We use Microsoft BI to construct panels and analysis for the final users by themselves. We have all the units outside and analyses made by the final users. They can share their work with other colleagues and other teammates easily.
Director of Systems of the TCESP at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Useful drag and drop function, straightforward implementation, and high availability
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features in Microsoft BI are the analysis using the feature drag and drop function. It's very easy to load and use different data sources."
- "Microsoft BI could improve by allowing large-size data sources. We have large data sources, and we have problems loading them in Microsoft BI."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features in Microsoft BI are the analysis using the feature drag and drop function. It's very easy to load and use different data sources.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft BI could improve by allowing large-size data sources. We have large data sources, and we have problems loading them in Microsoft BI.
I would like to see in a future release the ability to create rules with no code. Similar to drag-and-drop solutions, or some other way with no code.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft BI for approximately two years.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power BI
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power BI. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,106 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is reliable, we do not have a problem with the availability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft BI is a scalable solution.
We have approximately 500 users using this solution in my organization. We have plans to increase the use of the solution. Our employees are getting better with the ability to use the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Microsoft is satisfactory.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Microsoft BI was straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
I would encourage others to use Microsoft BI, it is a good solution.
I rate Microsoft BI a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Information Technology Architect at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
A good solution that supports the Microsoft ecosystem and is easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "It is very good, and it supports the Microsoft ecosystem, including Excel, etc."
- "The handling of the workspaces can be made more granular for user access rights. It can be managed a little bit better in terms of the connection to Active Directory so that we have more granular access rights. I am not sure if this is really possible or if we can solve it differently, but we need a lot of workspaces, and we are not sure how we can deal with it from the access rights perspective."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Power BI for reporting.
What is most valuable?
It is very good, and it supports the Microsoft ecosystem, including Excel, etc.
What needs improvement?
We have been using it only for a couple of months, and we are at the beginning of our learning. The area of improvement is difficult to say. The handling of the workspaces can be made more granular for user access rights. It can be managed a little bit better in terms of the connection to Active Directory so that we have more granular access rights. I am not sure if this is really possible or if we can solve it differently, but we need a lot of workspaces, and we are not sure how we can deal with it from the access rights perspective.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for a couple of months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We are not sure because we currently have a simple installation on the PC, but the idea is to scale it via Office 365 cloud implementation.
It seems suitable for small, medium, and large enterprises. It should be able to scale up. Based on the marketing slides, it should be able to handle all kinds of enterprises.
How are customer service and support?
We have not had any problems, so we had no requirement to use technical support.
How was the initial setup?
It is quite easy. You just need to install a program and use the connectors and drivers, and that's it.
What about the implementation team?
I did it myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are end-users, and we don't take care of the prices and accounting. We get a product and pay the fee to our internal service provider, but its price should be reasonable. Otherwise, they wouldn't have bought it.
What other advice do I have?
We are not very experienced in it. So, I don't know if I can recommend it, but we are using it because it is very good.
I would rate it an eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power BI
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power BI. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,106 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Business Intelligence Developer at lagozon technologies private limited
Helpful community support, easy for new users, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "When we are introducing Microsoft BI to our clients, if they're familiar with Excel, the transition phase will be much easier for them. They can easily switch from Microsoft Excel to Microsoft BI. The core foundation or the base technology is the same in both tools. There are a few limitations in Microsoft Excel, and this is where Microsoft BI comes in."
- "Microsoft BI can improve some of the visual level filters or visual functionality, that are available in other BI tools, such as Tableau or Qlik Sense."
What is our primary use case?
We are providing BI services to clients in India who are using Microsoft BI. We are able to provide the clients with data-driven decisions by the use of the reports that we are creating using Microsoft BI. The reports are usually graphical and intuitive.
What is most valuable?
When we are introducing Microsoft BI to our clients, if they're familiar with Excel, the transition phase will be much easier for them. They can easily switch from Microsoft Excel to Microsoft BI. The core foundation or the base technology is the same in both tools. There are a few limitations in Microsoft Excel, and this is where Microsoft BI comes in.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft BI can improve some of the visual level filters or visual functionality, that are available in other BI tools, such as Tableau or Qlik Sense.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Microsoft BI within the past 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Microsoft BI is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft BI is a scalable solution. Here in India, it is a popular tool for people to implement.
The client that we are working with has approximately 500 to 600 users.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Microsoft is helpful. If you're facing any sort of issue or error, you can raise it to the Microsoft BI community.
How was the initial setup?
We work on a very concise team of three to four members for the deployment. We will be requiring only a data engineer, Microsft BI developer, business analyst, and project manager.
