Leicestershire County Council selects Tableau Software to improve data insight

"Tableau has opened up greater possibilities for us by allowing staff to interrogate data and see results on-the-fly in an easily understandable format," says Robert Radburn, research and insight team leader

Leicestershire County Council has selected business analytics solutions provider Tableau Software in an effort to gain a greater understanding of data across the organisation.

Like many county councils, Leicestershire has a research and insight team dedicated to ensuring local government staff get all of the information necessary to work effectively.

The council has selected business analytics software from Tableau Software in order to interrogate and understand data in an effort to improve front line services for almost a million residents in Leicester and the surrounding area.

Government data sets are used to provide insights and answers for council staff in a wide variety of roles, such as social care workers, highway maintenance workers and librarians, as Robert Radburn, research and insight team leader at Leicestershire County Council, explained.

"We provide information to support council workers in areas as diverse as crime and community safety, economics, demography, and around both children and adult issues, for almost a million residents," he said.

According to Radburn, the deployment of Tableau Software's business analytics means information will be able to be transformed from just being ‘what' into ‘why,' giving staff a greater understanding of how to best use data for the benefit of Leicestershire residents.

"Tableau has opened up greater possibilities for us by allowing staff to interrogate data and see results on-the-fly in an easily understandable format," he continued, arguing that the software is transforming how staff think about both the information they use and the services they provide.

"We're changing how people think about our data and the services we provide, because they are now enabled to ask questions and thereby drive insights that simply were too complex to see before, or to answer simpler questions much faster," he said

"It's an exciting time as we really unleash our pre-existing data resources and make even better decisions using what we have," Radburn added.

"The adoption of Tableau Software also benefits Leicestershire County Council by enabling it to be more efficient and more transparent, while also speeding up delivery of services," James Eiloart, VP, EMEA, Tableau Software said, commenting on the deal.

"Leicestershire County Council is making it fast and easy for workers to make better-informed decisions. Seeing and understanding data with Tableau makes service delivery slicker. It provides a clear picture of what has happened, is happening right now, and provides a basis for forecasting future activity," he added.