Data Visualization | Microsoft Power BI
Power BI is a business analytics service by Microsoft. It aims to provide interactive visualizations and business intelligence capabilities with an interface simple enough for end-users to create their own reports and dashboards. It is part of the Microsoft Power Platform
Initial release: 11 July 2011; 9 years ago
Stable release: March 2021 Update (2.91.383.0) / March 2021; 2 months ago
Operating system: Microsoft Windows
License: Proprietary
You can start here with an overview
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/getting-started-with-power-bi/
Top 10 benefits of using Power BI for your business
1. Features
Microsoft have worked hard on their software to make sure apps such as Power BI are rich in features, with similar usability, and full compatibility with one another. Regarding Power BI, the app is designed to create intelligent visualisations based on business data, supporting you in your decision-making processes. Power BI Pro provides the ability to create graphical data visualisations, in both independent or collaborative environments, which are then sharable between employees.
2. Embeddable attributes
Power BI makes sure that users can embed BI and analytics with ease, enabling your staff to create interactive reports and geo-map visualization. Through clear business environment integrations, Power BI also enables your users to produce reliable reports and analyses via dashboards, reports, and datasets. All of which can be customized to make personal to suit your business’s needs.
3. Key functionality
Drag-and-drop functionality means your staff can generate custom-made reports quickly. While the option to drill down into data visualizations helps users to simply select and open information that stands out to gain better a better understanding of what’s going on. Power BI’s use of natural language queries also prevents the need for users to learn a complex query language. Collectively, a range of functionality enhances your ability for self-service.
4. Superior accessibility
Power BI is empowered to run through remote apps on a variety of internet platforms and devices, i.e. Android, iOS and Window devices, enabling you to have advanced accessibility.
Existing desktop reports can be easily adjusted to fit into these reduced landscape form factors. The apps user-friendliness is also enriched by its capacity to integrate with a mix of cloud software, and advanced data services, such as Cortana. While having easy to use intuitive graphical functions means your users require no professional training when using the app. Ensuring your employees’ learning is fast and succinct.
5. Connectivity
A wide range of data sources are supported, such as the sales data captured in CRM or financial data from ERP. Power Bi allows you to access on-premise, Azure Cloud and third-party data sources in a single easy to use application. This allows you to create new and compelling datasets from multiple disparate data sources.
Nonetheless, although connectivity can be far-reaching, you can be sure that Power BI has continuously improving security measures, complying with international security requirements.
6. Microsoft
Given the speed technology is developing at Microsoft have chosen to heavily invest in increasing the capabilities of Power BI long-term. For example, the product is responsive to its market needs by operating with huge software compatibility. Meaning that the app is powerful enough to consolidate a range of information sources into specific Datasets, so you can build reports.
7. Updates
Continuous updates ensure that Power BI sees regular monthly updates. This is achieved through Microsoft being proactive in responding to Power BI community suggestions. New proposed functionality is voted on and implemented within the core product.
Meanwhile, as the Power BI community grows you can be confident your support channels will continue to grow and access more ideas for how best to use the app and software.
8. Refreshing data
Not all data sources support live querying so how do you make sure you are seeing the latest version of your data? Power BI has this covered by allowing you to refresh its data cache up to 8 times a day with Power BI Pro, and up to 48 times a day with Power BI Premium.
The simple use of Power BI’s data cache makes for simple and rapid report deployment but allowing the flexibility to see the data refreshed at set times that meet the business’ needs, all in one application.
9. Cost
Power BI has two versions; Power BI Pro and Power BI Premium. The entry level is Power BI Pro, which gives you all the functionality in the Azure cloud for a low cost per user per month.
If you have a need for hundreds of users to access the reports or need to be able to refresh your data more than 8 times a day, then there is Power BI Premium. Power BI Premium is more expensive, but you won’t need as many Power BI Pro licenses and also you get a dedicated node (compute resource) in Azure allowing you to be more responsive to your business’ needs.
10. Rapid information breakdown
Having ease of access to understandable data quickly means your Power BI users can make increasingly informed decision in reaction to business needs.
For example, the data presented within the app can be formatted to identify which of your markets are performing below, at, or above your expectations: creating actionable insights to make your company more competitive.
Discover even more benefits of PowerBI
Ready to read about the features of PowerBI in more depth? We’ve got a guide that covers the worst-case scenario and how PowerBI can help prevent that.
start free: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/
thanks for reading.
