#spotfire over() function

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TIBCO Spotfire Training Course Online | TIBCO

Time Series Analysis in TIBCO Spotfire

Introduction:

Time Series Analysis is a crucial statistical method used to analyse a sequence of data points collected over time. In TIBCO Spotfire, Time Series Analysis is leveraged to uncover trends, patterns, and correlations within temporal data, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions. Spotfire provides an intuitive platform for conducting such analyses, enabling users to visualize and interpret time-based data effectively. TIBCO Spotfire Online Training

What is Time Series Analysis?

Time Series Analysis involves analysing data points collected at successive time intervals. It is particularly useful in fields such as finance, economics, environmental studies, and engineering, where data is recorded over time. The primary objectives of Time Series Analysis include identifying patterns (like trends or seasonal effects), forecasting future data points, and detecting outliers or changes in the behaviour of the data over time.

In TIBCO Spotfire, Time Series Analysis is integrated within the platform's robust analytical and visualization capabilities. Spotfire allows users to import time-stamped data, create visualizations, apply statistical models, and perform predictive analytics with ease. This makes it an essential tool for analysts looking to derive insights from temporal data. TIBCO Spotfire Training

Key Features of Time Series Analysis in TIBCO Spotfire

Visualization Tools:

Spotfire provides a range of visualization options like line charts, scatter plots, and heat maps, which are specifically designed for time series data. These tools help users to identify trends, seasonal variations, and outliers visually.

Time Series Decomposition:

Spotfire allows users to decompose time series data into its components, such as trend, seasonality, and residuals. This decomposition helps in understanding the underlying patterns within the data.

Forecasting Models:

Spotfire supports various forecasting models, including exponential smoothing and ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average). These models enable users to predict future data points based on historical data. TIBCO Spotfire Training Course Online

Interactive Data Exploration:

Users can interactively explore time series data in Spotfire, filtering and zooming into specific time periods, adjusting parameters, and testing different models to understand the data better.

Integration with R and Python:

For advanced users, Spotfire integrates seamlessly with R and Python, allowing the implementation of more complex time series models and custom scripts.

Advantages of Time Series Analysis in TIBCO Spotfire

Intuitive Visualization:

Spitfire’s powerful visualization capabilities make it easy to explore and interpret time series data. Users can quickly identify trends, seasonal patterns, and anomalies, which might not be evident from raw data alone.

Real-Time Data Analysis:

Spotfire allows users to analyse data in real-time, making it possible to monitor ongoing processes and make timely decisions. This is particularly beneficial in industries like finance and manufacturing, where time-sensitive decisions are critical. TIBCO Spotfire Training Certification Course

Predictive Analytics:

Spitfire’s forecasting tools enable users to predict future trends based on historical data. This helps businesses plan ahead, optimize resources, and mitigate potential risks.

Ease of Use:

With its user-friendly interface, Spotfire makes it accessible for users without extensive statistical knowledge to perform Time Series Analysis. The platform’s drag-and-drop functionality simplifies the process of creating visualizations and models.

Customizability and Flexibility:

The integration with R and Python provides flexibility for more advanced users to customize their analyses. This allows for the implementation of complex models and techniques not available natively in Spotfire.

Comprehensive Data Integration:

Spotfire can handle large datasets from various sources, making it a versatile tool for analysing complex time series data from multiple origins. TIBCO Spotfire Online Course Hyderabad

Interactive Reporting:

Spitfire’s interactive dashboards and reports allow users to present their findings effectively. Stakeholders can interact with the data, exploring different scenarios and gaining insights without requiring deep technical expertise.

Automated Insights:

Spotfire offers automated insights, where the software identifies significant patterns or anomalies in the data, saving time and enhancing the accuracy of the analysis.

Disadvantages of Time Series Analysis in TIBCO Spotfire

Learning Curve:

While Spotfire is user-friendly, there is still a learning curve for new users, especially those unfamiliar with statistical analysis or the specific features of the platform.

Model Complexity:

Although Spotfire offers robust tools for Time Series Analysis, the complexity of certain models (like ARIMA or advanced forecasting) may require a deeper understanding of statistics or programming, which could be a barrier for some users. TIBCO Spotfire Training Institutes in Hyderabad

Data Quality Sensitivity:

Time Series Analysis is highly sensitive to the quality of the data. Missing values, outliers, or irregular time intervals can significantly impact the accuracy of the analysis. Spotfire users need to ensure data is pre-processed and cleaned effectively.