If the user requirement is high, we can increase the number of members in the team. However, if you have a team of four, then you can deploy the project. A minimum of four people is required.
What about the implementation team?
For its maintenance of Microsoft BI, you require only two people. If there are some backend data issues, then you will require a data engineer. However, if the issue is related to the frontend or BI report, then you only need one developer for that.
What other advice do I have?
My advice is for the companies who want to make data-driven decisions or to share the report with the security feature in it, they should opt for Microsoft BI services.
I rate Microsoft BI a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Associate Director BI-EPM at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Affordably priced, user-friendly, and simple to install
Pros and Cons
- "There is also a chart store where we can download charts, which is extremely useful."
- "The default parameters of the prompt could be improved by including a dynamic option."
What is our primary use case?
We get our reports from, NetSuite, and we prepare resource forecast and finance dashboard reports in Microsoft BI.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the ease of use. It is very easy to use.
It is very user-friendly.
There is also a chart store where we can download charts, which is extremely useful.
I don't believe it needs additional features. It appears to be adequate for the reporting tool. It appears to be fine.
What needs improvement?
The default parameters of the prompt could be improved by including a dynamic option. We are unable to select any default parameters or it is not dynamic, so we must manually select that prompt value. For instance, there is a year prompt, and if it needs to be changed, someone will have to open Microsoft BI in edit mode to update it. If you have a dynamic option, it makes things a lot easier.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft BI for three years.
I work with the most recent update.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft BI is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not tried to scale this solution.
In our company, we have ten users.
We use this solution on a daily basis.
How are customer service and support?
We have not contacted technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple. It only takes five minutes to deploy.
Other than refreshing the dataset, it does not require any maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft BI is not expensive. It is affordable.
There are no additional costs.
What other advice do I have?
If they are looking for a reporting tool that is easy to use and expandable in terms of charts, or new charts, they should use Microsoft BI, because there are many charts on the market that they can download and use very easily.
I would Microsft BI a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Senior Manager: ICT Compliance at Department of Public Service and Administration
Stable, easy to use solution for streamlining business processes
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very easy to use."
- "I would like for there to be some type of user manual that shows steps on how to navigate the solution."
What is most valuable?
The solution is very easy to use.
What needs improvement?
I would like for there to be some type of user manual that shows steps on how to navigate the solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
This is my third year working with Power BI.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is very stable so far.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is scalable. We currently have about two hundred users.
How are customer service and support?
I am satisfied with Microsoft's support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not use another solution previously.
How was the initial setup?
We have three support staff for maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I believe that the price is reasonable, at least for an enterprise solution.
What other advice do I have?
This is a solution that I would recommend because it is easy to use and they will be able to streamline their business processes.
I would rate this a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
User-friendly, feature-rich, and easy to implement but there is no column-level security
Pros and Cons
- "This product has a lot of features and most of them are user-friendly."
- "There is no column-level security in Microsoft BI, and this is a feature that most of our customers are looking for. That is something that should be implemented."
What is our primary use case?
We are a solution provider and Microsoft BI is one of the products that we implement for our customers.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft BI is easy to implement, as it is a web-based product that doesn't need to be installed.
This product has a lot of features and most of them are user-friendly.
The visualizations are pretty easy to create. In fact, if you want to create anything new, it is pretty easy to do.
The reporting capability is good.
What needs improvement?
There is no column-level security in Microsoft BI, and this is a feature that most of our customers are looking for. That is something that should be implemented.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Microsoft BI for between six and seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft BI is scalable.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also use Oracle BI.
How was the initial setup?
The implementation process is pretty easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Both cost-wise and implementation-wise, this product is a good choice.
What other advice do I have?
This product is good in terms of cost, it is pretty easy to implement, and I can recommend it for those features and the reporting.
Overall, the product is good but there are a few limitations.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: implementer
Senior Analyst at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Good visualizations, dashboards, and scalability, but needs better user interface, rule-based security, and support
Pros and Cons
- "Its visualizations and dashboards are most valuable. Power BI is great in terms of visualizations and dashboards. The reports that we previously had were not very nice in terms of visualization. It also provides the ability to play with the data."
- "We have a lot of servers and applications from which we want reports, and it allows us to create reports from an SQL source or some other source."
- "They can improve it in terms of rule-based security. Currently, it has very limited rules."
- "They can improve the user interface a little bit to make it more user-friendly. When creating a dashboard, it is not very user-friendly. You have to click on a certain style and use your keyboard keys to move it. You cannot drag and drop it."
