You have no doubt seen a Tableau chart before. They tend to be sleek, interactive, and intuitive. And they have already appeared in the Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, and CBS Sports among other places.

The software is loved by many and quickly becoming the industry standard for those who DON’T necessarily consider themselves to be analysts.And it just became much easier for the non-analyst set to create excellent interactive charts with the recent release of Tableau Public, a new tool that puts the power of Tableau into the hands of everyone. This free version of Tableau was released earlier this year to much fanfare. We have sliced and diced all its details below, so please have a read.As you might already know, this is our final review of the big three of free, online social visualization software approaches: Swivel, IBM Many Eyes, and now Tableau Public.

We will wrap up with final thoughts next week with a benchmark that would make Tufte proud. Be sure to check back for an interesting look at all three tools, pitted side by side, embedded in this blog, so you can interact with each and make your own judgments.

CRITERIA

Cost :Free

Free Version available:  Yes

Ease of Use: Easy

Embeddable into a web page: Yes

Shareable: Yes

Comments / Discussion: No

Private workgroup: No

Plugin Required: JavaScript/AJAX

Software Required: Tableau

Public Software: free or Tableau Desktop

Export Formats: CSV, PNG, PDF

Data Storage: 50 Mb

Maturity age of software: < 1 year although Tableau software is 5 years old

Customer Service: None provided, but Tableau employees are very active on Twitter, LinkedIn, FB, and their forums.

Data Import Formats: Oracle NoSQL Server NoSybase NoDB2 NoPostgreSQL NomySQL NoExcel YesText Yes

other If you purchase their Desktop or Desktop Pro software, you will be able to use many more data sources such as mySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, DB2, Teradata, Oracle, etc.

Reviewers Kim ReesDate reviewed 4/28/2010Other

Features: Ability to make rich dashboards for sharing. Interactive features are very robust. Community can filter the data you present, highlight it, and sort the data in various ways. Community can also download data and export any view they create.

Pros- Extremely robust software that is rock solid. It’s now on version 5.1.- Very easy to use. Simple drag and drop interface.- Ability to add subtotals, totals, and other calculations.-

Can have multiple worksheets in a file.- Dashboards with a flexible worksheet layout.- Easy to customize.

Cons- All data becomes public.- There is no option for private groups.- Can only save to the web cannot save a working copy locally.- Must use stand alone software that is only PC compatible for creation, not for viewing.- No text analysis.- Mapping is limited compared to other tools.

via Social Visualization Software Review: Tableau Public – information aesthetics.