Some people use Microsoft Power BI to bring together disparate data sources, while others wish to streamline their reporting procedures. Above all, most seek to harness the potential of analytics to effect substantial change in their businesses.
Business intelligence (BI), reporting, and data visualization are all part of the Microsoft Power BI product and service package for individual Power BI designer and teams. The functions for publishing and distributing data are made simpler in Power BI, and it connects to other Microsoft services and products.
Working on a complex platform and editing data with Power BI will make it simple to get your team on the same page. You can gather insights, examine and contrast both historical and current data, produce helpful reports, and create trend-based predictions. From there, you may decide how to improve the firm, from broad process improvements to specific day-to-day operations.
In this article, we will discuss how Power BI can help your organization achieve greater data insights. But first, let's go over some basics!
A Brief on Business Intelligence (BI) Tools
Business intelligence (BI) is a term for a set of skills and tools that help organizations make more informed decisions by turning data into usable insights. Business intelligence is made available through BI tools, which provide analysts with a simple drag-and-drop interface to carry out operations like:
- Data preparation
- Data querying
- Data visualization
- Performance metrics reporting
- Data mining
What is Power BI?
To help people and businesses make the most of their data, Power BI is a business intelligence services and data visualization solution. Power BI's eye-catching visualizations improve the excel process and help stakeholders make sense of the enormous amounts of data available.
According to Gartner, Power BI is the best tool for democratizing data insights, with over 6 million users and 97% of Fortune 500 companies using it. Two components make up Power BI:
- Data analysis and report creation are made possible with the help of the Power Query Editor in the free desktop edition of Power BI, known as Power BI Desktop.
- A cloud-based version of Power BI called Power BI Service is designed to be shared and distributed around the company. It has basic report editing tools.
Typically, a Power BI developer would create reports using Power BI Desktop and distribute them using Power BI Service. There is a paid Power BI Pro edition that allows users to publish and share data across the Power BI cloud platform and includes collaboration tools, a mobile app, and other capabilities.
Furthermore, if your company uses Microsoft Office, you may already have access to Power BI Pro as it is included in a Microsoft 365 E5 subscription.
Now let's discuss how Power BI can help your business achieve greater data insights!
1. Empowers you to Get Real-Time Information:
Your dashboards will be updated in real-time. Since data is updated multiple times per day, the dashboard will show and update your visualizations with new information as it is provided or arrives. This enables your staff to resolve problems more quickly, identify opportunities, and handle time-sensitive information or situations more successfully.
2. Provides Exceptional Excel Integration:
In terms of analytics and reporting, Excel is still extensively used by many firms. Together, Power BI and Microsoft Excel Solutions are more effective. Without having to pick up a new program or language, you can quickly link reports, data models, and queries to Power BI dashboards and build dynamic content. You can set it up so that the right data appears immediately when you access your dashboard.
3. Enables you to Create Customized Dashboards and Dynamic Reports Seamlessly:
Power BI is well recognized for its customizable dashboards that can be used to meet the demands of your business. Additionally, it has dynamic and user-friendly aesthetics. Furthermore, your team can quickly create customized reports thanks to the straightforward drag-and-drop functionality. You can make rapid choices from an endless range of possibilities and build intricate models and visualizations.
4. Has Regular Monthly Updates:
The platform's monthly updates are yet another noteworthy feature of Microsoft Power BI. Additionally, Microsoft responds to suggestions made by the Power BI community and frequently adds the most popular features. To help users make wise business decisions, this makes sure they always get access to the newest and most cutting-edge features.
5. Enables you to Deploy Multiple Dashboards Using Power BI Apps:
Many businesses run their operations using a variety of Power BI dashboards and reports. Using Power BI apps made accessible to Power BI Pro clients, you can quickly create a collection of dashboards and reports that are specifically designed for a certain purpose and distribute them effortlessly to the whole organization or specific groups of employees.
Additionally, this feature enables report authors to customize navigation to make it simpler for users to access information and comprehend how various reports and dashboards relate to one another.
6. You Do Not Require Expert Technical Assistance:
With the use of Power BI, your team can create analyses and reports without the aid of technical or IT people. It has a user interface that can be used in normal language, basic visual design tools, and straightforward drag-and-drop dashboard creation.
7. Provides Powerful Data Processing:
Power BI can easily gather a large amount of data from a variety of sources. This means you may combine data from various sections of your organization, whether it's on-premises or in the Cloud. Additionally supported are on-premises and cloud data sources including Dynamics 365, Excel, Azure SQL Server, and SharePoint.
It also connects data to third-party programs and services like Salesforce, Google Analytics, Spark, Hadoop, and others. It could also connect to data files and databases on SQL servers (such as XML and JSON). As a consequence, you'll have access to a wide range of data sources for data analysis visualization.
8. Lets you Take Advantage of Cutting-Edge AI:
Microsoft AI's most recent breakthroughs may help non-data scientists prepare data, construct machine learning models, and quickly acquire insights from both structured and unstructured data, including text and images.
9. Power BI is Accessible from Anywhere:
You and your team can access reports and dashboards with Power BI from anywhere, whether you're traveling to a client meeting, working from home, or on the go. Additionally, iOS, Android, and Windows devices may access it. If you have an internet connection, you can receive reports immediately.
10. Provides Compelling Visualization Capabilities:
There are numerous visualizations from which to choose to produce visually appealing and compelling reports. Data interpretation may very well be significantly influenced by how we perceive and understand it. Users may choose images that express their emotions, sending signals to themselves through their creations. They could also make their reports easier to understand how and distribute them. With the right visual arrangement, users may assert, and defend requests and judgments, validate results, and promote action.
11. Enables Collaboration through Easy Report Sharing:
Power BI makes it easier for teams to collaborate since you can instantly share dashboards or reports inside of Power BI workspaces and provide co-ownership of a report or dashboard. Additionally, you can create Power BI tabs within Microsoft Teams to alert everyone in the channel when a new report is available. Reports also include a "Chat in Team" option. Additionally, you may use Outlook to send links to reports or embed information on other websites.
The Bottom Line
The primary goal of Microsoft Power BI is to enable businesses to examine informative data and keep their operations running smoothly, as well as to give the tools required for profitable strategic analysis that allows them to make better decisions. Power BI has a lot of options, and they're always increasing. Contact a Power BI consultant to learn more about how you can utilize this sophisticated analytics platform to make better business decisions and achieve your objectives.
