Reasons to use Microsoft Power BI

Business Intelligence Tools Microsoft Power BI

Reasons to use Microsoft Power BI

Incorporating years of database experience, Microsoft has created an innovative, cloud-based Business Intelligence (BI) platform. This collates business data from across a number of sources, transforming it into meaningful data which is analysed for business insight. BI continues to be a leading business-empowerment tool, and Microsoft Power BI is dominating this space for a number of reasons. Here are several reasons to use Microsoft Power BI.

7 Reasons to use Microsoft Power BI

1. Customised visuals

The standard data visuals provided by Power BI can be made more interactive through features such as column, line, matrix, pie chart and tables, all of which can be customised for unique business visuals. In addition to the standardised package options, Power BI also provides you with a range of custom visual files that include dynamic features like decision-trees, heatmaps and correlation plots. The use of customised visuals allows you to express your company’s story in its own way.

2. It’s powerful (as the name suggests)

This particular BI software is powered by the ‘Power Pivot’ data modelling engine which is renowned for its high performance and ability to compress databases effectively. Microsoft Power BI is able to deal with tables exceeding 100 million records, and the automated refreshes keep your data constantly updated. This allows you access to high-quality data, a lot quicker and easier for superior business insight.

3. Better data consolidation

The Power BI platform allows you to access data from multiple, cloud-based sources, including DropBox, OneDrive and Google Analytics – among others – through in-built connectors. This merged data can then be analysed from one comprehensive report. You also have access to pre-built Power BI dashboards which can be customised for your business needs. This valuable platform also boasts a ‘drag-and-drop’ interface, mitigating the time-consuming copy-and-paste action.

4. Useful Q&A feature

There are no technical coding requirements needed when using Microsoft Power BI which has the useful Q&A feature designed for natural language searches. Simply double click on a blank spot on the canvas to bring up the question box and search for anything related to your business data. Predictive suggestions will offer guidance on possible search options – increasing in accuracy over time – and there is voice recognition through Microsoft’s digital assistant, Cortana, for even quicker access.

5. Easy integration

Microsoft Power BI integrates seamlessly with another popular Microsoft platform – Excel. Through the ‘Analyse in Excel’ tab you’ll access an interface that mirrors Excel, making it much more familiar to new users with existing Excel knowledge. They’ll also be at an added advantage of being able to discern trends within Power BI quickly, as well as navigating the Power Query tool.

6. User friendly

As you’ve probably figured out from the previous points, Microsoft Power BI prides itself in being an incredibly accessible interface, even for those with no programming background. Because of the in-built intelligence, integration with Excel, Q&A features, and data consolidation, Power BI guides you through the system, allowing for a hassle-free user experience.

7. Cost-effective

The Microsoft Power BI Desktop is a free platform for a single user, allowing you to create business reports and dashboards ranging from the most basic through to extremely complex. This comes with the ability to:

Connect to, transform, and model data
Create charts and graphs
Create reports and dashboards
Share reports Power BI users
Gain business insights

However, those seeking a more comprehensive range of features can upgrade to the Microsoft Power BI Pro at a cost of $9.99 per user per month, with a 60-day free trial. This allows you to:

Embed Power BI visuals into Power BI apps
Integrate with other Microsoft solutions
Share data, dashboards, and reports with other Power BI users
Create workspaces
Enable peer-to-peer sharing

For bigger organisations, there is the Power BI Premium option with customised costing based on use. This gives you:

Flexibility to publish reports across an enterprise
Greater scale and performance
The ability to maintain BI assets on-premises through Power BI Report Server
A consistent set of capabilities and access to the latest features for embedded analytics
Pro and Premium considerations

Chat to a registered Microsoft Power BI partner to discover the many advantages of the software for your business, as well as the best option from the BI range for your needs.