- "Their technical support can be better. They normally take too long to escalate and resolve a case."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for reporting. We are using its latest version.
What is most valuable?
Its visualizations and dashboards are most valuable. Power BI is great in terms of visualizations and dashboards. The reports that we previously had were not very nice in terms of visualization. It also provides the ability to play with the data.
We have a lot of servers and applications from which we want reports, and it allows us to create reports from an SQL source or some other source.
What needs improvement?
They can improve it in terms of rule-based security. Currently, it has very limited rules.
They can improve the user interface a little bit to make it more user-friendly. When creating a dashboard, it is not very user-friendly. You have to click on a certain style and use your keyboard keys to move it. You cannot drag and drop it.
Their technical support can be better. They normally take too long to escalate and resolve a case.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Power BI for five or six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I am at the initial stage of using it. We have just deployed a report in our organization, and it is working fine so far. It seems to be stable. I am not sure if we faced any issues with it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is good in terms of scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have had only one interaction with them, and it was a bad one. They took around a month to resolve a simple issue. We also had to escalate the case. The resolution was very simple, and ideally, they should have found it on the first day. They normally take too long when it comes to the escalation of cases.
How was the initial setup?
As a first-time user, I found it to be of medium complexity. You have to connect it with the SQL database or your data source. You might not find it very straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
It can also be deployed on-premises. If you have it on-premises, make sure that you meet all the prerequisites and have all permissions. You should sort these things out before deploying Power BI. I faced some issues because I missed one of the prerequisites, and it took me one month to get it resolved. That's why I recommend completing all prerequisites.
I would rate Microsoft Power BI a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
New Build Completion & Commissioning at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Powerful, user-friendly, and easy to set up
Pros and Cons
- "The product can go easily go and extract data and it can put it into any format."
- "I'm not overly technical, and so I can't really speak to any shortcomings from a technical standpoint."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the product for running the reports and all data extraction in our organization.
What is most valuable?
The solution is a wonderful tool overall.
Power BI is very powerful and very easy to use. Its user-friendliness is one of its most valuable aspects. It has a very nice user interface that makes everything easy to navigate.
The product can go easily go and extract data and it can put it into any format.
It's a very good data analytic tool.
The initial setup is pretty easy. It's pretty straightforward in general.
What needs improvement?
I can't say that anything glaring is missing from the offering at this time.
Microsoft is doing a lot of research on it and they're coming up with a lot of good release items.
I'm not overly technical, and so I can't really speak to any shortcomings from a technical standpoint.
I'd like to have more time with the solution to evaluate it to see if there's really anything missing. We don't really go in-depth with the product.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution since about 2017. It's been a few years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is very good. It's a Microsoft product and therefore they wouldn't put anything out that wasn't tested and worthy of release. There aren't bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's quite reliable and offers good performance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
While the scalability is there, the cost is what you have to factor in. It has to scale as if there's more data, it needs to meet that demand and be able to extract and analyze it.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support for the most part has been very good. They are helpful and responsive. We are satisfied with the level of support we receive. On a scale of one to 25, I would give it a mark of 20.
How was the initial setup?
We've found the initial setup to be pretty straightforward. It's not complex. A company shouldn't have too much trouble getting everything up and running.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm not sure of the exact cost of the solution. It's not an aspect of the product I need to worry about.
I am aware that we currently have an enterprise license.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I personally haven't evaluated or compared any other solutions. I don't have any knowledge in terms of how it compares to other options.
What other advice do I have?
We are customers and end-users. We don't have a specific business relationship with Microsoft.
I would rate the solution eight out of ten overall. We've been pretty satisfied with the product.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Power BI Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
Popular Comparisons
Amazon QuickSight
Teradata
IBM Cognos
SAP Analytics Cloud
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform
Oracle OBIEE
MicroStrategy
Oracle Analytics Cloud
Salesforce Einstein Analytics
TIBCO Spotfire
ThoughtSpot
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Power BI Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions:
- BI Reports for business users - which BI solutions should we choose?
- Business users moving from Tableau to MS Report builder
- Is Power BI a complete platform or only a visualization tool?
- What are the key advantages of OBIEE compared to Microsoft BI?
- What Is The Biggest Difference Between Microsoft BI and Oracle OBIEE?
- Is Microsoft Power BI good for an ETL process?
- How would you decide between Microsoft Power BI and TIBCO Spotfire?
- Is it easy to extract data from Oracle Fusion into Power BI?
- PowerBI or SyncFusion - which is better?
- What challenges to expect when migrating multiple dashboards from TIBCO Spotfire to Microsoft Power BI?