Two weeks ago, I attended my first Tableau Conference in London. I really enjoyed three fantastic days and decided to write a short blog about it, sharing some tips on how to be well prepared. But first, here’s a fun recap video I put together about InterWorks Europe’s experience:

Plan Ahead, Use the Tableau Conference App

I definitely recommend spending some time to plan the sessions upfront. Don’t waste precious time during the conference. Some presentations (especially hands-on sessions) are very popular and chances are high that some of them will be full. Use the Tableau Conference app, where you can mark your favourite sessions. In case one presentation is fully booked, you can use the app to quickly check other available alternatives and go there. The application can also send you reminders about your favourite sessions as well as provide the most up-to-date information.

Watch the Recorded Sessions

In case you are like me and spent too much time talking to people at the booth, or you missed one of the sessions, or you were interested in several of them that ran in parallel, you can watch the recorded sessions. All the presentations are recorded and you can even prolong your conference experience. You can find them here. Enjoy!

Meet the People

One of the best parts of the conference was meeting the people from the community. Many of them I only knew online and it was a great pleasure to meet them in person. At first, I was a little bit sad that I had to spend a certain amount of time at our booth, thinking that I would miss some interesting sessions, but it turned out to be the opposite. I really enjoyed talking to other Tableau users, listening to their stories and challenges.

The most rewarding part was when there was a perfect match between users’ needs and our Power Tools for Tableau or Portals for Tableau, which can bring Tableau experience to another level. There are many community events and meetups happening during the conference. Using the Tableau Conference app, you won’t miss a thing. Start your day with a morning run or yoga, attend Makeover Monday in the afternoon and continue with user groups or industry-related meetups in the evening.

Experience It

For me, it is hard to say what was the highlight of the conference. As mentioned in our pre-conference podcast episodes Part 1 & Part 2, keynotes are always great and you don’t want to miss them. The “special guest keynote” this time was Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov. He had a very interesting presentation about artificial intelligence and his own experience when playing against Deep Blue.

Francois Ajenstat and Devs on Stage showed new features of Tableau and what’s coming. It was amazing to attend the famous Iron Viz competition live, which reminded me of an Oscar ceremony, and to party with colleagues and data friends during Data Night Out.

Thank you, Tableau, for building such a great data community and for bringing us all together. I can’t wait for the biggest Tableau event in New Orleans later this year and next year in Berlin! See you there!