Once you have narrowed your list of visualization tools to incorporate the data sources you will be working with, there are the more practical problems. Each tool has trade-offs in terms of functionality, price and complexity. An experienced analyst should research the main players in this field so that they know which tools are best for the job at hand. Two very different front runners that demonstrate this are Tableau and Data Studio.
Tableau is an enterprise solution that has obvious benefits in terms of the complexity of calculations and parameters it can handle. If the KPIs you are visualizing involve complex combinations of data, a tool like Tableau may be necessary. It gives you a high level of report customization, and its data cleaning and preparation options are top-notch, putting it above other enterprise options like SAP. Like other tools targeting the enterprise market (Sisense, Power BI), Tableau has excellent database connectors and allows you to manipulate data with querying languages like SQL and R. However, there is a steeper learning curve for Tableau, and its cost can be prohibitive for smaller companies.
Data Studio is as far from enterprise as you can get, because, well, it’s free. Although custom reporting is more restricted, new fields and filters can be created using regex to create surprising levels of customization. Data Studio is also pretty much unbeatable in terms of sharing options, and its drag-and-drop interface allows for more visually pleasing reports than you would likely get from Tableau. Furthermore, unlike many other drag-and-drop options, Data Studio has a robust set of connections simply by being part of the Google suite of apps. If, like us, you are a marketing firm that relies on Google Analytics and Ads, Data Studio is a great pick, as it was literally built to visualize those data sources.