Resource Intensive:

Analysing large time series datasets or running complex models can be resource-intensive, requiring significant computational power. This might slow down performance, especially when dealing with real-time data.

Limited Built-in Advanced Models:

While Spotfire integrates with R and Python for custom models, the platform's built-in advanced models are somewhat limited. Users who require highly specialized statistical models may need to rely on external tools.

Cost:

TIBCO Spotfire is a premium product, and its cost can be a limiting factor for small businesses or individual users. Additionally, the need for specialized training or consultation services might add to the overall expense. TIBCO Spotfire Online Training in Hyderabad

Conclusion

Time Series Analysis in TIBCO Spotfire is a powerful tool for uncovering insights from temporal data, offering intuitive visualizations, real-time analysis, and robust forecasting capabilities. It is particularly advantageous for businesses looking to make data-driven decisions based on historical trends and future predictions. However, users must consider factors like the learning curve, data quality, and resource requirements when implementing Time Series Analysis in Spotfire. Despite some limitations, the platform's flexibility and advanced features make it a valuable asset for anyone working with time-based data.

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[ronnykblair]

What to Expect in the General Electric Financial Management Program (FMP) in the U.S.

If you work at a multinational conglomerate, does it matter where you work?

In other words, if a company operates in 180 countries, could there be big differences between those countries?

The answer is yes.

One of the best examples is the GE Financial Management Program, which we covered in a previous series (from an author based in Europe).

But GE as a company has changed over time, and different regions have changed over time as well.

Our reader today found this out firsthand when he recruited for the program and then accepted a full-time role in a core industrial business there:

Introductions, Facelifts, and Makeovers

Q: Can you give us a 60-second overview of what has changed about the GE FMP (as of 2017-2018) and what might be different in the U.S.?

A: Sure. Here are the major differences:

GE Capital is Gone – 95% of it has been sold off, so you no longer do rotations there. The main divisions for rotations are now Aviation, Power (which includes Energy Connections, Renewable Energy, Current, etc.), Healthcare, and Transportation.

The Rotations are Different – Controllership is no longer a required rotation; the main options are now FP&A, Commercial Finance, and Supply Chain Finance.

GE is Going Digital – The company is transforming from a giant conglomerate into a “digital industrial company.” They created a new business line called “GE Digital,” and they’re developing a new platform (“Predix”) that will drive most of the revenue increases over the next 5-10 years.

Culturally, GE is also becoming more like large tech firms, with casual dress growing more common and Jack Welch’s philosophies ending.

“Business Development” (Corporate Development) Has Been Decentralized – Each division now has a corporate development team; as a result, FMPs can potentially gain some deal experience.

The likelihood is still low, but if you network aggressively, it is possible. In the past, it would have been nearly impossible to do a rotation in this area.

Recruiting and Interviews are Less Technical – There are no assessment centers in the U.S., there are no real technical questions in interviews, and it’s more feasible to get into the program from a non-finance background.

These changes have altered the usual exit opportunities, but the daily tasks of FMPs have changed the most.

Q: OK, thanks for that overview. Can you walk us through your story now?

A: I went to a traditional “target school,” majored in history, and only became interested in accounting and finance in my junior year.

I had started a small business in high school and thought that accounting and finance would be useful supplemental skills.

But when I began taking classes in those areas, I was drawn to the industry and decided I wanted to work there.

I interned at a Big 4 firm and an energy company before accepting a full-time offer in the GE Financial Management Program (FMP).

Q: I like your brevity.

What types of candidates is GE seeking for FMP roles?

A: The main points are:

University: GE now has ~15 “target schools” in the U.S., including state schools such as Penn State and private schools such as Notre Dame. If you’re not at one of these schools, you’ll have to network extensively to get in.

Major: They don’t care about your major; Finance, Biology, and English majors get in.

GPA: The minimum GPA is 3.0. I’ve seen people with GPAs of 3.1 up through 3.8 get in.

Work Experience: They don’t care about your specific experience in the same way investment banks do; I’ve seen people with scientific research and marketing backgrounds get in.

You just have to spin your experience to justify your interest in finance, the FMP, GE, and industrial businesses.

Q: OK. So, how do you spin your experience to do that?

