Microsoft Power BI vs Tableau

2019. Salesforce acquires data visualization company Tableau for $15.7B


Salesforce has made a significant acquisition by purchasing Tableau in an all-stock deal worth $15.7 billion. This strategic move marks Salesforce's expansion beyond CRM software and into the realm of advanced analytics. While Salesforce had previously pursued the acquisition of LinkedIn (which was acquired by Microsoft), the Tableau deal enables Salesforce to enhance its customer engagement and data intelligence capabilities, similar to what LinkedIn could have offered. Additionally, this acquisition positions Salesforce to compete with Google's recent announcement of acquiring Looker, further reinforcing its market presence.


2018. Tableau acquired AI-analytics startup Empirical Systems



Enterprise BI giant Tableau has made an acquisition of Empirical Systems, a startup in its early stages that specializes in AI. The product offered by Empirical Systems is currently in private Beta and functions as an embedded engine within other applications. This feature seamlessly integrates with the Tableau analytics platform, making it a valuable addition. In addition, Tableau will be able to leverage the expertise of the engineering team from Empirical Systems to enhance its AI capabilities and utilize the advanced technology that underlies the startup's product. Empirical Systems was specifically developed to simplify complex data modeling and enable sophisticated statistical analysis, thereby empowering individuals to gain insights from their data and make informed, data-driven decisions, regardless of their technical proficiency.


2018. Tableau gets a new data preparation tool



Data analytics platform Tableau has introduced a new data preparation tool. The primary objective is to provide users with a visual means to shape and cleanse their data, which is particularly crucial as businesses increasingly gather data from diverse sources. While Tableau Prep offers automation capabilities, its most significant feature is the visual interface it affords users to create such workflows. Prep supports all standard Tableau data connectors and enables users to perform calculations as well. Additionally, the company has introduced a server plan for businesses seeking on-premises or cloud-based deployment, along with a fully hosted online plan. Pricing for these options ranges from $35 to $70 per user per month.


2017. Tableau reveals Linux version



Business Intelligence software provider Tableau has recently unveiled Tableau Server on Linux, offering users an alternative option to run the software without relying on Windows Server. Additionally, Tableau has made a strategic acquisition of HyPer, a startup known for creating Hyper, a high-performance, main memory database. This acquisition aims to enhance Tableau's capabilities in terms of performance, faster loading times, and scalability. Hyper replaces Tableau's TDE database and is an integral part of Tableau 10.5, which is currently available in beta. Moreover, Tableau has taken a step further by opening its API, inviting users to seamlessly integrate and collaborate with third-party applications directly within the Tableau platform.


2017. Tableau acquired natural language processing startup ClearGraph



Business intelligence solution provider Tableau has acquired ClearGraph, a service that enables users to query and visualize large volumes of business data using natural language queries. Tableau intends to integrate this technology into its own products, aiming to simplify the process of data visualization for its users through similar queries. Recent advancements in natural language processing and machine learning have enabled ClearGraph and similar services to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying database, effectively translating sentences into database queries. Considering that competitors like Microsoft's Power BI already offer this capability, it comes as no surprise that Tableau is exploring this avenue as well.


2016. Tableau to launch visual data-prep software with deep learning



Tableau is expanding its offerings by venturing into the data-wrangling domain and has announced its plans for a visual data-preparation software known as Project Maestro. The objective is to provide users with a similar "self-service" approach to data cleaning and preparation as they have already established for data analysis. In addition, the company intends to incorporate Natural Language Processing (NLP) to enable new methods of interacting with data using human language, such as voice and text. Furthermore, Tableau Machine Algorithms will be implemented to provide recommendations for workbooks and data sources that are trusted, widely utilized, and contextually relevant to individual workflows. The software is expected to be released "later next year."


2016. Tableau acquired German startup HyPer



BI giant Tableau has made an acquisition by purchasing HyPer, a German startup specializing in advanced database technology. Tableau's intention is to integrate this technology into its existing product lineup. Tableau, known for its expertise in business intelligence and analytics, leverages business data to help companies derive meaningful insights from it. The incorporation of HyPer's database technology is expected to enhance the performance of Tableau's products. By introducing HyPer's capabilities, Tableau aims to deliver accelerated data analysis, regardless of the data set's size. Additionally, the integration is intended to unify transactional and analysis systems, potentially speeding up relevant processes. Furthermore, the technology will provide richer analytics capabilities and support for structured or semi-structured data, which has become increasingly vital in processing extensive Big Data sets.


2015. Microsoft integrates Cortana into Power BI service



Microsoft has made an announcement stating that the Cortana personal assistant will be integrated into Power BI, its business intelligence tool. It's important to note that Power BI already possessed some natural language query capabilities. With this integration, Cortana will be able to respond to written and spoken queries using data sets from Power BI. For instance, users can ask questions like "What was the revenue for the last quarter?" or request a chart showing the "number of opportunities by team." To utilize this new feature, users must grant Cortana access to their Power BI data sets. It's worth mentioning that Microsoft also offers Cortana Analytics, which caters to enterprises and focuses more on the machine learning and automation services that drive Cortana, rather than the Cortana client itself.


2014. Data Analytics service Tableau hits $100M per quarter revenue mark



Data analysis and visualization company Tableau continues its impressive growth trajectory, achieving a significant milestone by surpassing $100 million in revenue during the third quarter. Tableau is widely recognized as a leading provider of advanced analytics software, attracting new customers at a rapid pace. Despite facing competition from startups and even Salesforce.com, eager to challenge its expanding market share, Tableau remains a trailblazer in the field of business intelligence and analytics. Other players in the market have observed Tableau's success in transforming data analysis into an accessible visual experience, even for non-analysts. Consequently, they are striving to develop products that are more comprehensive, faster, user-friendly, and cost-effective. However, Tableau still has ample room for further growth, supported by its robust financial resources. The company is heavily investing in research and development, including a dedicated R&D team. In September, Tableau provided a preview of its upcoming mobile product, known as Project Elastic, demonstrating its commitment to innovation.