What is Power BI? Why Use?

While there are multiple business intelligence tools, according to the report, Microsoft Power BI is the best BI tool. The Microsoft Power BI tool is one that you can use with confidence despite the market’s many choices. 

What is Microsoft Power BI?

Microsoft Power BI is a business intelligence platform that offers features for data gathering, analysis, visualization, and collaboration to non-technical business users. Users who are familiar with Excel will find Power BI’s user interface to be fairly intuitive. It is a flexible self-service tool that requires less initial training due to its close connection with other Microsoft products.

In addition to native mobile apps for Windows, Android, and iOS devices, users can download Power BI Desktop for Windows 10. For businesses that do indeed keep their data and reports on-site, there is also Power BI Report Server. It calls itself Power BI Desktop for Power BI Report Server and calls for a customized version of the desktop application.

In this blog, we shall discuss what is power BI, BI application and power BI features.

If you want to learn more Microsoft power BI, you can join Power BI Training in Chennai, which will help you have a profound understanding of Power BI Products, Power BI Desktop, types of Operators, Power BI service, etc. 

Common uses of Power BI

To get insights from a business’s data, use Microsoft Power BI. 

Power BI may assist in fusing various data sets, cleaning and transforming the data into a data model, and creating charts or graphs to provide visual representations of the data. 

This information is shared with other Power BI users inside the company.

For enterprises, the data models produced by Power BI can be applied in several ways, including the following:

• We can narrate the story of the data via a diagram or chart.
• It is a data visualization tool.
• Scanning the data for “what if” situations;
• Generate reports that can provide real-time information and aid in forecasting to ensure that departments accomplish corporate objectives.

Managers or administrators can also access executive dashboards from Power BI, which can give the administration more information about how different departments are performing.

Who uses Power BI?

Despite being a self-service BI application that makes data analytics accessible to all employees, Power BI is mainly utilized by data analysts and BI specialists who build the data models before sharing reports across the enterprise. Most importantly

 People with experience in analytics may use Power BI and make reports.

Department representatives and management utilize Microsoft Power BI to provide reports and projections that support sales and marketing representatives. Additionally, it gives management information on how the department or individuals are achieving their objectives.

In addition, Power BI provides administrators with an admin interface that they can use to set up usage tracking, licenses, and implementation of Power BI.

Key features of Power BI

Since Power BI’s rollout, Microsoft has added several data analytics features and is still doing so. The following are some of the most significant characteristics:

• Artificial intelligence: In addition to employing automated ML tools to build machine learning models, users may integrate with Azure Machine Learning and utilize picture recognition and text analytics in Power BI.
• Hybrid deployment support: With the help of these built-in connectors, Power BI tools can connect to a wide range of data sources from Microsoft, Salesforce, and other vendors.
• Quick Discernment: Users can utilize this feature to build data subsets and have analytics run on them automatically.
• Standard data model support: Power BI supports the common data model, using a standardized and expandable set of data schemas possible.
• Cortana integration: Users can query data using natural language and obtain results using Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana due to this feature, which is prevalent on mobile devices.
• Customization. This feature allows developers to change the appearance of default visualization and reporting tools and import new tools into the platform.
• APIs for integration: This feature offers application programme interfaces (APIs) and sample code to developers so they may incorporate the Power BI dashboard into other software applications.
• Self-service data preparation: Business analysts may integrate massive data into the Power BI web service, process it, merge it, and enhance it using Power Query. Multiple Power BI features, analytics, and dashboards can share processed data.
• Modelling view: Users can do things like multi-select items and establish common properties, inspect and adjust properties in the properties pane, set display folders for easier consumption of complicated data models, and split complex data models by subject area into different diagrams.

Microsoft Power BI Updates over Time

Initially released in July 2011 in conjunction with SQL Server, code-named Denali, Power BI was first known as Project Crescent. It was then given the name Power BI and released in September 2013 as Power BI for Office 365, now known as Microsoft 365.

Over time, Microsoft added features like enterprise-level data access and security settings to the stack, initially built around Excel tools like Power Query, Power Pivot, and Power View. 

In July 2015, Power BI became accessible as a standalone product.

Today, Microsoft constantly adds new features and modifications to the Power BI programme. Users can download the most recent version of Power BI Desktop from the Power BI website to acquire updates, or Windows 10 customers can get Power BI Desktop through the Windows Store.

Power BI Components

Microsoft Power BI operates by fusing data sources and allowing users access to a BI dashboard. It can integrate into an Excel spreadsheet or combine on-premises and cloud-based database systems. The information retrieved from cloud-based resources, such as Salesforce CRM, is instantly updated.

Users of Power BI must do a manual reload or set up a schedule for a reload when using programmes like an Excel workbook or a Power BI Desktop file connected to the internet or on-premises data sources.

Power BI comprises many apps that can be utilized on a desktop computer, a mobile device, or a SaaS solution. The on-premises version is called Power BI Desktop, the cloud-based version is called Power BI Service, and the mobile version is called Power BI.

Users can create and share actionable insights using the various Power BI components in a way that is appropriate for their function.

Users may build and share statistical reports with the support of Power BI’s various components. These are what they are:

Power Query: A data fusion and conversion tool 

Power Pivot: A tool for memory tabular data modeling  

Power View: Power View is a tool for data visualization. 

Power Map: A 3D geospatial data visualization tool  

Power Q&A: A speech recognition question and answer engine 

Additionally, multiple data sources connect to Power BI, ranging from

•  Files (Excel, PDF, SharePoint, XML)
•  Databases (SQL Server Database, Oracle Database, IBM databases, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery)
• Azure data connections and online services (Dynamics 365, Salesforce Reports, Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Facebook and others).

To become an Oracle Database Administrator, you can join Oracle Training In Bangalore and learn the core Oracle Database, Data Model, SQL Constraints, SQL Functions and many other core concepts of oracle. 

How to use Power BI

Analysts and other users can build models, data access, and reports using Power BI Desktop. These reports can be made available to other users for viewing and interaction via the Power BI service.

To create a Power BI report, take the next steps:

• Link the data sources together.
• Utilize data queries for reporting and analysis based on user requirements.
• Put the report online with the Power BI service.
• The report is shared so that users of the cloud and mobile devices can access and engage with it.
• Colleagues’ ability to change reports makes dashboards, and more can be controlled by adding permissions.

If you want to understand customer relationship management (CRM) software solutions, you can join Salesforce Training In Madurai, which will help you understand developing business Logic, managing data security, business process automation and deploying apps

How much does Power BI cost?

Users can choose from Power BI Desktop, Power BI Pro, or Power BI Premium, which come in three different versions. The Pro model is $9.99 per user per month; however, the desktop version is free.

The number of users and installation scale affect Power BI Premium pricing. Two layers are separated: per user and per capacity. The Premium per capacity level begins at $4,995 per capacity per month, whereas the Premium per user level starts at $20 per user per month.

Now that you have understood what is Power BI, Power BI service, BI application and Power BI features. So, if you are interested in learning about Microsoft Power BI tools, you can join Power BI Training in Bangalore and learn  power BI service, Business Intelligence (BI), Traditional BI, Self-Serviced BI and many other core concepts of BI application.