Seattle, WA
Can Seattle startup Tableau flourish under Salesforce? New CEO thinks so
SEATTLE — On a sunny Tuesday around 1 p.m., Tableau’s Data 1 office in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood bustled with employees going out in groups for lunch or walking around the office overlooking the Lake Washington Ship Canal.
Among them was Tableau CEO Ryan Aytay, who lives in the Bay Area but was visiting for the week. He wore a “DataFam,” the Tableau community’s name, lapel pin on his black jacket.
Tableau was founded in 2003 in California and moved its headquarters to Seattle the next year, where the data analytics firm established itself as a tech startup on the rise. In 2019, tech giant Salesforce acquired the company for nearly $16 billion, inking what was at the time the second-largest acquisition of a Washington company.
Tableau is a data visualization tool through which users can create interactive charts. Its parent company is a leader in products for companies to manage sales data and customer relations.
Tableau’s leadership changed over the years as former CEO Adam Selipsky left in 2021 to become chief executive of Amazon Web Services. His replacement, Tableau veteran Mark Nelson, departed in December 2022 after less than two years as president and CEO.
Appointed CEO in May, Aytay’s goal is cementing the future of Tableau within Salesforce while maintaining Tableau’s own identity.
Aytay became CEO during a difficult year for Tableau, one marked by “wakes,” office subleasing and layoffs. Tableau’s future as an independent part of the Salesforce business software empire remains a point of tension as Salesforce prioritizes profitability after years of aggressive expansion. At the Data 1 building lobby, a Salesforce sign greeted employees and visitors.
Salesforce announced more layoffs last month, affecting 700 jobs, which represents 1% of its workforce. A spokesperson declined to say if the round affected Tableau employees.
Aytay said one of his goals is to build a culture at Tableau that is both a part of Salesforce but also stands on its own.
“We need to continue to evolve. And so that’s what we’ve been really focused on, is how do we bring the spark and liven it up with the culture?” Aytay said.
A Salesforce veteran appointed to lead Tableau nine months ago, Aytay travels to Seattle at least twice a month. He’s in charge of creating a second chapter for Tableau after a year of layoffs and leadership vacancies.
Aytay joined San Francisco-based Salesforce 17 years ago and has held several different roles at the business software maker, including chief business officer from June 2020 to February 2022. He served as Tableau’s president and chief revenue officer from February 2022 to May.
“Because I’d had so many different experiences at Salesforce, I saw an opportunity with Tableau to come in and bring it closer to Salesforce but also recognize what it is and what’s important about it and what differentiates Tableau,” Aytay said in an interview with The Seattle Times.
Aytay said in an interview that Tableau’s revenue has more than doubled since the acquisition.
Tableau grew by 16% year over year in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, released in November. That was faster than Salesforce’s total revenue growth. Valued at $287 billion as of Tuesday, the tech giant reported $8.7 billion in revenue during the same quarter, up 11% from the previous year.
Tableau could grow even faster with more integration with Salesforce’s products, said Rishi Jaluria, a managing director at global investment bank RBC Capital Markets.
“The idea [is] that if someone’s using Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud from Salesforce, Tableau is really well integrated and it becomes like another button,” Jaluria said.
Salesforce also owns internal workplace communications platform Slack, having acquired it for $28 billion in 2021.
According to a Salesforce spokesperson, Tableau can blend Salesforce data to provide analytics for everyone in an organization.
Jaluria also said Salesforce and Tableau have a competitor: Microsoft and its data visualization platform, Power BI.
For Aytay, what differentiates Tableau from Microsoft’s Power BI is its leadership and community. Tableau’s die-hard fans — the “DataFam” — are a selling point for the platform.
“We have this really vibrant community,” Aytay said.
Tableau’s next chapter
Salesforce bought Tableau to enable customers to use data across their entire businesses and, as Salesforce put it when announcing the acquisition, use Tableau’s insights “to make smarter decisions” and “accelerate innovation.”
Those aspirations remain prominent among Aytay’s goals. He wants Tableau to attract customers outside of the data analytics field with a new product, Tableau Pulse. Pulling up his phone, he showed how business owners, for example, can use Pulse to get quick statistics about sales. The artificial intelligence-enabled product was announced in December.
