Use Tableau with Salesforce Data

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

Describe the ways Salesforce and Tableau data connect.
Explain the function of Salesforce connectors and Tableau Accelerators in Tableau.

Take the Reigns of Your Analytics

Data-driven companies perform better, and better data helps you make better decisions across all departments. When you combine the world’s #1 CRM, Salesforce, with the world’s #1 analytics platform, Tableau, you give everyone in your organization the power to anticipate problems, take action in real time, and make decisions you can trust. Let’s see how Tableau and Salesforce data connect so you can make trusted decisions.

Connect to Salesforce Data in Tableau

Your analysis in Tableau begins with connecting to data. With Salesforce Data Cloud, all your Data Cloud objects, data model objects, unified profile, and calculated insights are available as tables to explore and get insights with Tableau. Use the built-in Tableau connector for Data Cloud to seamlessly connect in Tableau and start using that data for deep-level analysis. You can also download your model from the Customer Data Cloud Data Model UI and bring it into Tableau for analysis, too.

Tableau doesn’t just work with Data Cloud data, though. If your Salesforce data is not in Data Cloud, you can connect directly to Salesforce Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, or Marketing Cloud Engagement data from Tableau.

Even if some of your data needs to stay outside of Salesforce, or if your data is spread across multiple Salesforce orgs, you can use one of Tableau’s 100+ supported connectors to ensure everything is included in your Tableau data source. This way, no data is left behind!

Manage Data Access

With great quantities of data comes great data access responsibilities. To manage this, Tableau is data space aware, which means that the data available in Tableau is based on the OAuth login used in Data Cloud. This means you only see the data space you’re authorized to access in Data Cloud.

As we work with large volumes of data, we know that security and governance are important. Publishing data sources right to Tableau can help you to centralize data management and set access credentials to keep certain data restricted. To save time and increase efficiency, you can automate and simplify data prep by scheduling or sequentially running published flows.

Create Dashboards, Fast

You’ve connected, harmonized, and managed all that data. Go, data rockstar! But when you need to tell the story your data contains, you might need some help when you see the empty Tableau canvas.

Enter, Accelerator built for Salesforce. Tableau Accelerators are pre-built dashboards tailor-made to specific applications like Salesforce and Salesforce Data Cloud or for specific use cases like Salesforce Pipeline, Cloud Opportunities, or Service Cloud Voice Call. Tableau Accelerators are available for both Tableau Desktop and Tableau Cloud.

Easily accessible from Tableau Exchange or within Tableau Desktop or Tableau Cloud, you can grab an expert-built dashboard, map it to your data, and customize it to your needs. That empty Tableau canvas will be populated in no time!

A dashboard from the Salesforce Data Cloud - Service Desk accelerator, titled Executive Summary, showing open and closed cases and priority levels.

Tableau and Salesforce APIs

Go beyond built-in functionality by leveraging developer tools like the Tableau REST API and the Data Cloud Developer Center. These developer tools help you create your own custom applications or script interactions with Tableau resources.

Use Tableau’s REST API if you want to make a list of Tableau dashboards available to specific users for an analytics catalog in Experience Cloud, or programmatically manage analytical extensions to run Einstein predictions. Learn how to build powerful data-powered experiences in Data Cloud, like embedding and integrating Tableau views into your web pages, or creating and customizing a connector from any database by checking out the Data Cloud Developer Center.

Bring Tableau Insights Into Salesforce

Now that you’ve uncovered some great insights, it’s time to share them. Previously, trying to do this involved pivoting between multiple applications, copying and pasting data, and losing much of the context along the way. Now, Tableau has made it easier to share and act on the findings with your team by using the Tableau Visualization Lightning web component, which embeds your Tableau dashboard into Salesforce Lightning pages. Just drag the component onto the page and add the URL for the Tableau view (another word for your Tableau visualization).

In addition, Tableau’s Slack application makes it easy to stay up to date on your data, search, and share Tableau content directly into your org’s channels.

With Tableau’s External Actions feature, you can create and interact with data-driven workflows directly from Tableau dashboards and automate your next steps using Salesforce Flow.

Summary

Tableau and Salesforce integrations, such as built-in connectors, Accelerators for Salesforce, and External Actions, help you seamlessly use the world’s #1 CRM with the world’s #1 analytics platform, enhancing your ability to uncover valuable insights from your data and make better business decisions.