A: Here are a few examples:

Example #1: You did molecular biology research and developed your analytical/quantitative skills from that.

You liked making an impact on the world in healthcare, but you’re more interested in the operations of a group such as GE Healthcare that helps doctors change lives.

Example #2: You liked the team-oriented work environment of a marketing agency, but now you’re interested in working for some of your previous clients at that agency.

You find it more interesting to build tangible products than to design advertising campaigns.

Example #3: You worked in private equity and enjoyed building models and evaluating deals, but you felt detached from the action of running a business.

You want to work inside a company and affect its operations rather than just monitoring companies.

Q: Thanks for those examples.

What’s the recruitment process like?

A: You start by attending an on-campus event, applying online, or networking with FMPs.

If you’re selected for an interview, the first round will be a phone screen.

If you do well, you’ll move onto the in-person round, which usually consists of three 30-minute interviews.

If you do well in those, you’ll advance to the Superday, which is a centralized event. GE flies all the Superday candidates from that round (around 70-80 people) to the headquarters of one business division.

You’ll meet the FMPs and program coordinators for dinner, and you’ll go through three more 30-minute interviews the next day: One with HR, one “panel interview” with FMP coordinators, and one with a finance executive.

After that, you’ll be shown around a GE “Career Fair” where FMP Coordinators pitch their businesses.

Then, you’ll hear a few speeches from the finance executives, go to lunch, and head back to the airport.

There are no technical questions in any of these interviews.

They ask only the standard behavioral questions (“Why GE?” “Why FMP?” “What are our core values, and how have you demonstrated them in the past?”) because they want to “teach you finance the GE way.”

A Day in the Life of an FMP

Q: That’s good to know… no need to memorize 52,723 technical questions.

What’s an average day as an FMP like?

A: It depends on the division and rotation, but here’s an example of an “average day” from my time in a Commercial Finance rotation:

7:45 AM: Arrive and prepare for an 8 AM call with the “Commercial Team” (sales).

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM: I’m on the phone with different Commercial Teams in different time zones compiling the sales figures from last week. I do the math and realize that the sales guys are missing their targets, and the margin is increasing.

9:30 AM – 11:00 AM: I dive deeper into Excel to adjust the sales estimates for the quarter.

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM: I pretend to look busy and count the minutes until lunch.

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Lunch with three other FMPs on the floor.

12:00 PM – 3:30 PM: I sit in on meetings; they range from assisting the commercial accounting team with revenue recognition to helping the commercial operations team with their funnel analytics.

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM: I have an FMP roundtable with the Global Head of FP&A and all other FMPs to learn more about the business from a senior executive’s perspective.

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM: My boss asks me to input manual journal entries for a product.

5:30 PM – 6:00 PM: I attend an FMP committee meeting where they start planning a big Philanthropy event in the fall.

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM: Happy hour with the FMPs and OLMPs (Operations Management Leadership Program, another rotational program at GE).

Q: How representative is that day? It sounds like a lot of meetings.

A: The days vary a lot; sometimes I spend 90% of my time in Excel working to automate a process and analyze data.

On other days, I could be in meetings or on calls the entire time.

On average, I spend 60% of my time working with data and 40% working with people.

But the cross-functional work varies a lot: In the Commercial Finance example above, I worked with Controllership, Sales, Supply Chain, and Finance team members.

But in a Supply Chain rotation, you might interact with lead engineers and sourcing executives.

And if you’re in a Controllership rotation, you might interact with only the Controllership team members for the whole rotation.

Q: On that note, what are the different rotations, and what do you do in each one?

A: Each FMP is now required to complete one rotation in Commercial Finance, one in Supply Chain Finance, and one in Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A). After that, the FMP can choose one of those three for his/her fourth rotation.

The program lasts for two years, so each rotation is about six months.

In each rotation, FMPs join small teams dedicated to managing P&Ls across the business and complete many of the same tasks as full-time team members.

The daily tasks are similar in all each rotation, but the long-term projects vary a lot.

Here’s an overview:

Commercial Finance

In this rotation, you support the Sales team, as well as the Controllership and Supply Chain teams.

You estimate quarterly sales and cost figures for different products, track customer deal structures, analyze “the funnel” to see where sales are coming from, and manually adjust journal entries to close the books each quarter.

As an FMP, you’ll spend a lot of time automating tasks (in Excel) and creating dashboards (in Spotfire) to summarize data. The goal is to build tools and processes so that “you leave the role better than how you found it.”

