6 Reasons Why You Need Power Bi

If you’ve clicked on this article it means that you are interested in knowing more about Power BI and its applications. So instead of going on and on about what Power BI is, let’s dive into the topic of why you need Power BI. And as an add-on let’s know more about key things to remember for Microsoft Power BI Implementation. If you’re looking for Power BI tips, the following article is not for you. But you can find the 7 best Power BI practices here.

Why do businesses prefer Power BI Solutions?

Needless to say, with our experience in Power BI Implementation, we have seen multiple organizations interested or already using Power BI. A few of the key reasons are:

• Ease of connecting data

Power BI has the added advantage of Microsoft. It has a huge database for connectors to connect with major data sets like that of Azure, Cloud, Access, Spreadsheets, DropBox, Salesforce, and even on-premise data connectors.

With these in-built connectors, you can connect to multiple sources in a few seconds and can go on with data analysis and reporting. You can also combine multiple spreadsheets into one and can continue with the analysis.

• Easy to use

How easy? Just drag and drop. You can select the visualization that might be useful. If you are confused about selecting the visualization look at the picture below, it might help you choose an infographic. Another ease with Power BI (actually from which its name was derived) is the similarity with Power Query of Excel. You can easily perform complicated calculations and transform the data with ease if you are familiar with Excel.

Source: Polestar Solutions

• Open Source Visuals

Power BI has the access to a ton of pre-packed standard data visuals which can be seen as soon as you open Power BI. In addition to these, you also have access to a library to open source visuals, that can be accessed by anyone. Some of the tools include Word Cloud, Correlation Charts, Pareto Charts, Natural Language Insights, etc., and many more which can be useful for personalizing your dashboards.

• Integrations for Advanced Analytics users

Power BI can be useful for all types of users. Those who have no experience with coding and those who have experience with R and Python. For the first kind, there is always the drag and drop feature, but for the advanced users, there are integrations with R and Python. With this integration, it gives the ability to perform Statistical analysis, Machine Learning, and Data Manipulation. And you can directly integrate this into your dashboards.

For other users, you can also leverage the Azure ML or Azure Machine learning capabilities in Power BI.

• Data Governance and Security

This has become important, especially in present times when the workspace model has shifted from Physical workspace to hybrid and the data management has moved towards On-premise to cloud and hybrid, having a secured data transfer is important. You can have multiple methods of security with Power BI, one such method is RLS: Admins can define restrictions at row level — row-level security (RLS). Row-level security is important when several people in different departments have access to the same report.

Another method is with Azure Active Directory (AAD) built-in for user authentication, which allows you to leverage Single Sign-On (SSO).

• NLP

Ok, I exaggerated it a little. It is more like a Natural Language Query. It can be used when you are not sure of the visualization or in general, want to know the key parameters that Power BI is taking as. But all you need to do is type in Natural Language (English) the parameters you want to have a dashboard for.

In addition to these, there are also various ways in which Power BI is a Game-changer. But you must have understood what we are talking about when we mean Power BI is preferred by various organizations. And one obvious thing not mentioned is how it has powerful visualizations already in-built. For example, take the dashboard below:

All the visualizations in these are inbuilt. Once you start using them, you can play around with the types of visualizations and get the hang of them.

Microsoft Power BI Implementation

As promised, let’s also discuss a little bit about Power BI Implementation. In case you are doubtful about its capabilities or have queries regarding the assessment of your future requirements, it is better to have an implementation partner for Power BI solutions. An implementation partner can help you improve the analytics capabilities for the following reasons:

1. They provide Data expertise and can help you identify the key KPIs to be worked on.
2. Connect with Azure. Microsoft Power BI as we already discussed comes with the Power of Microsoft, as such connecting to Azure and/or Azure ML can help you maximize the capabilities
3. Help with Value-added resources. Power BIs capabilities are not just limited to the stand-alone product. If you don’t want to change the workflow you are currently working on, you can get Power BI embedded and implemented for your organization.
4. Working with DAX. For new users, it can be overwhelming, but with expert help, you can understand the familiarity and can help the implementation be more successful.

So if you were in the dilemma of having a Power BI Implementation partner we’d suggest you go forward with one. Other than these, if you think you need help with Power BI services or BI Support services book a free session with our experts, we can help you resolve your problems.