2017 has practically flown by! We know the year is drawing to a close, because the annual Tableau Conference is upon us and al fresco dining is now cold rather than cool. This year I’ll attend my first Tableau Conference in the U.S. to represent InterWorks, one of the first Tableau partners, no less. To know what to expect at the conference, you can go here, here and here.
My personal story with InterWorks is actually closely linked with a Tableau Conference. I met someone from the InterWorks team back in 2015, shortly after I’d begun to experiment with Tableau. I worked closely with InterWorks for two years until officially joining the team in March of this year.
My Session Agenda
Whenever I attend a Tableau Conference, I try and make the most of the week. So, when I land in Vegas, I’ll be planning to learn as much as possible to take back to London with me. The best way to get value from your time at the conference is to attend some of the numerous sessions available. Below are a few of the sessions I’m planning to attend:
Data Billionaires: Maximizing Returns from Data Investments
Sure, Tableau Zen Master and InterWorks colleague Robert Rouse is the presenter and I already get to chat with him often. I’m possibly biased, but I have always known Robert to bring a fresh perspective to things. I’m looking forward to seeing what he has in store. His talk will focus on the limits of visual analytics and how to support ad hoc analysis with faster database technologies.
Above: Robert Rouse at the 2016 Tableau Conference.
Data Play-Doh: How to Shape Data for Success (and Use Poorly Shaped Data When You Have to)
Tableau Zen Master Joshua Milligan will be giving this talk. He’s also one of the competitors in Wednesday’s Iron Viz contest. Bridget Cogley, the other speaker, is a friend and someone I respect highly. Her way of questioning and working through a problem is equal parts orthodox and mesmerising. So, I always make sure to attend her sessions.
CU Denver: From Pilot to Platform - How a Proof-of-Concept Catalyzed a University-Wide BI Initiative
I love a “rags to riches” story or, in Tableau terms, a “POC to Production” story. Colorado University at Denver will be talking about how their initial POC turned into a fully-fledged deployment, with InterWorks’ help. The time and place of this session is not yet available, but I've provided the link to the session schedule below.
Above: The InterWorks booth at the 2016 Tableau Conference.
DATA ALERT (It Caught Your Attention, Didn’t It?)
Data alerts in Tableau? Yes please! I’m looking forward to seeing this new functionality being demoed by Gaetan Bailby and Candy Wong.
UBS: Our Tableau Centre of Excellence: Managing an Enterprise Deployment of Tableau
This session’s speaker, Paul Banoub, co-hosts the London TUG and he’s also a Zen Master. I’ve heard Paul talk about UBS’s deployment a few times, but I always feel like I learn something new. That’s why I’ll go again.
Ice, Ice, Baby: Cubes, Tableau and OLAP Data
You may be wondering: “Why cubes?” First, I look forward to re-connecting with Curt Budd. He was the first pre-sales Tableau consultant I met years ago. Second, as a consultant, it’s important to be aware of the various challenges faced by clients. Cubes are certainly no exception.
LOD Expressions vs. Real World
There’s never too much LOD knowledge, and Jedi sessions are always fun.
Above: At the 2017 Tableau Conference on Tour in London.
Come and Connect
Aside from these sessions, I look forward to watching the Iron Viz contest from the comfort of my chair. As a past competitor and winner of London’s Iron Viz, I know just how tough it will be for the contestants. Devs on Stage is always great and attending Data Night Out is simply a must.
As for work, I’ll be connecting with our customers and spending time meeting new people at the InterWorks booth. My colleague Mat Hughes has a session on Tableau Server and I’ve been invited to take part as a member of the panel. Come and ask us any Server questions you may have. You can count on me to talk about using Tableau Server as a self-service platform, different use cases and embedded analytics.
If you’re like me, you probably can’t wait for the conference to start. While you wait, you can install the Android or iPhone app to start planning your days at the biggest gathering of data geeks in the world.
See you there.