Welcome to our new blog series, where we’ll be rolling out updates, thoughts, opinions, and guidance over the next several months (years, even?) on data and analytics in the Salesforce ecosystem. If you didn’t catch the announcement from Tableau CEO Ryan Aytay and CPO Southard Jones, there’s a new BI tool in town, and its name is Tableau Einstein.
That’s right – Salesforce now has a third BI tool in its suite, along with Tableau (acquired in 2019) and CRM Analytics (formerly Wave Analytics, formerly Einstein Analytics, formerly Tableau CRM, and acquired in 2014).
Let’s clear the air right away, get into what we know, and what we’re excited to learn more about. First things first: No, Tableau and CRMA are not going away anytime soon. (We meet with the Product Owner for CRMA and Southard every quarter – I can assure you these products are not being sunsetted.)
Still, with a big launch like this, you might be asking yourself a few questions! Keep reading to learn what we know so far:
When can I get my hands on Tableau Einstein?
Atrium has been selected as one of five partners for the Beta Program this October, initially available in a packaged format for MCA and NPC customers. A limited Beta release for specific customer segments that have Salesforce Data Cloud will follow in February 2025, and the full general availability (GA) is expected in Summer 2025. Remember that even after GA, the platform will continue to evolve, with new features and capabilities being added with each release.
What capabilities should I expect the platform to have?
The platform will offer a familiar visualization development experience, drawing inspiration from Tableau’s intuitive marks system. The dashboard development canvas will resemble CRM Analytics with its 50-column layout. Essential chart types like tables, bar charts, line charts, and more will be readily available from the beta release, with additional visualizations being added regularly based on user feedback.
Tableau Prep features will also be incorporated into Tableau Einstein, offering a familiar “Prep Flow” interface and enhanced functionality like the ability to plug in a number of out-of-the-box actions from Salesforce, as well as Lightning Flows.
The platform is also believed to be moving towards a multi-user workspace, enabling greater collaboration and efficiency. In terms of data access, the primary data source will be Data Cloud. But, you can expect direct connections to Salesforce objects in real-time, along with support for CSVs and other common data sources like AWS and Snowflake on Day 1.
What can I expect as an end user?
As an end user, expect a much more integrated experience than you might have today. Dashboards and metric cards can easily be built and embedded directly within Salesforce, making your workflow feel seamless with Analytics. You’ll enjoy better shareability of your insights with Slack integration for real-time collaboration. The platform will also offer quick (potentially real-time) access to a wider range of data than ever before, thanks to its foundation on Data Cloud.
We’re just on the brink of a new age of analytics, and our team is excited to share the updates over the next several months. Some of these updates will include info on what we hear about licensing, the “layer cake” that makes up Tableau Einstein, as well as features and use cases and how those can fit your needs. Stay tuned!
Need help getting started with Tableau Einstein?
Wherever you are on your analytics journey, our Tableau experts will partner with you to develop a strategy around your specific business needs and outcomes. We have the knowledge and experience to help you get the most value possible from your Tableau Einstein investment.
Visit our Tableau Einstein Services page to learn more.
