Tableau Vs Power BI

Series Overview

I am someone that can extract significant value from data. In that role, I call myself a data exploiter. At the same time, I have to continue to explore new and emerging technologies to make sure that I am always performing at my best. For this reason, I continue to test Tableau vs Power BI (PBI) to see if the new kid in town is something I should be using.

Since I have been a student and user of Tableau for over 9 years and a heavy-duty Microsoft user for over 30 years, I have an excellent perspective on how Microsoft is trying to close the gap on Tableau by developing new capabilities for Power BI. The next few paragraphs summarize my thoughts as I watch this race unfold.

The Power BI development team is frantically adding features to PBI that simply mimic what Tableau can already do. I see very little innovation in a product that is fundamentally boring to use.

PBI lacks versatility, stifles creativity, and does not have the allure that captivates Tableau users. No matter how hard Microsoft tries, I believe that PBI will not catch Tableau because the core principles from which Tableau emerged are simply better than the extended Excel framework from which PBI was born. I have never once felt a spark of excitement while using PBI but I have been set on fire hundreds of times when using Tableau because it allows me to express my creativity so easily.

Even with those statements being made, I still continue to watch, test, and compare these products in hopes that Microsoft can create something spectacular. I am also watching and learning from my co-workers as they are trying to make PBI-powered dashboards operate in a big enterprise setting. I hope one day to be able to report on those activities.

The Articles

Impressions From My First 5 Minutes Of Using #PowerBI - Power BI. It even sounds bad to the bone. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to write about Power BI as I learn to use it. I have an open mind, 30 years of Excel experience, and a diverse analytics background. Let the games begin.
Impressions From My First Day Of Using #PowerBI - Life is a funny thing. One day you are up, the next day you are down. The only question remaining is this: Will Power BI be able to recover from today's disaster enough to change my opinion of its value?
How Microsoft Could Put Real Power Into Power BI - I have a dream that could be brought to fruition by Microsoft. If you want to know what it is, read the article.
Impressions From Our First Month Of Using #PowerBI - After a bit of cooperation between friends, I decided to continue the Power BI analysis. We want to document how Power BI stacks-up against the Alteryx + Tableau combination that is so successful at producing great data comprehension and visualizations. This series should be interesting over the next few months as we try to document what it is like to learn Power BI when you are a Power Alteryx and Tableau users.
Test 1 of Tableau Vs Power BI: Topographic Mapping - This is test #1 of Tableau vs Power BI using real-world data. The goal in this test was to see how each package could visualize high-resolution topographic data.
Test 2 of Tableau Vs Power BI: Visualizing Surface Water Flow - This is test #2 of Tableau vs Power BI using real-world data. The goal in this test was to see how each package could visualize flowing water as it moves across the 3D topographic surface of the Livingstone District.
Test 3 of Tableau Vs Power BI: Charting Basic Time Series Data - In part 3 of this series, I compare the ability of Power BI and Tableau to produce dual-axis time series charts. I never know what is going to happen when I do these tests. I create them and then let the chips fall as they may.
Test 4 of Tableau Vs Power BI: Speed - This is test 4 of a series that compares Tableau to Power BI. The purpose of this test is to see which program could read a file fastest and allow the generation of a simple time series graphic.
Test 5 of Tableau Vs Power BI: Pure Computational Speed - This is test 5 of a series that compares Tableau to Power BI. The purpose of this test is to see which program has a faster computational engine.
Tableau vs Power BI – Summary to Date - This is a summary article that contains links to the Tableau vs Power BI series I have been working on. I also include some impressions about using the software tools in real-world situations.
Test 6 of Tableau Vs Power BI: The Shapefile Showdown - This is test 6 of a series that compares Tableau to Power BI. The purpose of this test is to compare and contrast each program's ability to read and work with shapefiles.