BI Platform Optimization

Challenge

A large reporting estate is expensive to operate when performance, storage, and licensing drift. Critical reports were slower than they needed to be, cloud storage was growing, and licensing costs were higher than the usage justified.

Approach

I treated the BI platform as a system to be engineered: report inventory, folder structure, backups, API automation, performance, storage, and licensing. The work combined administration, analytics, and cost optimization.

Architecture

• 200+ reports managed across BI environments
• Tableau API automation for operational tasks
• Tableau backup to S3
• Folder restructuring and storage optimization
• Licensing review alongside Looker migration

Implementation

• Improved load performance on critical Tableau reporting
• Reduced Tableau Cloud storage through cleanup and restructuring
• Used the Tableau API to automate operational work
• Optimized licensing while migrating toward Looker where it made sense

Result

• 85%+ improvement in report load performance
• 30% Tableau Cloud storage reduction
• 45% BI licensing reduction
• Management of 200+ reports across environments