The Salesforce company wants to make data more accessible with a set of self-service tools built into its new-look Tableau Cloud platform. Credit: Salesforce Tableau wants to make it easier for enterprise users to tell stories using their data with a set of new capabilities being added to Tableau Cloud, the new name for its software-as-a-service (SaaS) analytics platform. The new features include simplified self-service tools like Data Stories, smart suggestions through Einstein Discovery, and collaboration tools to work on shared data models. Tableau Online is being rebranded as Tableau Cloud as of this week, with Tableau CEO Mark Nelson telling the press this week that its managed SaaS option will provide enterprise customers with improved analytical tools, advanced management capabilities, better governance, tighter security, and easier ways to share your data. “We’re all having a front row seat to this data revolution,” Tableau’s chief product officer, Francois Ajenstat, said during the same press conference. More self-service data tools A direct result of Tableau’s acquisition of Narrative Science late last year, Data Stories uses natural language commands to generate explanations of Tableau dashboards, increasing the number of people who can work with the data. To create a data story, users simply drag and drop the desired dataset and then use a set of customizations to format it in their preferred way, be it to present to colleagues or clients. Tableau is also adding a Model Builder tool, which aims to help teams to build, collaborate on, and deploy predictive AI models, a Text Clustering tool to extract keywords from large text fields, and Bias Detection for existing models. Having been acquired by Salesforce in 2019, Tableau is also deepening ties with its parent company’s AI capabilities, which are branded as Einstein. Built in to Tableau Cloud, Einstein Discovery provides predictions and recommendations for users, without having to employ data scientists to write bespoke predictive models. “By harnessing these insights, even beginners can see beyond the what of their data and understand the why. You can see what could happen in the future, and what you should do about it,” Nelson said. Advanced governance Aside from the more eye-catching analytics capabilities, Tableau is also adding some new data governance and management features to Tableau Cloud. Advanced Management allows enterprise customers to manage their own encryption keys, access an activity log that tracks how Tableau is being used across the whole organization, and admin insights into dataset usage, license adoption and visualization load times for up to a year. Tableau Cloud is available to customers today, with Data Stories and Model Builder set to be made available later in the year. Related content news US lawmakers advance bill to close loopholes in AI export controls The law seeks to fill a gap in the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) mandate regarding AI systems, where it lacks clear legal authority. By Prasanth Aby Thomas May 23, 2024 4 mins Regulation Artificial Intelligence feature 10 most powerful ERP vendors today The Big 3 continue to differentiate themselves with broad ERP offerings, but the race to capitalize on AI enhancements and cater to industry-specific needs is having broad market impact. By Neal Weinberg May 23, 2024 13 mins Technology Industry ERP Systems feature From IT leader to tech spinoff CEO: How to win a CIO-plus role Associa CIO Andrew Brock expanded his C-suite mandate by parlaying his IT purview to helm proptech spinoff HOAM Ventures. Here’s his advice on doing the same. By Michael Bertha May 23, 2024 6 mins CIO Business IT Alignment IT Leadership case study Getinge’s digital transformation shows scaling and adapting in equal measure As Swedish medical technology company Getinge increasingly digitizes its products and adjusts to evolving global regulations, more demands are put on the company’s internal data environment. Here, CIO Pelle Nilsson explains how he and his team By Karin Lindström May 23, 2024 6 mins CIO Regulation Healthcare Industry PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe