming is not easy on Tableau. For programming, you have to have a separate model. They should include programming directly on the web portion of the Tableau desktop so that people can write Python or JavaScript code for customizations instead of using a different model. Currently, Tableau Data Prep is a separate application that you have to purchase. It would be helpful if they can include Tableau Data Prep and programming languages such as R, Python in the next version. Tableau Public, which is a community version, doesn't allow you to save your work on your desktop. They should allow it. Currently, you can only upload it in the community."

What is our primary use case?

I have used Tableau in the past with other clients for enterprise-level data visualization for financial and manufacturing industries. I have also used it for documents dashboard and different kinds of KPI visualizations. I'm currently using it for academic purposes. In my current organization, we are not using Tableau. We are using Power BI.

What is most valuable?

Tableau is very flexible and easy to learn. It has drag-and-drop function analytics, and its design is very good. It is a very good tool, and it basically brings life into data with good design. We have been creating a lot of interactive visualizations and dashboards.

It has a public version. There are public communities from where you can get a lot of examples for practice.

What needs improvement?

Its price should be improved. Its price is much higher than Power BI and QlikView.

Programming is not easy on Tableau. For programming, you have to have a separate model. They should include programming directly on the web portion of the Tableau desktop so that people can write Python or JavaScript code for customizations instead of using a different model. Currently, Tableau Data Prep is a separate application that you have to purchase. It would be helpful if they can include Tableau Data Prep and programming languages such as R, Python in the next version.

Tableau Public, which is a community version, doesn't allow you to save your work on your desktop. They should allow it. Currently, you can only upload it in the community.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Tableau for almost eight or nine years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. They have a cloud version, and you can implement it on the cloud.

How are customer service and support?

Their technical support is good. Our own IT can also manage it, and I can also get support from Tableau.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use Dimension, Power BI, and QlikViewDomo is also there, but Domo is a little bit more expensive. Microstrategy is also a little bit more expensive, and it has different media storage.

How was the initial setup?

Its installation is straightforward. It is a one-click installation. 

What about the implementation team?

I installed it myself on my laptop.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Its price is higher than Power BI and QlikView. Tableau costs around $70 per user per month, whereas Power BI is around $8 to $9. QlikView is around $30. 

Tableau has various prices for various models such as Creator, Designer. 

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution if you do not have budget constraints. It is a very good solution with excellent visualizations. I plan to keep using it for academic purposes.

I would rate Tableau a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Steve-Jose - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Research Analyst at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Mar 31, 2022
Allows me to connect to an Excel sheet to create a visualization, and comes with a free version that is helpful in developing data visualization skills
Pros and Cons
  • "The feature that is currently most valuable is the import feature where I can link to an Excel data source. I'm not using it with any other data source, such as SQL Server. I directly link it to an Excel sheet, and if I change anything in that Excel sheet, the changed data immediately gets reflected in the virtualization. This is something that is very convenient for me as of now."
  • "Its documentation can be improved so that a user can get a good hands-on experience. Tableau is well documented, and on their website, there are a lot of tutorials that are available for free. I started my learning process through those tutorials, but there are certain loopholes in those tutorials, which only got filled through a couple of good YouTube channels that talk about Tableau. YouTube helped me a lot. So, the documentation could be better, I understand that it is evolving day by day, and with more usage, there would be more such documentation."

What is our primary use case?

I am using it for my personal use. I'm using Tableau Public. It is a downloadable version. I downloaded it to my system and installed it.

What is most valuable?

The feature that is currently most valuable is the import feature where I can link to an Excel data source. I'm not using it with any other data source, such as SQL Server. I directly link it to an Excel sheet, and if I change anything in that Excel sheet, the changed data immediately gets reflected in the virtualization. This is something that is very convenient for me as of now.

What needs improvement?

Its documentation can be improved so that a user can get a good hands-on experience. Tableau is well documented, and on their website, there are a lot of tutorials that are available for free. I started my learning process through those tutorials, but there are certain loopholes in those tutorials, which only got filled through a couple of good YouTube channels that talk about Tableau. YouTube helped me a lot. So, the documentation could be better, I understand that it is evolving day by day, and with more usage, there would be more such documentation.

There are a couple of features that are only available in the cloud version, and I would like to see them in the hosted version. We can only use them in a demo or temporary account for 10 or 15 days, but I would love to see those features in the hosted version that I am using, which is Tableau Public.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tableau for almost one and a half years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable, but at times, I have seen that it doesn't work for certain datasets. If the data is not correctly sanitized, there are chances that you would end up having no visualization at all, even after spending a lot of time. So, sanitization is a must in Tableau as of now. Other than that, I've not seen anything else. There are no bugs, but if the data is not sanitized, you will not get any visualization. That is a problem. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is pretty scalable. There is no doubt about it. In the cloud version, a live data source can also be integrated. So, it seems pretty scalable, but I've not tested how scalable that version is.

How are customer service and support?

I don't have any experience with their technical support. Whatever I've learned to date is from online resources such as YouTube and my personal sources. I've not contacted Tableau support.

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup is quite straightforward. It took me a while to understand that this version is also available for free for users like me who want to understand the data visualization part, but its installation is pretty easy.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I'm using Tableau Public, which is free.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I compared it with QlikView, which is a leading data visualization tool, but because I had heard a lot about Tableau and I had seen that there is a lot of scope in the market to get hired, I decided to go ahead with Tableau. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate it an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Business Intelligence Analyst at a government with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Mar 12, 2022
User-friendly, useful report publishing, and trial version available
Pros and Cons
  • "Tableau's most valuable features are user-friendliness and have a connection between multiple source systems. You can publish a report by using Tableau Public and there you can make your data online, not only batches of data, you can use it as an online analytical tool."
  • "There are more than a powerful tool in the market, such as Microsoft BI."

What is our primary use case?

I have used Tableau to generate visualizations to calculate system trend analysis for business. 

How has it helped my organization?

Tableau has been very helpful to give a high level of insight into our business.

What is most valuable?

Tableau's most valuable features are user-friendliness and have a connection between multiple source systems. You can publish a report by using Tableau Public and there you can make your data online, not only batches of data, you can use it as an online analytical tool.

What needs improvement?

There are more than a powerful tool in the market, such as Microsoft BI.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used Tableau within the last 12 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Tableau is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have found Tableau to be scalable.

I would recommend this solution for large enterprises.

How are customer service and support?

I have not contacted technical support. However, after reading many reviews others have found the support to be good.

How was the initial setup?

The setup and deployment of Tableau are very easy. I did not have a problem.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price of Tableau could improve. The license is too expensive. 

There is a 14-day trial version available to those who want to try it.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Tableau, but if any organization wants to use it, they can see if the solution fits their business requirement. There is a very competitors market and with a low price. Those wanting to use this solution need to study the requirements to know which repository to use.

I rate Tableau a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Tableau Enterprise Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2026
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Tableau Enterprise Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.