Why Use Excel?
As marketer Kevin Hector has pointed out, “The global economy is built on two things: the internal combustion engine and Microsoft Excel. Never forget this.” (Wraysol.com). Excel is now a household name when it comes to spreadsheets, not only for businesses, but for individual applications as well. Excel enables users to create electronic data tables, in columns and rows, with information arranged in cells that can be directly manipulated. With the added option of templates and other formulas, it is extremely useful in the creation of all manner of charts and graphs. Managing data on Excel does not require an extensive learning curve, is considered to be intuitive by most users, and allows for information to be edited in a straightforward manner.
Another reason Excel ranks high in data management is that it can easily filter data, and can work well in the preparation of repetitive reports. Furthermore, due to its popularity and overall accessibility, Excel provides quick and easy transfer of data from other software, including mobile platforms. Since its inception, Excel has been deemed a trusted tool in spreadsheet analysis.
Why Use Tableau?
While Excel is a spreadsheet tool, Tableau is a data visualization one, allowing for a deeper level of insight to be gleaned from raw data, which enables users to identify and observe trends, repeating patterns, and relationships among different data points. Tableau can be used in companies of every size, and works efficiently with unstructured data, in instances where it would not be feasible to use automatic storage in the form of columns and rows. It is also possible to use Tableau to connect with multiple sources in real time. Although Excel might be considered a good choice when working with smaller size data, Tableau is able to handle processing related to large data with relative ease.
Although it can perform more complex levels of data processing, Tableau does not require any prior coding or technical skills. Speaking about Tableau, spreadsheet expert Kasper Langmann has observed, “Importing data through third-party tools can be done via the drag-and-drop function. Lay users, even those who had a hard time using Excel, will find the ease of use with the carefully designed interface.” (Spreadsheeto.com). Tableau is a popular, fast-growing visualization tool, capable of transforming numerical information into easily interpreted pictures, allowing users to immediately comprehend crucial correlations.
When to Choose Tableau Over Excel
Tableau is the data processing tool of choice for those in the position of making decisions having to do with running companies, allowing them access to multiple levels of information in one place. It is especially effective in its ability to display data in an easily readable format, while at the same time providing an interactive dashboard. It is also a good choice when blending functions are called for, enabling browsing through countless combinations of collected data. In Excel, users need to know precisely what they are searching for; Tableau allows for more open-ended searches, which often result in the discovery of complex correlations and relationships concerning the data being analyzed.
Tableau has become the highest-rated data tool of its kind on the market today, boasting an impressive customer base. This is in large part due to its unrivaled ability to provide powerful data visualization, while handling relatively large amounts of information at one time. In the words of analyst Bridget Winds Cogley, “Tableau is like American Sign Language for data analysis and visualization. It was designed for humans looking to understand information. It takes its queries and puts them into a visual form, which then translates back to either Tableau’s in-memory storage or the original source. This is game-changing for those of us who have spent years saying, ‘If I could just…’ Guess what? Now you can.” (Tableau.com)
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