Tableau Prep + Tableau Desktop and Power Query + Power BI are two popular combinations of data preparation and data visualization tools. These combinations are used to handle data from its raw form to insightful visualizations. Here's a brief overview of the structure and how they work together:
Tableau Prep + Tableau Desktop:
- Tableau Prep: Tableau Prep is Tableau's data preparation tool. It's used to clean, shape, and transform data from various sources before loading it into Tableau Desktop. Tableau Prep allows you to connect to multiple data sources, perform data cleaning operations, join, pivot, aggregate, and create calculated fields, making your data ready for analysis.
- Tableau Desktop: Tableau Desktop is the data visualization and analytics tool. It allows you to create interactive and insightful data visualizations, dashboards, and reports. You can connect Tableau Desktop to the cleaned data from Tableau Prep, create data visualizations, and share them with others.
- Workflow: The typical workflow starts with data preparation in Tableau Prep, followed by the visualization and analysis in Tableau Desktop. The two tools are seamlessly integrated, allowing you to publish the results to Tableau Server or Tableau Online for sharing with others.
Power Query + Power BI:
- Power Query: Power Query is a data transformation and connection tool that comes with Microsoft Excel and Power BI. It allows you to connect to various data sources, transform and shape the data, and load it into Power BI for analysis.
- Power BI: Power BI is Microsoft's data visualization and business intelligence tool. It enables users to create interactive reports, dashboards, and data visualizations. Power Query is integrated into Power BI, making it easy to load and transform data directly within the Power BI environment.
- Workflow: In this combination, you start by using Power Query to connect to data sources, perform data transformations, and load the data into Power BI. Once the data is in Power BI, you can create rich visualizations, share reports, and collaborate with others using Power BI Service.
Both combinations offer powerful data preparation and visualization capabilities, and the choice between them may depend on your organization's preferences, existing technology stack, and specific needs. Tableau's combination provides a highly interactive and user-friendly visualization experience, while Power Query and Power BI offer a seamless experience for organizations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem. The key is to assess your specific requirements and choose the combination that best aligns with your data analysis and visualization goals.