Although visual interfaces and databases are two of the success
stories of the computer revolution, their synergy to date has been
modest, probably because visual interfaces have focused on human
capabilities while databases have focused on efficient query
processing. How did Tableau become the breakthrough leader in
visual analysis for databases? Our products are built on a database
visualization language called VizQL™ (Visual Query Langu...
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Tableau Software began as an extensive R&D project inside Stanford
University’s prestigious Department of Computer Science. Sponsored by
the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy, a team of Stanford Ph.D.
researchers solved one of the most difficult problems in computer
science: enabling people to see and understand the information in databases.
Under the leadership of Dr. Pat Hanrahan and Dr. Chris Stolte, our
company has produced a fundamentally new way of interacting with the
same relational and OLAP databases that are the backbone of the global
database and business intelligence markets.
Tableau Software is the leading provider of visual analysis and
reporting solutions. Our products help people see and understand the
information in databases by enabling them to build drag & drop
analyses of their business data. The results are visual, insightful,
and unlike anything you've seen. They help people save time and make
better decisions. The success of products in the BI industry depends
critically on people's ability to easily extract information from
complex databases of varying formats. To that end, Tableau products set
the new standard for visual analysis. They enable people of any
technical skill to analyze databases of any query language by simply
building drag & drop visualizations of what they want to see.
Although visual interfaces and databases are two of the success
stories of the computer revolution, their synergy to date has been
modest, probably because visual interfaces have focused on human
capabilities while databases have focused on efficient query
processing.
How did Tableau become the breakthrough leader in
visual analysis for databases? Our products are built on a database
visualization language called VizQL™ (Visual Query Language). It
represents a fundamentally new architecture for database interaction.
What
is VizQL™? It's like SQL. The development of SQL led to a revolution in
database technology. Suddenly, complex queries were easily described as
readable text. Programmers were freed from writing custom procedural
programs in order to query corporate databases and instead could
compose simple statements.
VizQL™ marks a similar step forward.
What SQL did for database interactions in text form, VizQL™ does for
database interactions in visual form. Sophisticated visualizations are
described by declarative VizQL™ statements. The standard approach when
developing analysis systems is to provide a set of pre-canned objects —
bar chart objects, scatter-plot objects, etc. This legacy approach is
similar to selling a database with six “pre-approved” queries rather
than with a complete query language like SQL. Tableau's VizQL™ approach
provides a “Lego set” for database visualization. It marks a revolution
for reporting and analysis for business users.
The Tableau Software team includes renowned thought leaders from three
different industries: Databases, Graphics, and Business Intelligence.
Our culture is based on breakthrough innovation and customer success.
Tableau's family of customers includes leading companies from every
industry, from F500 multi-nationals and the U.S. government, to small
consultancies. Our products are in use today by business intelligence
professionals, marketers, market researchers, analysts, financial
planners, strategic planners, sales departments, supply-chain
specialists, national security specialists, engineers, scientists,
social scientists and executives around the world.
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