The first phase of Tableau “was really all about changing the industry” by revolutionizing the analytics field by making it easier to use, he said. Tableau’s next step is “to really enter into businesses,” nonprofits and universities.
“We want to continue that focus on the analyst, but we need to evolve the brand,” Aytay said. “We want to bring analytics and data to everyone.”
Aytay is the right person for the Tableau CEO job, said R “Ray” Wang, principal analyst and founder of Constellation Research, a tech research and advisory firm. Before Aytay’s appointment, Tableau had gone five months without a CEO.
Aytay “has been building out the AI strategy. He’s been trying to figure out how to pull it together,” Wang said. “He’s been at Salesforce before, so he knows what Marc [Benioff, Salesforce CEO] wants, he knows how to put them all together. And I think that’s half the battle.”
Among Aytay’s first tasks was rebuilding the senior leadership team, starting with his old role of chief revenue officer, now occupied by Salesforce veteran Jennifer Lagaly. Now, Aytay said Tableau is growing and hiring, especially in the artificial intelligence field.
Compared with last year, he said, “we’re now at a point where we have it more figured out.”
Seattle, WA
Where to Watch Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders FC: TV Channel, Start Time and Live Stream – Bleacher Nation
Two teams in the top half of the MLS table, Portland Timbers (13th) and Seattle Sounders FC (ninth), meet on Saturday at 10:30 PM ET.
Watch every MLS match, Leagues Cup and the MLS Cup Playoffs on Apple TV+! Use our link to start a free trial now.
Portland vs. Seattle TV & Live Stream Info
Portland Timbers’ Top Scorers
Seattle Sounders FC’s Top Scorers
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Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders FC Stat Rankings
| Portland AVG (Rank) | Seattle AVG (Rank) | |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 (2nd) | Goals Scored | 1.4 (18th) |
| 1.8 (23rd) | Goals Allowed | 1.2 (3rd) |
| 12.7 (13th) | Shots | 13 (12th) |
| 12.7 (18th) | Opponent Shots | 11.6 (10th) |
Portland Offensive Insights
Seattle Offensive Insights
Watch the Premier League and more live sports on Peacock.
Portland Timbers’ Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Score | Home/Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/13/2024 | Real Salt Lake | W 3-0 | Home |
| 7/20/2024 | Los Angeles | L 3-2 | Away |
| 8/24/2024 | Saint Louis | D 4-4 | Home |
| 8/31/2024 | Seattle | – | Home |
| 9/14/2024 | Colorado | – | Away |
| 9/18/2024 | Los Angeles | – | Home |
| 9/21/2024 | Real Salt Lake | – | Away |
Seattle Sounders FC’s Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Score | Home/Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/17/2024 | Saint Louis | W 2-0 | Home |
| 7/20/2024 | LAFC | L 3-0 | Home |
| 8/24/2024 | Minnesota United FC | W 3-2 | Away |
| 8/31/2024 | Portland | – | Away |
| 9/7/2024 | Columbus | – | Away |
| 9/15/2024 | Sporting Kansas City | – | Home |
| 9/18/2024 | San Jose | – | Home |
Want to see a match in person? Secure tickets for any MLS match at Vivid Seats.
That was a bummer. The New York Liberty hit Hollywood to face the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday night. They took the lead in the second half, but were essentially in the mud all game long and it led to them losing 94-88. The seafoam are still in first place, but they still have work to do to secure the top seed in the playoffs.
The opponent tonight is looking to secure homecourt advantage in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. The Seattle Storm have tried to figure things out as they begin their new era. It’s been a bit rocky, but they’re holding tough. They survived a tough challenge against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night and held on to win by four points.
Where to follow the game
ION is the place to be. League Pass for the out of towners. Late night affair so we getting started after 10 PM.
Injuries
Jonquel Jones missed Wednesday’s game with a non-COVID illness. She’s listed as questionable.
Jordan Horston missed Wednesday’s game with a non-COVID illness. She’s back tonight.
The game
New York won the first game. They close out the season series next week.
The Liberty say it all the time, but when they don’t move the ball side to side, bad things happen. They rush into their actions and don’t put pressure on opposing defenses when they get into those bad stretches. We saw it on full display as they turned the ball over 20 times in Los Angeles. When you’re that unorganized, you’re going to lose every single time.
