Please note that Portals for Tableau are now officially known as Curator by InterWorks. You can learn more at the official Curator website.
Curator is turning four years old! It’s awesome to be celebrating this milestone, but some of you may have just met Curator for the first time. It all started with Portals for Tableau, a brainchild of our team in 2016, but while the name has changed, the core of this solution remains true to its original purpose. Let’s have a stroll down Memory Lane…
A Better Way to Do Embedded
In the summer of 2016, InterWorks had been building “portals” for years, but they all had one thing in common: custom, bespoke code. Despite an early standardized portal product in Drupal, adoption had been sparse. Clients clearly loved the idea of embedded analytics with Tableau, but we hadn’t quite developed a great solution yet. We needed a place to start from that saved us time while still allowing room for creativity and tailored design. Knowing we could do better, a small group put their heads together at a team meetup to strategize.
At the team meetup, we brainstormed around an offering that could become the InterWorks standard of excellence applied to embedded analytics. Two developers began compiling some of the basics, and within a few weeks, we had some initial clients. Over the next several months, our client base grew, and one of the most exciting things about that first year? Some of those initial “beta” clients actually remain strong Curator customers today!
Okay, I Think We’re onto Something
Over the next year, we knew we’d stumbled onto something special as we engaged clients. However, we struggled to keep up with demand, so once we finally brought some expert additions to the team, we were better equipped than ever to grow the product and dream for its future.
As we moved into 2018, we continued to gain more and more momentum, and we evolved the product in some really unique and interesting ways. Support and standardization flows became a larger focus of our efforts as Curator transformed from a side project into a long-term, stable product. With the addition of another key team player, we were full steam ahead.
Unlocking Even Bigger Data Dreams with Design
After capping off 2018 by receiving the Innovative Solution of the Year from Tableau, we wanted to capitalize on our success and see what other ways we could expand and enhance Curator. In 2019, the Curator team merged with the UX/Design team led by Ben Bausili. The product had been doing great, but the existing team was a bunch of developers; cool features are great, but without an elegant design, they only go so far, and we really wanted to elevate the experience for users. We knew it was time to work together with InterWorks’ excellent UX/Design team to really take things to the next level! We relaunched our marketing efforts, rebranded most of the product flows and really began a design focus that continues to this day.
This year has brought incredible changes to Curator, including a new focus on micro demo-sites and a more modern look and feel. After a long ramp-up, we relaunched the brand with the name Curator in August 2020. “Portals for Tableau” had served us well, but it was time for our own name and branding. We relaunched our marketing website (again) and continue to stack up customer success stories. Our product offerings have been streamlined, and as we consider the future, things are looking bright.
The Best Is Yet to Come
It’s been an incredible journey over the past four years, and we have so many people to thank for our success. It’s incredible to think of where we came from and where we are now, but even more promising is the product’s future. We continue to see strong growth, but we’ve also laid some amazing foundations. While most of the world took a COVID-induced break in 2020, the Curator team (and many others) kicked into high gear. There are exciting times ahead of us—this is just the beginning!
If you’re unfamiliar with Curator or want to take a closer look at its possibilities, visit the Curator website. Feel free to reach out to our team with any questions you may have. We’d love to help you create the data experience you’ve always wanted.
