Last week we had the pleasure of hosting our first in-person Dublin Tableau User Group in a while and welcoming 25 existing and new members to Salesforce Tower.
After a couple of years of virtual TUGs, it was lovely for everybody to meet in person, catch up and share experiences and get to see what’s coming down the road for Tableau and Tableau Pulse.
Tableau Conference Recap and Highlights
First up was Rob Carroll, The Information Lab Ireland’s Technical Solutions Manager and a Certified Tableau professional with 10 years’ experience in data visualisation, who took the audience through some key highlights and announcements from Tableau Conference including Tableau Pulse, Einstein Copilot, Viz Extensions, Local File Saving, Shared Dimensions and Relating Published Data Sources, Spatial Parameters and the Databricks and Microsoft partnership.
Demos - Tableau Pulse and Einstein Copilot
Rob then jumped into a demonstration of Tableau Pulse, showing some of the best features and capabilities of this new tool, which is now available on Tableau Cloud. Pulse offers enhanced data monitoring and insights, making it easier for users to stay on top of their key metrics and business performance.
The demo highlighted:
Personalised Insights: Tableau Pulse uses AI to understand the user's interactions with data, learning their preferences and highlighting insights that are most relevant to them.
Tableau Pulse aims to make data monitoring more efficient and user-friendly by integrating advanced analytics and automation, reducing the time users spend on routine tasks and increasing the time they can devote to strategic analysis.
Rob then dived into a sneak peek demonstration of Einstein Copilot, which is only available in BETA for now, and showed us how this tool can:
Generate and modify visualisations from natural language questions and commands
Generate calculations from natural language while staying in the flow of analysis
While Copilot can’t do everything yet, Rob suggested whoever wants to see the tool in action can sign up for the pre-release program here.
Viz Extensions
Viz Extensions is a powerful new feature in Tableau that allows users to enhance the functionality of their dashboards with descriptive and engaging visualisations and interactive capabilities. These extensions are developed using web technologies like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, and they enable users to create unique, tailored visual experiences that go beyond the standard charting capabilities offered by Tableau.
Data Culture in a 240-Year-Old Bank
Next up was Carl Kane, Head of Data Culture & Capability in Bank of Ireland Group. Carl is part of the Leadership Team who were tasked with Implementing Data Management and Governance in Bank of Ireland.
In his talk, Carl shared Bank of Ireland’s data strategy and the work they are doing to become Ireland’s leading Digital Relationship Bank.
He kicked off his presentation by talking about how they started the data culture movement in the group and the fact that its origins stemmed from a regulatory requirement around BCBS239.
Carl discussed the work they did and how they have evolved into the data space, going from a reactive to a strategic organisation that views data as a key enabler for strategy execution, and how they use Tableau to analyse and visualise data.
Finally, Carl shared the details of the ‘Data Practitioner Pathway 2024’, a company-wide ‘future’ data skills development strategy carefully laid out to enable employees to become the future data masterminds in the bank. The pathway includes programs such as:
BOI’s Data Fluency & Literacy course
UCD Certified Data Analyst course and
Google Data Specialist Programme
Carl’s presentation sparked a lot of discussion and questions from the user group’s members.
Closing Remarks and Future Plans
After a very interactive Q&A session, the event concluded with closing remarks from Dave Hackett, who thanked everyone for their participation and enthusiasm. He also shared plans for future meetings, including more in-person events, webinars, and special guest speakers.
Reflections and Feedback
The feedback from attendees was hugely positive. Many expressed their joy at reconnecting in person and emphasised the value of face-to-face interactions, which virtual meetings often lack. The content shown, panel of speakers and the interactive nature of the session were particularly well-received.
Conclusion
The Tableau User Group is more than just a meeting place; it's a vibrant community dedicated to helping each other grow in the field of data visualisation. Whether you're looking to enhance your Tableau skills, network with data analytics professionals, or simply learn more about data visualisation, our group offers valuable resources and opportunities. If you are interested in joining the Dublin Tableau User Group, you can do so here.
If you are interested in speaking or hosting a user group please let us know by filling in the relevant form.
You can access the presentations and additional resources from this event HERE.
If you have any questions about Tableau, Business Intelligence or data in general, please feel free to contact us at any time.
We are looking forward to welcoming the Irish Tableau enthusiasts community again in September and wish the group a great summer season in the meantime!
Stay tuned for updates on our next meetup and upcoming events.
Happy visualising!