Jewell Loyd has been trying to figure things out, but it’s been a struggle. She’s shooting a career low 36.2 percent from the field and perhaps most concerning, just 27.5 percent from three point range. That’s the lowest percentage she’s shot from deep since her rookie season. She still leads the team in field goal attempts and is fourth overall in FGAs. For Noelle Quinn and the Storm, they have to figure out how to put Jewell in the best position to succeed. Even as I say that, she can make you forget it all in the blink of an eye
Speaking of three point shooting, Sabrina Ionescu will try to regain her rhythm from deep. Sab hasn’t shot above 40 percent from deep since the win against the Sparks on August 15. For Ionescu, she’s been at her best when she’s driving downhill and getting into the painted area. That success getting to the basket opens up the rest of the court for herself and her teammates, which makes life so much easier for everyone.
Player to watch: Nneka Ogwumike
Quiet as it’s kept, Nneka has been one of the best players in the league this season. She’s been a source of consistency for the Storm as they try to find their identity before the playoffs start. How good has she been? My pal Nekias Duncan has more on the former MVP
She’s averaging 17-8-3-2 on 58 TS. SEA is 16-10 in the games she’s played; they have a +9 net rating with her ON the floor, -3.9 net with her OFF in those games.
Roughly +13 per 100 better is MVP-type stuff — not the end-all, be-all, but an indicator of her value nonetheless.
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) August 28, 2024
For Nneka, she and Ezi Magbegor make for one of the best, most challenging frontcourt tandems to stop in the league this season. The Storm have been the second worst rebounding team in the league since the break (the Liberty have been the best), so it’s goin to take a lot of heavy lifting for the Storm tonight if they want to punch their ticket to the postseason.
If all else fails for the Liberty, Breanna Stewart will be there to save the day. Stew York was the main engine on offense Wednesday night as she was able to score 32 points while keeping the team afloat. Stewart can do everything in the world, and if JJ is out for another game, Sandy Brondello will have her play some more center minutes. The Liberty haven’t had to do it much this season, but tonight could be an opportunity for them to try it out before the stakes get high.
From the Vault
You can never go wrong with Seattle Stewie.
More reading: Swish Appeal, Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, The Strickland, The Local W, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic. Fansided, Just Women’s Sports, SI All Knicks, Winsidr, Her Hoop Stats, CBS Sports, and The Next
The scoreboard-watching Seattle Mariners just suffered some brutal news on Friday.
Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino suffered a broken thumb on Thursday night and is out six-to-eight weeks.
Vinnie Pasquantino has a broken right thumb, and further tests are scheduled today. He could return in six to eight weeks.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 30, 2024
That’s a huge deal to the Mariners, because the Royals play the Houston Astros three more times over the weekend. With Pasquantino and his 97 RBIs out for the remainder of the regular season, those games become harder for Kansas City to win – which Seattle desperately needs.
The Mariners enter play on Friday night at 68-66 on the year. They are 4.0 games behind the Astros in the American League West race and need Houston to lose at every turn imaginable if they are going to capture the West for the first time since 2001. Of course, they wouldn’t need to be scoreboard watching if they hadn’t blown a 10.0 game division lead since June 19….
Houston came back to beat Kansas City, 6-3, on Thursday night. Those two teams will play again on Friday with first pitch coming at 8:10 p.m. ET.
As for the Mariners, they’ll be back in action on Friday after a Thursday off-day. They’ll begin a 10-game road trip in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels. First pitch in that contest is set for 6:38 p.m. PT. The Mariners will send right-hander George Kirby to the mound against right-hander Carson Fullmer.
The M’s have lost six of their last seven games against the Angels this year, but they have won four of their last six overall. They most recently took a three-game set from the Tampa Bay Rays in Seattle.
They are 4-2 under new manager Dan Wilson.
NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the criticism that Jerry Dipoto has received in Scott Servais’s firing, the M’s early success under Dan Wilson and the comments made by Ryan Divish recently on the “Marine Layer” podcast. Furthermore, Danny O’Neil, who wrote a tough column calling for Dipoto to be fired joins the show. CLICK HERE:
TYING A-ROD: Shohei Ohtani has tied Alex Rodriguez’s historic 1998 season. Here’s how. CLICK HERE:
SLICK VIC: Victor Robles has set a Mariners record on the bases. CLICK HERE:
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE:
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