Older and less-tech-savvy employees execute many tasks across the business, so there is a lot of room for automation and process improvement.

Commercial Finance roles are often the most desirable ones because you’re closer to the front line of sales, so you gain customer exposure and feel more responsible for growth.

Supply Chain Finance

In this rotation, you focus on reducing costs instead of increasing revenue.

For example, you look for cost-cutting opportunities in plants, factories, and the sourcing and logistics processes.

To do that, you track product costs, liquidations, plant productivity, and labor productivity, and you use the numbers to make recommendations.

For example, you might gather data on raw material prices from different suppliers, observe negotiations with one vendor, see how the final price affects the ledger, and then argue for a different vendor or deal structure that might improve the financial results.

You still spend time closing the books each quarter, creating dashboards, and explaining budget variances, but you focus on expenses rather than revenue.

Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)

In FP&A, you forecast the division’s entire P&L. That makes it different from Commercial Finance because you focus on sales there.

A big part of this rotation is story-telling.

For example, one year, GE Healthcare’s cash reserves decreased significantly.

Someone in the Healthcare FP&A team had to take the data, account for the variance between the budgeted and actual P&L, and then explain how the division could generate more cash by the end of the year.

You’ll still spend time on weekly calls, journal entries, and dashboards, but you focus on the entire P&L and telling a story around it.

Your long-term projects might include the simplification of reporting or standardizing key metrics across the P&L, and you interact closely with the group CFO.

That’s significant because CFOs act as COOs at GE: Operational leaders report to the CFOs of each region and modality, which gives the FMPs more operational exposure as well.

Q: Thanks for that detailed comparison.

What are your long-term plans?

A: I want to get into investment banking and then move into private equity.

I’ve enjoyed working at GE and wouldn’t mind returning in the future, but I want to work on deals rather than day-to-day tasks.

Q: Good luck!

How easy is it to get into IB from this program, though?

A: It’s difficult and quite rare. I’d say 95% of FMPs either:

Accept full-time positions at GE in one of the areas above after the program ends; or

Enter the next leadership program, which is called “Corporate Audit Staff” (CAS). It entails internal audit work around the world, with a new rotation every four months.

Most FMPs follow this path because GE has a great culture, and they want to maintain some semblance of work/life balance as well.

If you have attended a target school and you’re willing to network aggressively, it’s possible to get into IB, consulting, or Big 4 TS/TAS, but few FMPs do it.

The program is great if you want to stay at GE and become a divisional CFO, or if you want to advance within corporate finance at other large companies.

You can still use an FMP role to move into other career paths, but it’s a longer road because you might have to work for 3-4 years, attend a top MBA program, and then recruit for consulting or banking roles.

Q: Thanks for clarifying that. Can you give us a rough idea of the compensation as well?

A: Sure. Entry-level FMPs earn between $60K and $70K USD and advance to $100K within five years and $200K within ten years – if they stay in finance, do well, and get their superiors to like them.

It’s nothing like the compensation progression in IB/PE, but the hours and lifestyle are also far better.

(NOTE: Compensation based on 2017 figures.)

Q: Thanks for adding that.

Thinking about everything we’ve discussed, who would be a good fit for the GE FMP, and who would not be a good fit?

A: To be a great fit, leadership and teamwork are essential since you interact across the entire company – far more so than in IB/PE-type roles. That’s one reason the company often prefers athletes for the program.

You have to be comfortable diving into detailed analytical work, training newcomers, and assisting other FMPs.

Also, you have to be comfortable moving to the middle of nowhere (e.g., Erie, Pennsylvania or a small town an hour outside of Phoenix) and living there while performing a fair amount of grunt work.

You’re expected to accept these circumstances because you also get a lot of exposure to senior executives and great technical training.

You’d be a poor fit if you’re 100% certain you want to live and work in New York or another major city, or if you prefer to work alone and feel annoyed when others ask for your help.

For example, if someone asks you for help with an IT or accounting problem, and you get annoyed because it seems trivial to you, you will have a tough time maintaining your sanity in this role.

Q: Great. Thanks for that summary, and for your time!

A: My pleasure.

