Tableau celebrated its 13th annual Tableau Conference this week, with a twist. In a new online-only format, Tableau Conference-ish drew more than 150,000 data rockstars to network, collaborate and learn from inspirational thought leaders.
Key Announcements
- Tableau Hosts Largest-Ever Gathering of Data Enthusiasts, Showcases New Product Innovations at Tableau Conference-ish
- Tableau and Einstein Analytics Come Together to Drive Analytics Ubiquity
- PolicyLink and National Equity Atlas Team Up with Tableau Foundation to Make Data a Cornerstone of Racial Justice Efforts Across the United States
To relive TC-ish and dive deep on product news, please visit the Tableau blog.
Reflecting on the Year of Data
Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky kicked off Tuesday’s keynote welcoming Tableau’s global community and reflecting on data’s power to spark change and provide direction in a year of unprecedented challenges.
“2020 has proven we are all truly data people. As we experience a year of multiple crises, there is no doubt all organizations today need to be digital organizations,” Selipsky said.
Kelly Jin, Chief Analytics Officer for New York City echoed that sentiment. She joined Selipsky to share the critical role data plays in the city’s continued fight against COVID-19. When coronavirus hit the US, New York City was in the “eye of the storm.” Kelly’s team turned to data to assess ICU bed capacity, relaying this information to ambulances and emergency vehicles across the city. Kelly emphasized the importance of knowing your data assets before a crisis occurs—during “blue sky” times—so, when crisis strikes, you can quickly understand what’s happening and respond with confidence.
Unfortunately, New York City hasn’t been alone in this battle. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and people across the world came to rely on data to make decisions about going to work and school, visiting family or friends, the safety of their neighborhoods, even where to shop and eat.
Tableau—with the help of our amazing #DataFam—created the COVID-19 Data Hub to answer that need. Visualizations like those on Tableau’s COVID-19 Data Hub helped everyone understand the impact of the pandemic by providing access to the information people needed to make the best choices for them, their families, and their communities.
Making Data a Cornerstone of Racial Justice Efforts
To empower changemakers with data and resources for advocacy, Selipsky announced Tableau will partner with PolicyLink, a national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity, on several initiatives. The $1.4 million partnership extends Tableau software, services, and funding to support advocates and community organizations driving action at every level, local to national.
Dr. Michael McAfee, PolicyLink President and CEO, said: “In this moment of racial awakening, data is critical to our understanding of how to move forward and how to craft solutions that really work.”
PolicyLink will also play a key role in developing a Tableau Equity Data Hub, hosted by the Tableau Foundation, that will bring together expert resources on effective and ethical use of data for achieving equitable education, advancing justice, building economic power, and building political power in communities where it is long past time for change.
Bringing together Tableau and Einstein Analytics
During the product roadmap keynote, Tableau Chief Product Officer Francois Ajenstat shared plans to bring together Tableau and Salesforce’s Einstein Analytics. By combining the best of Tableau and Einstein Analytics, customers will have access to the market’s broadest and deepest analytics platform. In addition, Einstein Analytics will be renamed to Tableau CRM, and continue providing the best analytics and AI experience in the Salesforce CRM workflow.
Tableau and Einstein Analytics will come together through a set of integrations to provide a more seamless experience for joint customers. At TC-ish, Tableau showcased the first integration, Einstein Discovery in Tableau.
Einstein Discovery helps companies democratize data science across their organization with AI-powered analytics that enable business users to automatically discover relevant patterns based on their data – without building sophisticated data models or teams of data scientists. Planned for the first part of 2021, Einstein Discovery in Tableau enables real-time predictive modeling and recommendations across the Tableau platform.
Tableau will retain and build upon the Einstein Analytics and Tableau capabilities customers depend on, while continuing to innovate and unify going forward. Einstein Discovery in Tableau is just the first in a series of planned integrations.
The Largest-Ever Gathering of Data Fanatics
Tableau’s #DataFam was on full display as 150,000+ data enthusiasts came together to connect with other data people, share best practices, and learn about next-generation analytics.
Throughout TC-ish, data leaders at PepsiCo, Credit Suisse, Lockheed Martin, Indeed.com, American Airlines, NASA and other leading organizations shared how data helps them navigate digital transformation and drive impact. Fan-favorite sessions also made their virtual debut – “Devs at Desks” introduced Tableau product experts who offered a peek at the latest-and-greatest features from their desks.
In Iron Viz, the world’s largest virtual data visualization competition, data superstars battled it out to see who could transform raw climate data into engaging and insightful Tableau analysis in just 20 minutes.
And of course, no Tableau Conference would be complete without all-star guest speakers. Musician and philanthropist John Legend joined Ebony Beckwith, Chief Philanthropy Officer at Salesforce, for a fireside chat about philanthropy, education, and the importance of data in understanding societal issues and moving forward as a community.
Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com also spoke about the science of data analysis and using that analysis to make predictions, and Netflix Vice President of Inclusion Strategy for Product (and former NFL player) Wade Davis joined us to discuss data’s impact on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Check out the TC-ish opening and product keynotes here or dive into other session content by registering on the Tableau Conference website.
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