Now that you’ve decided to test drive Pulse, what do you need to get ready? In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the data required to harness the full power of Pulse. 

Pulse Needs Your Data 

From earlier posts about Pulse on this blog, you may have seen that Pulse is currently available on Tableau Cloud and not for Tableau Server installations (e.g. on premises). Given the computing power and access to data models required, it is unlikely that this will change in the foreseeable future. 

In addition, you will need to make sure that Pulse has access to data sources that are published on Tableau Cloud. In organizations that already support large and broad target audiences, these will often be in place already. If you’re setting up a published data source in Tableau Cloud for the first time, check out this blog from my colleague Nico Gerbrecht.

Data sources that are published together with the workbook are not accessible to Tableau Pulse. Before they can be used, these embedded data sources will need to be published separately. 

Both live and extract data connections are suitable, so there is no requirement to make changes for these to work with Pulse. Similarly, Pulse works seamlessly with existing governance models, including those using virtual data connections. 

Good Data – The Foundation for Good Answers 

If you’re already providing good data for existing reporting, it is unlikely you will need to make significant changes for Tableau Pulse. The fundamental features of good data are pretty much universal: 

• Governed 
• Secure 
• Up to date 
• Performant 

It is worth noting that Pulse makes extensive use of data changes over time, and so your data sources should be able to support this. You should also look to provide granular data with key dimensions that supports generation of meaningful insights downstream.  

Getting to Good 

If you already provide good data in the form of published data sources then you have little more to do! 

Any further effort will need to focus on two key areas: targeting the right data sources to use and converting any data that sits embedded in workbooks. 

While Tableau API’s do open up options for automation, any conversion work will still need to make sure data is of good quality – and that will largely mean that the effort will need manual intervention for each individual case. For this reason it will generally make sense to start small and expand over time. 

How InterWorks Can Help 

We offer an AI readiness assessment that can help you prepare for your journey. Over the years we have developed extensive automation that can help you find the data your users want. Not only does this get you there quickly and with minimum effort but it also helps you get those quick wins that impress and drive successful engagement. 

If you want to work with us on your AI needs, drop us a line and we’ll be more than happy to discuss what we can do for you!