All you need to know about Microsoft PowerBI tool.

Microsoft first introduced PowerBI as a cloud-based business intelligence and data visualisation solution in 2013. It was created to be simple to use and available to a variety of users including data specialists and business analysts.

Microsoft announced a desktop version of PowerBI in 2015. Enabling users to design and share reports from their own computers. Additionally a wider variety of data sources, including on-premises data sources like SQL Server, are now supported with this update.

PowerBI Pro, a new version of PowerBI that Microsoft introduced in 2016 included new features like data sharing and collaboration as well as the capacity to publish reports online. Real time data streaming and the option to schedule data refresh were also added in this edition.

PowerBI has continued to develop and increase its capabilities since it was first made available. Microsoft updated PowerBI in 2017 with the release of PowerBI Premium which included support for bigger data sets and more sophisticated features like data governance and data orchestration.

Today, organisations all over the world utilise PowerBI a popular business intelligence and data visualisation tool. To obtain insights from their data and improve the data driven decisions they make. It is offered both as a desktop application that can be downloaded and installed on customers computers and as a cloud based service.

Users like us can use it to build interactive dashboards, reports, and charts using data from a variety of sources, including cloud services, SQL databases, and Excel.

PowerBI has a range of features that make it a popular choice among business analysts and data professionals. Some of the key features include:

1. PowerBI users have the ability to connect to a variety of data sources and quickly import data into the programme. Additionally it provides a number of data transformation functions that let users clean up and reshape their data for analysis including the capacity to filter, split, and merge columns.
2. Visualization and dashboarding: PowerBI offers a variety of visualisation choices such as charts, maps, and gauges. which enables users to show data in an understandable and interesting manner. Additionally it offers a dashboarding function that enables users to build dynamic dashboards that are simple to share with others.
3. Collaboration and sharing: PowerBI allows users to collaborate and share their dashboards and reports with others within their organization. It also has lot of security features that allow users to control access to their data and protect sensitive information.
4. Mobile and offline access: PowerBI has mobile apps for iOS and Android that allow users to access their dashboards and reports on the go. It also has a offline mode that allows users to access their dashboards and reports when they don’t have an internet connection. It’s an amazing toll when it comes to Mobile access.

Connecting to a variety of data sources is one of PowerBI primary advantages. Users now find it simple to mix data from many platforms and bring it in for analysis. A user may for instance connect to an Excel spreadsheet that contains sales data, a SQL database that contains customer information, and a cloud service that contains social media analytics, and then develop a dashboard that compiles all of this information in one location.

PowerBI’s visualisation and dashboarding features are further advantages. With the help of the tool users may simply adapt charts, maps, and gauges to suit the requirements of their audience. Additionally, it offers customers a variety of formatting and stylistic options so they may design reports and dashboards with a professional appearance.

Here are some things about PowerBI that people might not know:

• PowerBI features a free version: Anyone with a Microsoft account can access PowerBI free version in addition to its commercial editions. Many of the key components of PowerBI including the ability to connect to data sources, build dashboards and reports, and share them with others are available in the free edition.
• PowerBI can integrate with other Microsoft products. By integrating with other Microsoft products like Excel, Office 365, and Azure, customers may make use of their current processes and tools.
• There is a developer community for PowerBI: So PowerBI has a flourishing developer community. That has produced a variety of unique visualisations and other tools that may be utilised to expand the platform’s functionality. Both the PowerBI Visuals Gallery and the PowerBI Custom Visuals GitHub repository contain these tools.
• PowerBI offers a REST API: PowerBI has a REST API which enables developers to access and modify data in PowerBI programmatically. This will used to create unique system integrations or to automate processes like data refresh and report publishing.
• PowerBI has a built in programming language: PowerBI has a built in programming language called DAX (Data Analysis Expressions). Which allows users to create custom calculations and measures within their dashboards and reports. This can be used to create more advanced analyses and to build custom formulas that go beyond the out of the box capabilities of PowerBI.

Conclusion

In conclusion PowerBI is a strong business intelligence and data visualisation solution that enables users to connect to a variety of data sources. Build interactive dashboards and reports, and work with others. All sizes of businesses can benefit from using it to help them make better data driven decisions.