The post What to Expect in the General Electric Financial Management Program (FMP) in the U.S. appeared first on Mergers & Inquisitions.

from ronnykblair digest https://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/ge-fmp-program-review/

[osumaremarketingsolution-blog]

Ways to Grow Your LinkedIn Advertising Strategy

Boasting 350+ million users worldwide, LinkedIn could be a goldmine for marketers willing to determine and take a look at a paid advertising strategy. The business social network’s ad platform permits users to form a range of ads and by selection target distinct user profiles. The result's that specific content reaches ideal prospects, netting conversions that matter.

This guide can show you the way to craft a winning LinkedIn advertising strategy from begin to end. lightness a way to notice your target market, ways in which to convert those leads, metrics price mensuration, and also the expected ROI for a campaign. By the time you’re done here, you’ll be assured in your skills to place a LinkedIn advertising strategy to figure for your business. 1. Why Use LinkedIn for Advertising? LinkedIn is regarding business, thus it’s nice for B2B merchandise and services geared toward the skilled crowd. If your goal is to extend your visibility in your business and deliver targeted advertisements, this paid channel are going to be large for you. when debuting the heartbeat and Influencer efforts, the platform has conjointly evolved into a content web site, taking part in host to a professional-grade news feed. The ability to focus on users by leader, job title, role, skills, and interests provides adjustable and results-oriented advertising choices. Advertising on LinkedIn is sort of the same as the platforms provided by Facebook, Twitter and Google. The self-service platform permits you to style differing kinds of ads, produce and pursue specific segments and set your bids for specific campaigns. whereas providing you with all the advertising knowledge you wish for campaign optimisation that is mensuration clicks, conversions, and impressions. Here’s some inquiries to confine mind once beginning a LinkedIn ad campaign: What is/are the work title(s) for my target audience? Where will my target market work? What distinctive skills/interests will my target market have? What role will my target market hold in their company? PS Click here to transfer our free 3-step guide to fitting your LinkedIn Ads with Google Analytics 2. the way to Target Effectively with LinkedIn Advertising Targeting choices for this platform ar the same as Facebook and Twitter, however LinkedIn moves on the far sidethe fundamentals and up to following level. Company size, title, education, industry, and geographic targeting is accessible. You might conjointly eliminate specific teams, companies, skills or fields of study from your ad sweep. Say you’re targeting marketers, however don’t need the competition to check your ads – merely omit their name. perhaps you’re growing your listing however don’t desire a sure set of individuals to click a free transfer you’re giving in your ad (because it’s too easy or over their heads). No downside – simply eliminate certains skills or positions from the targeting. A targeting profile for code designers at code corporations within the Bay space would seem like this: Software designers Companies with fifty one – two hundred staff Software & Development industries In and round the port of entry Bay space Here’s a visible for a sample code designer audience. whereas you would possibly be targeting a broad scope of persons, the a lot of granular the audience you choose to pursue, the upper the ROI on the ads are. making separate ad campaigns for users trained in Spotfire and Tableau – with custom ad copy for every – can web higher CTR and a lot of targeted data. The real price of such variable targeting is having the ability to run and take a look at multiple campaigns to seek out what works best. to seek out your specific audience you would possibly experiment with varied targeting situations, totally different copy, landing pages for lead conversion, and CTAs to dial in your ad performance. Here’s many segments to have confidence, victimization the instance of mid-size ad agencies: Segment 1: Industry: selling & Advertising Job Title: selling Manager, CMO, VP of selling Company: Size: fifty – two hundred workers Location: North America, Oceania, England Segment 2: Company: List (up to) fifty ad agencies you’d prefer to target Job Category: Marketing; Seniority: CXO, Director, Manager Location: North America, Oceania, England Segment 3: Function: Marketing; Seniority: CXO, Director, Manager Skills: Digital selling Location: North America, England, European country, Oceania Industry: selling & Advertising PS Click here to transfer our free 3-step guide to putting in your LinkedIn Ads with Google Analytics How wide or slender the main target of your campaign are is additionally a matter of judgment and experimentation. the primary set of ads you run might target fifty,000 people. however micro-campaigns also areterribly effective. Running fifty micro-campaigns that concentrate on one,000 folks may well be higher for your product or service giving. If you discover that your audience size winds up being too little, use LinkedIn’s prompt keyword choices. terriblylike Google’s keyword recommendations, it’s a method of broadening your scope inside relevant demographics. Here’s what happens after you enter “Skills” like Tableau and Spotfire 3. Audience enlargement There’s Associate in Nursing possibility for what LinkedIn calls Audience enlargement. “Enabling this feature will increase your campaign’s reach by additionally together with members almost like the audience you’ve selected .” Unchecking this box can keep your search as targeted as potential. you would possibly like this feature for increasing complete awareness, however this could be pricey. The pay per click and pay per impression payment model LinkedIn uses may be prohibitory if you’re exploitation the platform to focus on specific user ranges. We’ll read the prices and ROI of LinkedIn advertising during a moment. But first, let’s scrutinize a successful sponsored ad from CommVault that directly targets their audience Attention spans square measure short, thus this single line of text gets right right down to purpose|the purpose} – the pain point. The emotional charm of the ad is precise, spoken communication to the viewer: ‘We apprehend your struggle’. the good headline offers 5 troubleshooting teasers, 5 straightforward ways in which to an answer. Why it works: This ad empathizes with the prospect’s challenges and so provides the answer. 4. Anatomy of a LinkedIn Ad Linkedin permits you to form multiple ad variations. 2 styles of ads square measure offered on LinkedIn: sponsored ads and text ads. Since your audience isn’t actively longing for you, each ad sorts square measure additional push than pull. this implies that you’ll need to actually build ads stand out and capture member’s attention. Both include: Headline Ad copy Destination address Thumbnail ikon Headline Short, punchy copy for headlines is usually crucial. exploitation the title of audience members may be effective. The headline limit is twenty five characters. Ad copy Quickly tempt your audience with a worth proposition. Free downloads have tried terribly effective at driving lead generation efforts moreover. With a separate landing page established for every advertising campaign, you’ll be ready to live results directly from completely different ad copy. Copy is restricted to seventy five characters, or 2 lines. Destination address This can be a LinkedIn page or associate external address. Ideally, associate external landing page could also be tailored to the LinkedIn members you’re targeting. making a channel to steer your ideal audience to pays off in terms of qualified lead generation. Taking guests to your homepage is a smaller amount than optimum. however if you choose to drive traffic to your web site, tagging your URLs can enable you to live the engagement and quality of incoming traffic through analytics. Image Pictures of individuals square measure ideal, as a result of folks wish to see folks. in step with the LinkedIn optimisation team, photos of girls drive the most effective click through rates. easy photos can continually be best. exploitation your complete emblem is barely counseled if you’re that specialize in building complete awareness. visit us :- http://osumare.in/

