Tableau Conference 2020 Recap

We typically have very few circled dates on our calendars. There are holidays and long weekends; maybe some birthdays and anniversaries that we have to remember. Well, at CSpring, one celebration stands out amongst the rest: the annual Tableau Conference. If there was such a thing as the Super Bowl of data, this would be it. Year after year, thousands of data scientists ranging from beginners to experts come together to celebrate the power of data and Tableau.

While I am sure everyone would have loved to be in Las Vegas this year, Tableau Conference turned into a Conference(ish). This year’s conference went virtual, but the industry was still buzzing with excitement from the comfort of their own homes. Think of it as another sporting event with no fans in the stadium but thousands still participating.

The conference kicked off with CEO, Adam Selipsky, sharing his personal story and journey into the world of data. He recalled a time “when instinct failed [him], [he] tuned to [his] own secret weapon… data.” Adam provided updates on the growth of Tableau, including their recent acquisition and partnership with Salesforce. Having Salesforce right in CSpring’s backyard in the heart of downtown Indianapolis has presented itself to be another great opportunity to get the word out locally and regionally about the power of Tableau.

Adam Selipsky was joined throughout the conference by some incredible performances and talks by greats such as John Legend and Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. However, the highlight of the conference for us was the data challenge, Iron Viz. For this challenge, three qualifying “Zen Masters” of Tableau were all given the same data source and had one hour to create the best visualization that tells a unique story. The atmosphere was absolutely electric, which makes one wonder how special this event would be in person. Nevertheless, the three data scientists certainly put on a show. This year’s Iron Viz data source represented carbon emissions and other environmental impacts per country.  The beauty of the competition was not only watching in amazement at the efficiency and tricks used by the scientists, but also the creativity and diversity that went into telling a unique story.

Biggest Takeaways:

1. Simplicity is king when it comes to a visualization
2. Allow the end user to intuitively make connections and draw conclusions from the story that the data and visualization tell

Despite being a virtual conference, Tableau Conference(ish) 2020 was a great way to tap into a community of data-passionate scientists. Furthermore, the conference highlighted the significance of having Tableau accessible on every platform. It was announced that Tableau will be partnering with Slack to access data whenever necessary. Finally, there was an emphasis on the power of Tableau Public which allows users to explore visualizations and data sets in a virtual gallery. The Tableau Public virtual gallery houses visualizations that can be submitted by any data science, making the gallery a diverse set of inspiration for anyone looking to see what the rest of the data community is doing.

Right now, all of the guest speakers and videos are available on the Tableau Conference website. From presentations by Chick-Fil-A to individual startups, these videos are great resources that show the versatility of harnessing data to drive real business decisions. CSpring’s data scientists are very excited to start implementing some new tips and tricks into our own practice. For more information on how CSpring can help you leverage the power of your data, set up a discovery call here today.