New release brings advanced mapping capabilities and nearly 50 enhancements make data analytics easier and more scalable for the enterprise
Tableau Software has announced the general availability of Tableau 10.2. The new release brings advanced mapping capabilities that make complex geospatial analysis easy, simplifies data prep with new ways to combine and clean data, and gives enterprises more tools to deliver self-service analytics at scale.
“The need to see and understand data has never been greater,” said Andrew Beers, Chief Development Officer at Tableau Software. “Enhancements in Tableau 10.2 make advanced analytics easier, faster and more scalable. We’ve added new ways to leverage spatial data, prep data and manage Tableau deployments in the enterprise. Visualizations are easier for people with disabilities to perceive and explore, making data accessible to everyone to increase business value and insights.”
Advanced Mapping Capabilities
Many organizations want to leverage data locked in geospatial files that is typically visualized through specialized mapping programs. Building on Tableau’s strong mapping capabilities, the new Spatial File Connector allows customers to leverage their spatial data directly in Tableau for easy geospatial analysis. Tableau now connects to ESRI Shapefiles, KML, GeoJSON and MapInfo file types.
“The Spatial File Connector will open up a new analytics window for us,” said Freddy Colina, Manager of Planning and Analytics at Lasik MD, the leading provider of laser vision correction in Canada. “In the past, it was difficult to map using a Custom Shapefile. Now we will be able to connect directly to a customer clustering study we commissioned and some census data from Stats Canada with a few clicks and begin analyzing immediately.”
Simplified Data Prep for Everyone
Combining and cleaning data for analysis can be a complex and time-consuming task. Tableau 10.2 accelerates the process through powerful yet approachable features, so people across the enterprise can get to their analysis faster. Tableau 10.2 now lets people union tables from a database, leveraging database structure and schemas more efficiently. Handling complex dates has never been easier. Tableau 10.2 can automatically recognize dates (there are more than 250 ways to represent a date) and make dates uniform with just one click, no scripting or complex calculations required. Transforming data from a string to a date type is easy with Automatic DateParse – just change the data type and Tableau will do all the heavy lifting.
Conformance with Accessibility Guidelines
Tableau visualizations can now be made conformant to the current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines drafted by the Web Accessibility Initiative, commonly referenced as WCAG 2.0 AA. People who work in an environment subject to US Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 can author and publish Tableau content with features that make it easier for people with disabilities to perceive and explore. Common visualization elements now have keyboard support and function with assistive technologies such as screen reading software. These new capabilities ensure that a customer’s visualizations reach the largest possible audience.
Increased Flexibility for the IT Governed Enterprise
Enterprises are making it easier for employees to ask deeper questions of their data using a secure, governed platform. Tableau 10.2 provides fine-grained controls over guest access.
Tableau 10.2 also improves the connectivity with SAP BW with Single Sign-on support. Tableau can now support the security rules defined in SAP BW and ensure that users can only see the data that they are authorized to see.
60 Instant Data Connectors
Tableau is continuously making it easier to access data with new direct connectors to the most important web applications being used to run businesses today. In late 2016, Tableau added connectors to Anaplan for business planning data and Eloqua for marketing automation and campaign data. In Tableau 10.2 new connectors include Apache Drill and Microsoft SharePoint lists.
The launch of Tableau 10.2 follows the November launch of Tableau 10.1. That release brought support for JSON, a direct connector to Marketo, web authoring improvements, more mapping capabilities and new APIs.