[jtenney4-blog]

Tableau Suite Analysis

architecture of the system

Live Query Engine interprets abstract queries generated by VizQL into language that is understood by popular database systems, such as SQL and MDX syntax. Thus, increased data accessibility and usability of databases through a uniform user interface that interacts with a diverse range of databases, formats, and sizes.  Live Query Engine allows users to query databases without having to first import the data, the query is instead interpreted and run by the database with only the results rendered.  This technology provides for data consistency and avoids data movement while still being scalable, secure, and flexible.  Further, it allows Tableau connects to open-source Hadoop databases, proprietary MapReduce technologies, and cloud data warehouses like Amazon Redshift and Google BigQuery.  Column stores, databases designed to process unstructured data, and web applications such as Salesforce and Google Analytics are also able to be connected (Form 10-K, 2016).  

Tableau’s In-Memory Data Engine further supports user’s ability to analyze large amounts of data independent of database systems.  Much of the today’s data is not stored in databases or stored in databases that are too slow for interactive analysis, hence, the need for analysis outside of the database.  The In-Memory Data Engine uses column-based storage and compressed representations of data while leveraging RAM-based indices to provide users with fast calculations without the complications, costs, and delays of a database system (Form 10-K, 2016).  

Tableau has developed their own visual query language (VizQL) that translates drag-and-drop actions into data queries and then expresses the information visually.  Queries and visualizations used to be separate tasks and the queries often required scripts, chart wizards, or dialogue boxes.  The VizQL technology increases speed and flexibility, provides a creative and engaging experience, and brings a significant improvement in the ability to gain insights from data (Form 10-K, 2016).  

