Riveting session on data analytics by Colin Linsky at
#LAUG this evening in the offices of Slalom London Bridge. 😍
Colin mentioned one company that had 65,000 reports for 70,000 employees! 😱
I mean, that’s nearly one report per person!
The governance nightmare is real – everyone creates their own version because the existing one “isn’t quite right.” 😅
Anyway here are the key takeaways courtesy of Claude.ai
🍩 Standard Reports & Dashboards
Comes with the platform but think “posh list views” with serious limitations.
You’re stuck with 3 objects max, 5 filters, objects must be in hierarchy, and visualizations top out at donuts and bar charts.
Works for basic needs but quickly hits walls.
🍩CRM Analytics
The native powerhouse. Inherits Salesforce security, users, profiles, and single sign-on.
But the thing is that you can write data BACK to Salesforce records.
Imagine analysing 12 months of transaction data, calculating customer scores, and automatically updating records.
No more manual roll-ups or limited formula fields. Plus you get bulk actions, flow triggers, and live queries without busting API limits.
🍩Tableau Next*l
The new “agentic” player.
Ask questions in natural language, get AI assistance building dashboards, and monitor metrics over time.
However this absolutely requires Data Cloud and uses consumption-based pricing instead of per-seat licenses. Big shift in how you budget for analytics.
🍩Tableau
The analyst’s dream for interactive exploration and enterprise dashboards.
Brilliant geospatial analysis and follow-your-thoughts investigation tools.
But it doesn’t understand Salesforce natively – no user objects, session tokens, or territory awareness.
You’ll rebuild security context and potentially manage dual logins.
Key point 👉🏻👉🏻 Don’t choose analytics tools based on what looks coolest on your LinkedIn profile. Start with what your end users actually need to make better decisions.
Are you paying a salesperson to be an analyst? Or do you want to give them decision support that just works?
Also learned that analytics tools are brilliant for exposing bad data quality.
Thank you
#LAUG leaders ☁ Will Turner Silvia Denaro Matthew Morris Claire Jones ☁ ❤️❤️
