Microsoft Power BI

In a nutshell: What is Microsoft Power BI?

By using Microsoft Power BI (Business Intelligence), users can merge, categorize and visualize data. This simplifies the analysis of data.

In addition, the business intelligence platform provides all users with several tools to link the tables, graphics and other files from Microsoft Power BI with various programs and use them flexibly in everyday working life.

Core elements of Microsoft Power BI (Business Intelligence)

The three basic elements of Microsoft Power BI are the desktop app Power BI Desktop, the SaaS solution Power BI Service and the mobile Power BI apps for Windows, iOS and Android devices. SaaS solution means software provided via the cloud (SaaS = Software as a Service). All of these applications enable the consolidation, analysis and visualization of data.

Thanks to the scope and functions of the various tools in Microsoft Power BI, data from different data sources can be merged and prepared in an appealing way through modeling, visualization, reporting and other measures.

To name a few examples of the use of the basic elements in Microsoft Power BI:

• Data from an Excel document is imported into the desktop app or online into the Power BI service.
• The data can be viewed by all employees via the memory contained in the Power BI service.
• Employees on the move can view the data on their smartphone using one of the Power BI mobile apps.

These three key points show why all three basic elements of Microsoft Power BI have their raison d'être. Thanks to the large number of applications, all users - regardless of location and end device - can always access the data if an Internet connection is available. The intensity of use of the three components Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service and the Mobile Apps varies depending on the user:

• Experience has shown that developers, data engineers and analysts who are responsible for data collection, data preparation and data analysis usually use the desktop application.
• Managers and decision-makers in companies tend to make use of the Power BI service. This is because they can view the reports, analyses, dashboards and visualizations created in real time.
• Users from the sales department prefer to use the mobile apps because they can get a quick insight into relevant data on their smartphone or tablet at any time when they are on the move.

With the various users in mind, Microsoft has provided various information on its Learn platform. This includes separate pages with application notes on Microsoft Power BI for business users and report authors. Anyone who would like tailored advice on the individual use of the business intelligence tools can find out more on the Microsoft website.

Basically, the three basic components allow each user to use the Power Platform in the way that is best for them and optimally suits their role in the company. A standard Power BI subscription is sufficient to view the Power BI dashboards and reports. If it is desired that employees are allowed to create reports, visualizations, evaluations and analyses of data in a self-service approach, the Power BI Pro subscription must be made available to employees.

Did you know? -> As a professional IT service provider, we at innobit advise companies and users individually with regard to the Microsoft Power Platform. Give us a call or send us an e-mail and get advice that is tailored to your needs and those of your company!

Other components of Microsoft Power BI

In addition to the three basic elements presented, Power BI offers further applications and solutions for merging, processing and analyzing data. One of these elements is the Power BI Report Builder for creating reports.

Users can also create reports using Power BI Desktop. However, the Power BI Report Builder is a special solution for creating paginated reports. They owe their name to the fact that they fit on one page.

• The reports created in the BI tool Power BI Report Builder are characterized by practical formatting.
• If the reports are sent by email or shared in the Power BI service after creation, for example, users can print them out immediately as the reports are available in a suitable format.
• Even if the tables or other visualizations are very extensive and extend over several pages, they are available in the correct format and can be printed to be physically handed out.

In addition to the Power BI Report Builder, the Power BI Report Server is also one of the Microsoft Power BI tools. Reports can be published on this local server once they have been created in the various Power BI apps and can be viewed by other users of the Power Platform. The special thing about the Power BI report server is that it is not part of the cloud, but is operated by companies behind their own firewall.

Possible applications for Microsoft Power BI: key role in data engineering

In our glossary article on data engineering, we provide information on its great importance for the processing of data. Data engineers lay the foundation for extracting insights from data with their work, which includes merging, categorizing and visualizing data. To do this, data engineers have to combine data from different sources and transfer it to a central data warehouse.

Microsoft Power BI facilitates the consolidation of data and provides the infrastructure for cloud-based and local data warehouses. In digitalized times, in which the importance of big data can no longer be denied and is constantly increasing, Microsoft Power BI is an essential key for companies to manage data correctly, make it available throughout the entire company and derive insights from it.

Due to the functions and applications in Power BI, there are various application possibilities for companies and individuals. This is an overview with three examples:

• Central database: OneLake is a place where all data from a company is brought together. As a data warehouse, OneLake processes data from a wide variety of data sources , partly automatically. Data can be easily shared with other users in OneLake without having to duplicate or move it. The distinctive data network makes it easy to provide analyses.
• Provision of data for customers: The Power BI Embedded service makes it possible to show customers data with personalized dashboards. To do this, the service is implemented in the company's own applications. Companies can use their own white labeling to make Power BI look like their own application. The user experience is improved by the advanced type of data visualization using your own Power BI white label solution.
• Company scaling and content-oriented collaboration: The ownership, management and transmission of content can be flexibly designed in Power BI. With the "Team BI" offering, for example, data and insights can be shared informally within smaller teams to facilitate work on individual projects, for example. The "Enterprise BI" offering makes it easy to organize content distribution to large numbers of users. This is also helpful in the course of company scaling.

In addition to these three examples for the use of Power BI, there are further possible applications. We would be happy to advise you on this in an individual consultation. In addition to the high degree of automation and the simplified setup of interfaces, a special quality of Power BI is above all the integration of Microsoft's AI, which is called Copilot.

In the Power BI Desktop offering, Microsoft Copilot can support the generation of insights from the various data sources. Either previously unnoticed correlations are recognized through the use of AI, or the AI provides support in everyday work and relieves employees, for example, in the modeling and sharing of data.

Some users praise Power BI for its similarity to the M365 user interface. Anyone familiar with Microsoft 365 should therefore also find their way around Power BI. Microsoft advertises on its website with reference to a study by The Total Economic Impact that companies can benefit from a combination of Microsoft Power BI and Microsoft 365, companies achieve higher productivity and benefited from an ROI of 321% over a period of three years.

Conclusion: What is Microsoft Power BI?

Microsoft Power BI is a comprehensive offering for companies to bring together data from different data sources. Combined in a partially automated and flexibly usable data warehouse, the collection of data can be categorized, visualized and further processed using the tools in Power BI.

Power BI thus provides the basis for precise analyses of large amounts of data and can be adapted to the requirements of companies thanks to its numerous functions and services.