Introduction to Tableau New Features
Tableau is a visual analytics tool that keeps updating itself regularly. Whenever new features are added, a new release is made available or the users. A new update means the incorporation of new features. Often the new features are incorporated by taking into consideration the needs and the demand from the market. Each release of Tableau sees certain new features that add value to the tool. Along with making new features available, Tableau comes with necessary modifications in existing features. The ulterior motive is to make the tool robust and the top performer amongst all the BI tools in the market.
Features in Tableau
The new features incorporated in Tableau belong to different aspects associated with tools, which are Data, Visual Analytics, IT and Governance, and Web and Mobile. We shall now see the new features brought into Tableau in the following section.
1. Data
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: This is a functionality that is changing the target search dynamics. It allows the strategic use of LinkedIn target search functionality powered by analytics.
- Alibaba Cloud Connectors: They have enabled seamless use of cloud computing through easy connectivity with leading databases such as MYSQL, SQL Server and Postgres via Tableau. Now, cloud data can be used for extensive insight generation.
- Qubole and Kyvos: The data platforms together with Tableau form an extremely strong combination of data management platforms and visual analytics. They allow the users quick insight generation from a vast amount of data.
- Cloud Connectors: Now Tableau Prep has cloud connectors for Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive.
2. Visual Analytics
Amongst all the areas, Visual Analytics forms the most important area which is the crux of Tableau. Some of the new features introduced in this area are as follows.
- Tables: Overcoming the limitations associated with earlier tables, now, Tableau allows the creation of tables that can contain up to 50 columns. Moreover, the provision to scroll horizontally has also been provided.
- Sorting: Entire columns can be sorted by dimensions and discrete measures across multiple panes. Additionally, we have sort drop-down menus allowing choosing between nested and field sort for all dimensions and discrete measures.
- Ask Data: Now admins have been provided with the flexibility to enable or disable the ‘Ask Data’ feature which is a default site setting. The Ask Data feature now offers categorical suggestions to assist users in the fast search along with helping them understand various types of analytical questions. Now, using Ask Data, calculating period-over-period i.e. month-over-month or year-over-year calculations has become fairly simple as just asking MoM and YoY gives the required result.
- Explain Data: Now data can be explained in more detail. Tableau, now, allows understanding complex data by allowing an analysis of geospatial data, un-visualized measures and calculated fields.
3. IT and Governance
Tableau as an analytics and BI tool offers features that are associated with IT and Governance. These have been discussed as follows.
Extensibility Features
- Webhooks: These are methodology through which one computer can notify another about an event. Tableau, through integrating with Webhooks, automates the workflows in real-time. So, when a workbook is updated or refreshed or a data source is published, the Webhooks through appropriate notifications provide necessary updates.
- Sandboxed Extensions: In Tableau, an extension lets the user to add some feature to dashboard or facilitates direct integration with applications other than Tableau. Sandboxed extensions, however, are those which aren’t permitted to make any sort of requests for external networking. So, these extensions are run inside an environment that allows communication only with the Tableau hosting server. In a way, this feature disables network calls in extensions.
- Personal Access Token: The Tableau Server resources can be managed through the Tableau Server REST API. REST stands for Representational State Transfer, a kind of architecture for distributed systems. To verify the user as valid, each time the user must supply credential token as required by the Tableau Server REST API. Through Personal Access Tokens, individual users are provided with the functionality to create long-lasting authentication tokens for Tableau’s REST API. The beauty of the functionality is that tokens don’t require hard-coded credentials. The Personal Access Tokens work extremely well with automated scripts. Some of the important applications of Personal Access Tokens are that they improve security, assist in effective auditing and tracking, and efficiently manage automation.
- View Recommendations: They offer personalized suggestions that enable users to quickly connect with data of relevance. The concept of machine learning is employed to match recommendations and preferences. This feature is especially useful to find valuable content quickly.
Sharing and Access
- User Visibility: Tableau, now, allows users to stay anonymous to one another. This feature ensures more security for the user. User visibility is also used to manage the way site users see and collaborate. In this context, technically, Tableau provides two options viz. Full and Limited. Full refers to “All users can see other users settings”, while Limited refers to “Explorers and Viewers cannot see other users and groups”.
- Request Content Access: Using this feature, now, users have been enabled by Tableau to send a request to content owners.
- Sharing Content: Dashboards or views which have been modified can be shared. For this, the user needs to enter requisite credentials to share with email notification.
4. Web and Mobile
It is very important for a BI and analytics tool to support web and mobile platforms. Some of the new web and mobile features associated with Tableau are as follows.
- Web: Tableau allows working with extracts in the browser. So, essentially, this is possible through Tableau Server directly instead of Tableau Desktop.
- Tableau Mobile and Biometrics: Now, Tableau employs biometrics to unlock the app supporting iOS as well as Android.
- Data Quality Warnings: This feature ensures that Web and Mobile platforms are associated with Tableau, the data remains intact.
Conclusion
In each update release, some sort of changes in the form of new features are brought to the users by Tableau. Update won’t justify as an update if no new features are introduced in the tool. The introduction of new features is governed by the ever-growing need of the users.
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