# Tableau Updates Product Release Cadence | September 2023

> This is content from just-tim, the data-and-analytics channel by Tim Ngwena (formerly 'Tableau Tim'). Tim has 12+ years of hands-on BI experience and covers Tableau most of all, plus Power BI, Looker, Hex, SQL and data modelling, the analytics industry, and the craft of doing the job — always tool-agnostic and honest about the trade-offs.

- **Author:** Tim Ngwena (just-tim, https://just-tim.com/about)
- **Published:** 2023-09-28
- **Format:** Video · 12 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Tool strategy, Industry trends
- **Tools:** Tableau (cloud, pulse, server)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-updates-product-release-cadence--september-2023
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN_0YUOYrRg

I break down Tableau's September 2023 announcement that it's moving from four product releases a year to three, while Tableau Server keeps its every-other-release cadence. I explain how Tableau version numbers and patches work, visualise the old versus new cycle, and weigh up what it means for Server, Desktop and Cloud customers.

## Key takeaways

- Tableau is dropping from four releases a year to three, while Server stays on its every-other-release cadence, meaning some years get two Server releases and others just one.
- Tableau version numbers break down as year.quarter.patch, and Tableau keeps patching old versions for years (e.g. patch 26 for 21.3) including security fixes.
- If you run Tableau Server you should keep Desktop and Prep in lockstep, since publishing to a newer Server is usually fine but a newer Desktop workbook may be incompatible.
- Longer cycles could let features 'bake' more, reduce buggy releases and revive proper beta previews, but they widen the gap for Server customers who upgrade only once a year.
- Tableau Cloud keeps getting three releases a year and gains Cloud-only features, and Tableau Pulse (targeted December 2023) sits oddly outside the normal release cycle.

## Chapters

- 0:09 The release cadence announcement
- 1:36 How version numbers and patches work
- 3:14 Old versus new release cycle
- 5:10 The rationale behind fewer releases
- 7:20 Value proposition for Server customers
- 9:22 Where Tableau Pulse fits in
- 10:21 Final thoughts

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-updates-product-release-cadence--september-2023

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just-tim — Data and analytics, with a point of view. · https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HYxRWmaNlJux-X7rNLZyw · https://twitter.com/TableauTim · https://www.linkedin.com/in/timngwena