Texas Educators Get Meaning from Data


Tableau has allowed us to look at data in ways we had never even imagined. We can now develop products and services that bring our clients added value and the ability to truly make sense of the mountains of data they are forced to deal with. Tableau has opened the door to endless data analysis opportunities for Region 4, and our clients are the beneficiaries. Truly, a win-win situation.

Customer Profile

Region 4 Education Service Center is the largest of 20 state service districts in the state of Texas. Region 4 provides school districts not only in Texas but across the nation with services and products that support the K-12 education marketplace. Region 4’s goal is to bring to customers real solutions to real problems in real time.

Customer Case Description

The Financial Services Administration Department of the Region 4 Education Service Center recognized a need to develop meaningful ways to analyze and visualize statemandated information submitted by its member districts. The information is contained in ASCII text files that are difficult to use or analyze. Region 4 developed a process to bring multiple years of this data into one cohesive database.

The missing piece in this process was the ability to interact with the data in a meaningful way. Region 4 needed a tool for analysis and reporting. This tool needed to have the power of Microsoft Excel pivot tables, but yet be more flexible and easier to learn.

Its primary evaluation criteria for the new tool were:

  • It had to be visual
  • It had to be easy to learn and use by school administrators
  • It couldn’t require servers or IT support
  • It had to be affordable.

The Solution

Region 4 now uses Tableau as its standard for data analysis and visualization. Tableau allows them to develop an entire array of products and services to meet the on-going needs of their Texas and national client bases.

For More Information About This Case Contact: visualanalysis@tableau.com or call (206)633-3400 x1