How Telia Estonia transformed its data analytics with Tableau

Case study

Historical background: two companies, a lot of data

Telia Estonia was formed in 2014 through the merger of mobile operator EMT and broadband provider Elion. The merger brought together two organisations with extensive and diverse data sources, creating a need to consolidate and analyse data across the business. The business intelligence team initially focused on consolidating the data and securing reliable historical reporting by migrating both companies’ data warehouses to a shared platform.

As the organisation’s analytical needs evolved, new questions emerged: why are things happening the way they are, what factors influence each other, and how can individual datasets be explored in greater depth? Both organisations used SAP BusinessObjects for business analytics, but the platform could no longer provide answers quickly enough to meet these growing needs.

Telia is a data-driven company where data is an integral part of decision-making, not simply a way to validate decisions that have already been made. The ambition is to use data proactively to make better business decisions and anticipate what comes next. Telia operates in what’s often called a VUCA environment (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous), where expectations for analytics evolve rapidly and understanding the average customer is no longer enough. This created a need for visual tools that make data easier to explore and bring it closer to the business.

Why Tableau?

Telia carried out a thorough evaluation and found that Tableau required significantly less technical expertise, reduced dependence on IT, and generated strong interest among business users. This helped drive broad adoption among the first wave of users, which was important for bringing the most active business users on board quickly. The tool also needed to be as accessible as possible for analysts, allowing them to work independently of IT without requiring programming skills.

Tableau allows analysts to work directly with data from the data warehouse and source systems, providing greater flexibility and enabling faster responses to business needs. Another important consideration was the availability of information and support materials: how easily analysts and occasional users could find answers online, and the quality of the vendor’s own training and documentation.

The transition: start small, aim high

At the start of the project, Telia deliberately chose not to pursue a broad rollout that would offer limited value to everyone from the outset. Instead, it focused on the business units with the most critical analytical needs. Customer analytics was the first area to adopt Tableau, giving the team a more visual way to identify patterns and trends across the customer base.

The first demonstrations quickly showed the value of the new solution and generated strong interest among business users. Early adopters became active advocates, forming a growing user community that helped drive adoption across other areas of the organisation.

Tableau was never intended to complement the existing reporting system. The goal was more ambitious: to move all analytics and reporting to the new visual platform. Telia established a clear principle from the outset: all new solutions would be built in Tableau, while the legacy system would no longer be developed. The transition lasted almost two years, allowing existing solutions to be migrated gradually and new ones to be developed at a steady pace. Today, Tableau serves virtually the entire organisation, enabling the legacy solution to be fully decommissioned.

A bonus: better data security

Tableau also significantly improved data security and usage monitoring at Telia. Previously, users could download detailed datasets to their local machines. Today, the underlying data remains securely on the server, while users work with visual, interactive views through the browser. This approach provides greater control over data access and reduces the risk associated with uncontrolled local copies of sensitive data.

Results

Tableau has significantly improved how Telia accesses and uses data. Instead of relying on downloads and manual processing, users can quickly find the information they need and answer business questions directly. The user experience is significantly better, relevant reports are easier to discover, and analysts can respond to requests faster. Most importantly, business teams have embraced self-service analytics and now actively explore and analyse their own data.

At Telia, data is an integral part of decision-making across the organisation. In practice, this means more than 1,000 employees can work with data as analysts. For most users, analytics has shifted to a three-level self-service model: searching across available analytical content; exploring interactive dashboards independently; and using centrally managed data sources to build their own analyses directly in the browser.

To build data literacy and encourage adoption, Telia has provided Tableau training at different levels for both analysts and occasional users. In collaboration with Tableau and Wizon, Telia has also organised a dedicated Tableau Day twice, open to everyone interested.

This case study was first published in April 2021