2009 Tableau Customer Conference Welcome Reception Visualizes Passion

The welcome reception was buzzing – I think most of the 300 attendees were there. Over gourmet appetizers like roasted asparagus, mushrooms, and peppers, sweet Walla Walla onion soup, golden piroshky-like buns, and an assortment of delicious cheeses there were passionate conversations taking place in small groups around the room.

I was particularly impressed with one user’s Tableau story. She works for an online media research company and used to spend hours building complex Excel reports with graphs and charts. One day she did an Internet search to find a better way. She came across a couple different business intelligence software options, including Tableau. Unfortunately, her first choice was too complicated. She said you needed a fair amount of formula knowledge and coding. Then she tried Tableau and was hooked. She is so excited about doing more visual analysis and less backend data work that she is charting and graphic any data that gets in her way!

Wandering over to the other side of the crowded room, I got to talk to the Teradata team who announced a partnership with Tableau less than a year ago. They see Tableau as an excellent fit for current Teradata users, allowing them to quickly visualize and analyze any kind of data. Apparently, the customers agree as the list of Tableau/Teradata users is growing.

Though I could have easily stayed longer and listened in on great conversations, my feet said no. Had to call it a night but I’ll be back first thing in the morning. Can’t wait to see what the day brings.

*This post is from Terri Rylander who graciously agreed to help even those who couldn’t attend feel more like they’re here.