We've recently written two new courses, Tableau for Data-driven Decision Makers and Power Bi for Data-driven Decision Makers. These classes are for professionals in any job role that uses Tableau or Power BI to make decisions, or to report data to stakeholders, executives, or customers.
We wrote two versions of the class, one focused on Tableau and the other on Power BI, so one of the common questions we get from prospective students is; Which course should I take? In this article, we’ll help you try to find the answer to the question and make the choice that’s best for you.
Is Tableau or Power BI Preferred in Your Organization?
The first question to ask is, does your organization use Tableau or Power BI already? If they do, you should get details about how it's used and obtain a license so that you can use it. That's going to be the path of least resistance to getting data analysis and visualization software, especially if the software is deployed at the organizational level with infrastructure for sharing data and visualizations security.
Many organizations have not made an organizational choice for analytics tools, and different teams may have different software. You should poll the teams you work with to see which app they prefer, as that could guide your decision.
Is Your Organization Actively Using a BI or AI-driven Analytics Platform?
Beyond having licenses, does your organization have a preferred analytics platform or stack? An analytics stack is a collection of applications, online services, and other integration components designed to collect, process, and facilitate the analysis of data in order to extract value in decision-making. Power BI is part of the Microsoft Analytics stack, which ranks in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for analytics platforms. Tableau is part of the Salesforce CRM analytics. While both stacks can integrate with the other's software, if your organization has chosen one, that may impact the app you choose. Due to the data connect capabilities built into both Tableau and Power BI. However, you can still choose either app for your data analysis and visualization tool.
If you want to know when to use an app like Tableau or Power BI versus when to use Excel, or are curious about when dive deeper and use something like Python for data science work, check out our article: Choose the Right Tool for Your Data Analysis and Visualization Task.
Tableau vs. Power BI
If it's down to choosing one or the other, then you should do a little research because there are differences. We prefer Tableau, but you should check out the following links:
Power BI vs Tableau: Full Comparison (Note there is an inaccuracy in their table. It a says Tableau doesn't offer a query editor. It doesn't offer a query editor like you see in Excel or Power BI as part of the Tableau app, but it does as part of Tableau Prep and Flow, the robust data connection and cleaning tool that comes with Tableau.)
In most head-to-head comparisons, Power BI is considered easier to use, but Tableau wins in speed, data handling, and visualization capabilities.
Tableau is the more expensive option, so if you're worried about justifying the cost, see these articles:
Tableau does have a bit larger learning curve. That's why we created our Tableau for Data-driven Decision Makers class. Power BI isn't exactly intuitive right out of the gate, either. That's why we created Power BI for Data-driven Decision Makers. After this one-day class, you'll be over that learning curve, proficient with your software, and have practice using its capabilities.
Conclusion
You can see all of our content about these courses here. If you or your team use Tableau or Power BI and have the same types of questions, this course is for you. See the full Tableau class description here and the full Power BI class description here. See our class schedule or reach out for a free 15-minute training consultation.
