When Power BI premiered in 2014, the excitement was palpable. Finally, businesses had a cloud-based business intelligence solution they could leverage to gain insight into structured and unstructured data.
That initial enthusiasm was quickly dampened, however. Users found Microsoft’s business analytics tool a challenge to navigate. It was bug-ridden, had a complicated UI, and dashboards were difficult to configure. Plus, the desktop installation was anything but easy.
Fast forward to 2020, Microsoft’s Power BI is now one of the most sought-after business analytics tools on the market. After numerous updates, it’s finally living up to the expectations of users and in some cases, even surpassing them. New features like advanced filter editing and formatting capabilities, multi-column sort for tables, and instructor-led online training enhance the platform’s user-friendliness. Today, you can perform cloud-scale analytics 14 times faster and at 94% lower cost with Power BI than with other cloud providers.
If your first interactions with the platform left a bad taste in your mouth, here are three reasons to give the new Power BI a second look.
1.Ease of Use
Power BI is emerging as one of the most user-friendly analytics tools on the market. It comes with tons of shortcuts that allow you to add, manipulate, visualize, and share data.
With Power BI, you can visually explore data via a free-form drag-and-drop canvas. This makes report creation a more intuitive process. Essentially, this business analytics solution transforms raw data into clear visuals to inform better decision making. Take, for example, its use at Heathrow and some of the busiest airports in the world. At Heathrow, Power BI and Microsoft Azure help track weather systems, security queues, flight schedules, bagging platforms, and check-in counters. When weather disruptions occur, employees at Heathrow can see how they will affect passenger density at the airport. Armed with the data, managers can increase ground staff, food service provisions, and passenger buses on duty.
Other user-friendly features include the addition of content packs. With content packs, you can share datasets and reports across your entire organization. The pre-built dashboards and reports also integrate seamlessly with Google Analytics, Salesforce, and MailChimp. For example, you can connect MailChimp and Power BI to gain insight into who your most engaged subscribers are. This integration also lets you see trends within your email campaigns.
2.Cloud-Based Connectivity
Cloud-based solutions are not only cost-effective, but they’re also convenient. With just a username and password, you can access data from anywhere in the world.
Power BI is part of Microsoft’s secure, cloud-based Office 365 E5 platform. If you aren’t already utilizing the Office 365 platform, our Office 365 Migration and Implementation team can help you determine your options and even assist in the migration process.
The simple and intuitive admin portal also reduces manual errors and raises productivity rates. Since Power BI is cloud-based, your business won’t need to invest in expensive hardware. In addition, there are no limits to the amount of data Power BI can process in the cloud, making this an excellent tool for data-centric businesses.
3.Real-Time Dashboards
The most powerful feature Power BI offers is real-time dashboards. Administrators get to see how data evolves in real-time. In case you lose desktop access to your dashboards, Microsoft also includes mobile device alerts on the platform. These help you stay abreast of market changes. You gain actionable insights you can leverage to maintain agility and scalability. In addition, you can now search for reports, dashboards, and workspaces from any page.
In all, real-time data with mobile notifications allow you to adjust your internal processes to maximize output. It’s one of the most effective ways to stay ahead of the competition in various industries.
Microsoft Analytics Tools are Making a Difference in 2020
Utilizing Power BI is one of the best decisions an organization can make in 2020. Its groundbreaking new features make it an essential business analytics tool. In light of the COVID-19 crisis, state governments can now utilize it to visualize coronavirus infections at the federal, state, local, and county levels. Then, they can share their findings with the public through Power BI Publish to Web. Most importantly, the Desktop and Publish to Web capabilities are now 100% free.
With a little assistance from our data visualization experts, you too can get started on wielding Power BI for business success.