The VizQL, Live Query Engine and In-Memory Data Engine work harmoniously to form Tableau’s Hybrid Data Architecture, allowing users to fully exploit flexibility and power without any programming or scripting. Flexibility to access and analyze data from a range of sources while optimizing speed and performance for each source is the core of the hybrid strategy. Customers are able to integrate live data with in-memory data on a single visualization or dashboard through these amazing technologies.  The In-Memory Data Engine could be used to import a data sample from a large database in order to ask a question from a visualization.  This visualization can then be queried against the entire database using the Live Query Engine to answer another question or find a new pattern/trend (Form 10-K, 2016).  The breadth of usability is truly magnificent and is what makes Tableau stand out from its competitors.

data sources

Tableau suite can interact over 40 data sources (Form 10-K, 2016), on premise or in the cloud (Tableau, 2017) to including those from the top five database vendors.  

data mining functions

Tableau is very short-sited in overall scope; however, it is extremely advanced within its limited scope. The software itself does not offer any ETL technologies nor does it consolidate, clean, transform, or reduce data. Tableau imports already cleaned, consolidated, transformed, and reduced data to ask a question and create a visualization from it.  This visualization can then be used for another query; however, the platform focuses more on the visualization of the data rather than the actual mining of it. It prides itself on such seamless integration with other BI tools in order to supplement fully without having to provide all of the other functions.  

data mining methodologies

Tableau does offer data mining through classification, clustering, and association rules within the drag-and-drop interface.  

coupling with database or data warehouse systems

Tableau’s hybrid architecture allows the software to run outside of the database.  See ‘architecture of the system’ above for a more in-depth explanation.  

scalability

Tableau suite can be dialed into the perfect combination of user flexibility and control.  Existing security protocols can be seamlessly integrated to provide central governance of metadata and security rules.  User and group level authentication options are available as well as pass-through data connection permissions and row-level filtering (Tableau, 2017).

visualization tools

Tableau has incredibly strong live visual analytics that allow users unrestricted data exploration capabilities.  The drag-and-drop interface provides the ability to use reference lines, forecasts, and statistical summaries to tell a visual story through trend analysis, regressions, and correlations.  This method of storytelling appeals to the psychological aspect of learning and calling for action.  Users are able to capture emotion and logic, taking the viewers on a journey through the data.  Viewers are more likely to digest and retain the dat.  Further, viewers are more likely to identify with the data, which drives change.  Static slides and boring presentations are no longer relevant or captivating (Tableau, 2017).

Tableau has strengthened its portfolio with a new, free application, Vizable, that turns data into interactive graphs that can be shared from an iPad and explored on the go without the need for a server or any cloud-based services.  The technology queries data, aggregates, and generates a visualization on the tablet within seconds.  The exciting interface uses hand gestures such as dragging, swiping, and pinching to receive instant feedback.  

graphical user interfaces. 

Insights can be embedded into workflows for employees, customers, partners, and suppliers to provide analytics anywhere needed.  Interactive dashboards can be embedded into existing business portals including applications like Salesforce, SharePoint, and Jive.  Users are able to switch between extracts and live connections to data with just one click, or schedule automatic extractions.  Team members can securely access published dashboards from any mobile device or external browser (Tableau, 2017).  

Can you propose one improvement to such a system and outline how to realize it?

It appears the industry-wide recognized weakness of the Tableau system is its inability to load data for preparation before use.  In the beginning of my research, I thought this should be improved upon and could be realistically strategized.  However, after digging deeper, this seems to be a characteristic that Tableau prides themselves on and leverages to provide flexibility and efficiency to their customers.  Tableau has developed a hybrid architecture to fully emphasize the advantages of this approach.

Tableau focuses on visualization of data, while others feel this may limit them, they are interested on developing new technologies and features for visualization rather than expanding the functionality.  They are pioneers in their field of expertise, they know what they are good at and they are sticking with it.  There is nothing wrong with this approach, it is just viewed as lacking by many who try to be ‘do-all’ technologies.

While I can appreciate Tableau’s approach, they should remain guarded as others are quickly implementing new technologies to match their level of visualization capability, they may need to consider expanding their portfolio.  

Read the company annual report (or 10K) and give an overview of the company, their competitors, their customers, their products and overall strategy. You do not need to include any financial analysis; however, you are strongly encouraged to evaluate the performance of Tableau and its overall direction financially for your own benefit.

Tableau version 9.0 is currently available in 8 languages with over 39,000 customers in over 150 countries.  This statement alone is a testament to the mission of the company, help people see and understand their data.  Distribution strategy is designed to capitalize on the ease of use, low up-front investment, and collaborate facets of the software usually evolving from a free trial to different departments and potentially to an enterprise level.  Total revenues have increased to $653.6 million from $412.6 million in 2014. Tableau is committed to constantly innovating and advancing, they spent $204.1 million in R&D for 2015.

