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Why Your Dashboards Won’t “Just Merge” (Even If Your COO Thinks They Should)

If you’ve ever explained Power BI vs Tableau for the 27th time... this is for you.

Author

Glenda Carnate
November 14, 2025

Read time: 2.5 minutes

Sometimes the biggest analytics problem isn’t the data... it’s the expectation.

Your COO walks in with that hopeful smile: “Can we just merge this with Tableau?”

You take a deep breath. You try to explain that Power BI and Tableau live in different universes with different engines, connectors, and publishing logic… but they still look at you like it’s all just one big “combine” button.

Meanwhile, Rick Astley plays in your head: Never gonna give you up… but these BI tools don’t even go to the same meetings.

And suddenly your sprint becomes a masterclass in expectation management.

How to Handle “Can We Just Merge It?” Without Losing Your Mind:

1. Define tool boundaries clearly.
Show which teams use Power BI, which use Tableau, and why.

2. Use a simple analogy.
“Power BI and Tableau are like iOS and Android—both great, just not plug-and-play together.”

3. Build a shared data layer.
If merging dashboards is impossible, merging data sources usually isn’t.

4. Offer a “translation” plan.
Rebuild critical dashboards in the target tool instead of force-fusing them.

5. Create an expectations FAQ.
Executives love clarity more than technical depth.

💡Key Takeaway: 

Your BI tools aren’t fighting each other. They’re just speaking totally different languages.

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