This article talks about the technical aspects that should be considered to integrate/embed Tableau Dashboards into the Salesforce portal.
We would be exploring the need to embed Tableau Dashboards in Salesforce and the options available to achieve this along with the pros and cons of each option. Later we would focus on the option of using Sparkler, which integrates with the Salesforce Canvas framework, which is one of the best ways to integrate Tableau Dashboards into the Salesforce framework. We would also look at the high-level configuration steps of Sparkler and discuss some challenges that we usually face during configuration.
To answer this question in a nutshell, we need to embed the dashboards to maintain context and save time by reducing the sales cycle. We do not want a Salesforce user who is generally a Sales Representative to switch from Salesforce to Tableau from one place to another to answer questions that arise in the mind. This would go against the principle of being able to answer questions at the speed of thought.
Other factors include providing more interactivity, improving the adoption of Tableau dashboards that have been developed by making them easily accessible to sales representatives, and analyzing integrated data from other systems along with Salesforce data.
Now that we know why this is important, we can dive into the question of how to implement this.
There are mainly two ways to do this.
We will examine further the first option of using the Salesforce Canvas Framework, as it is more robust in terms of security and provides better integration in terms of passing parameters between Tableau and Salesforce.
Canvas Framework has been created in Salesforce to easily integrate third-party applications. Third-party applications can be exposed as a Canvas App. These Canvas Apps can be made available in several locations, such as the Salesforce or VisualForce or Publisher. More details can be found here.
Since Tableau Server does not have a built-in adapter for Canvas, Tableau has created a Java adapter called Sparkler that helps in the handshake between Tableau Server and Salesforce Canvas. It is freely available for download on the Tableau's website.
The exact steps would vary depending on whether we are using Tableau Online / Tableau Server. On which server we are configuring Sparkler. If we are using a self-signed SSL certificate or a corporate certification authority. The details you can find in the document shared by Tableau. The high-level steps are as follows:
Once Sparkler is configured and Salesforce and Tableau can communicate with each other, communication takes place according to the following protocol.
Although there are some challenges that we can find, it will be possible to configure them with the information provided in the document shared by Tableau and the useful forums that discuss this topic.
Embedding Tableau Dashboards into Salesforce will help in improving the sales cycle and efficiency of the sales representatives significantly. One of the best ways to embed Tableau Dashboards in Salesforce is to use the Tableau Salesforce Canvas adapter called Sparkler. The Sparkler configuration requires some steps in which we must make changes at the Salesforce endpoint and at the Tableau endpoint so that reliable authentication and seamless communication are possible. Embedding of Tableau reports into Salesforce may require some effort, but it is a one-time exercise that will result in many benefits.
Ksheetij Dongre is a Principal Consultant at KPI Partners. He is a business intelligence professional specializing in data warehouse reporting. In addition to his ETL experience, he has worked extensively on reporting tools like Tableau, OBIEE, and Business Objects. He has implemented custom BI DW solutions for clients across various industries including Finance, Retail, Manufacturing, Logistics &High Technology.