Tableau cites its primary competitors into three categories; large technology companies (IBM, Oracle, Micorsoft), business analytics software companies (Qlik, MicroStrategy, Spotfire), and SaaS-based products or cloud-based analytics providers.  Tableau expects competition to increase and realizes many of their competitors outweigh in resources and history, further understanding this could lead to a loss in market share or price cuts.  Beyond relentless development, Tableau further recognizes their weaknesses and other uncontrollable factors that could impair or diminish success.  It is understood that there is a fine balance of development and retaining revenue for success that must be juggled going forward. Tableau currently has 16 issued U.S. patents and 35 pending patent applications (Form 10-K, 2016).  

competitive analysis of Tableau and two of their competitors

IBM Cognos

These two products are both well-known in the BI software market but they are distinct in the markets they target.  Tableau is a leader visualization tool with its drag and drop modern interface.  Users of all levels can create meaningful dashboards and reports.  Cognos obviously uses visualizations, however, providing a complete, enterprise level BI platform is their focus.  I think this is the true discrimination between the two. Cognos is excellent for multidimensional and relational data sources that can be used by experts to improve strategy and monitor performance.  However, this complexity the product is valued for also makes it difficult for all levels of users to access the insight they need.  So, while this is Tableau’s strength, Tableau is fragile in terms of integrating data from different sources in preparation for analysis. Data preparation would instead be a strength of Cognos (Scavicchio, 2016).

Spotfire

Spotfire BI solutions parallels Tableau’s goal of allowing users to quickly visualize data from various sources, however, their approach is unique. Spotfire requires a more advanced user to make predictions with data whereas Tableau allows less advanced users to drill down into data without statistical analysis.  Spotfire can be troublesome when attempting to customize visualizations and drilling down to specific data details.  Spotfire is recommended for companies looking to improve sales, marketing, and customer experience (Spotfire, 2016).  

QlikView

Like Tableau, QlikView emphasizes data visualization and analytics with easy to use GUI and the ability to integrate data from a plethora of data sources.  However, QlikView also encompasses other BI tools like QlikView Expressor (a metadata intelligence solution) and NPrinting (report generation, scheduling, and distribution).  Users say the interface is clean, easy to understand, and easily integrates with Excel. Therefore, this solution is effective at an enterprise level where different features can be utilized in different departments.  Other features may be stronger than Tableau’s parallel such as good third-party integration, advanced data filtering options, and data manipulation.  QlikView can be difficult to learn and operate because of its many facets and intricacies, but Tableau also comes with a learning curve.  Data management and mapping can require IT assistance with QlikView, visually appealing reports can be difficult to create, and hardware can be extremely costly.  As previously noted, Tableau does not offer ETL capabilities which is a huge shortcoming. QlikView is also able to integrate more data sources than Tableau (Foley, 2015).  

The conversation is not one of which is best, rather that of what the end goal is.  This ties into last week’s conversation surrounding Data Scientists versus Data Analysts.  If you are going to have data analysts and end users gathering what they need from the data available, Tableau is an excellent option.  However, if you have an enterprise with a data scientist, you likely will choose a solution that allows an expert to use statistics for predictive and prescriptive analytics.  Drilling down into the data available will no longer suffice, more information of the data will be needed to find new data sets for users to query.

References

Foley, A. (2015). QlikView Vs. Tableau: Software Showdown. ClearPoint Strategy. Retreived from https://www.clearpointstrategy.com/qlikview-vs-tableau/

Form 10-K. (2016). Tableau Software, Inc. United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved from http://d1lge852tjjqow.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001303652/893d1eb0-642d-4226-b2ff-853d712155e6.pdf

Scavicchio, J. (2016). Tableau vs. IBM Cognos: Compare Key Features and Functionality. BetterBuys. Retreived from https://www.betterbuys.com/bi/tableau-vs-ibm-cognos-differences/

Scavicchio, J. (2016). Tableau vs. Spotfire: Price and Feature Comparison. BetterBuys. Retreived from https://www.betterbuys.com/bi/tableau-vs-spotfire/

Tableau. (2017). Business Intelligence and Analytics. Retrieved from https://www.tableau.com