Home / Tableau Data Connection Options
Tableau can connect natively to many different SOR (System of Record) data sets found in an organization. They can be from transactional databases, CRM, financial systems, Excel files and so on. While connecting directly to visualize data in Tableau may seem more efficient, the results are often not optimal. The diagrams below illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of connecting directly to the SOR compared to bringing those data sets into an OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) database instead, such as a Data Mart or Data Warehouse that is specifically designed for reporting and data visualization.
| Advantages |
| Faster to implement Less infrastructure to manage No ETL skills required for dashboard designers |
| Disadvantages |
| Requires business users to understand underlying SOR database structure Dashboards can be fragile if underlying databases change Data blending can have poor performance Requires extensive permissions across databases if there is sensitive data Requires direct access from Tableau Server to SOR Analysis is often less robust and complete |
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Dashboards resilient to underlying SOR changes | Requires technical (ETL) skills to implement |
| Business does not need to understand underlying SOR database structure | ETL scripts require updating as underlying database changes |
| Combining data sets provides more analysis and insights | Requires planning and construction time |
| Data access permissions can be consolidated into a single location | Additional infrastructure required (e.g., software, hardware) |
| Dashboards never go directly against SOR | |
| Enterprise solution that can grow with the organization |
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