Want a job using Tableau? Here’s what you need to know about Tableau Server & More

Over the course of several stories, I’ve been unpacking a massive mind map I originally created to guide new consultants on what skills/awareness they need to be successful as a Data Visualization & Analytics Consultant specializing in Tableau (and Alteryx). In this story, I’ll be drilling down into more Technical Skills — in particular Tableau Server and a section I call Extensibility. (If you missed the original story, you can find it here)

So what exactly is Tableau Server? Tableau Server is a platform in the Tableau Software suite that allows users to do a whole host of things, mainly it is a content management platform — a place to store, access, and organize visualization content (Tableau workbooks & data sources). But, there’s so much more to it than that. Now if you’re stopping me and saying, but there’s also Tableau Cloud (formerly Tableau Online), you’re not wrong. But — they’re the same thing. Aside from deeper features and customizations, at their core it’s the same software, with the distinction being how much control you have because it’s either on hardware you/your company manages OR it’s on hardware managed by Tableau (that’s Tableau Cloud).

When I think about the profession and what you need to know, I think it’s best to break down the items I’ve mentioned in the mind map, Content Management, User Monitoring, Permissions, Security, and Add-Ons into different sections. And while it’s not exactly on the mind map, I think there’s a…