It integrates better with other Microsoft products. It is very easy to use and has very powerful visualizations. It has also got a lot of development going on.
Owner at Richard Duggan Pty Ltd
Powerful visualizations, easy to use, and integrates well with Microsoft products
Pros and Cons
- "It integrates better with other Microsoft products. It is very easy to use and has very powerful visualizations. It has also got a lot of development going on."
- "It should have more integrations."
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
It should have more integrations.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for probably two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power BI
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power BI. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. I have a few large customers of this solution.
How are customer service and support?
I don't have any experience with their support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also use Tableau. Tableau and Power BI are similar in terms of capability.
How was the initial setup?
It was easy. It was done in minutes.
What about the implementation team?
I can do it on my own. You would require external consultants or in-house experts.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing is on a monthly basis, but I am not sure.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Microsoft BI a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Business Application Group Manager at OBASE
Scalable with various licensing options and offers good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "Technical support is quite good."
- "The licensing needs improvement. There needs to be a middle option between Pro and Premium versions."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily sell Power BI licenses.
Mostly, we focus on the retail industry. Usually, we are using the Power BI reports for dashboards. We are also providing our customers with some data warehouse reporting. Basically, we do long-term categorization of stock and inventory numbers and sales figures so that they can compare the sales and stocks to the inventory numbers.
We tend to deal with physical inventory reports. We tend not to deal with the solution for financial operations.
What is most valuable?
The solution has different licensing tiers.
The product can scale if you need it to.
Technical support is quite good.
With the cloud deployment, there's no setup required.
The product works well for small or mid-level organizations.
What needs improvement?
The solution's stability could be improved. In the retail industry, due to issues with information updating and data uploading. Clients may end up pricing items wrong as they could accidentally base their choices on old or wrong data.
The licensing needs improvement. There needs to be a middle option between Pro and Premium versions. It could also be less expensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
While we have experience with Microsoft tools for the past ten years, I personally have had experience with Microsoft BI for the past two or so years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is not really stable. I've faced a lot of limitations especially in terms of some data flows updates. We have faced some exceptions. Right now, we have created a case for Microsoft in order to solve some problems we've been having as, right now, there's some sort of system fault.
While the platform is a little more stable, the big problem is the latency issues around customer updates.
In a recent project, in Sweden, we faced an exception in Power BI from the update path. Whenever we refresh the animations and the fact tables, we faced something that said we couldn't upload the data. After 20 minutes we tried to refresh again. We didn't change anything with our reports or platform or anything related to infrastructure or schema. We didn't touch anything. An yet, the data is updated successfully. That leads us to ask the question: what was the problem 20 minutes ago? We still don't know the answer.
That is why we need some stability for the update service. We are deciding some business decisions based on this data. If this data is not updated, we may decide to take the wrong path.
This is very important in the retail industry. For example in the grocery field, sometimes with vegetables or fruits or other products, customers need to decide to change the prices within lock days. They need to decide, based on demand, if they should increase or lower prices. They can't make the correct decisions if the numbers don't update.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability potential actually depends on your licenses. Microsoft provides three licenses. One of them is absolutely free. Another is called Pro. Yet another is per user or Premium. There is a huge difference between the Pro license and the Premium license. There is no need to scale the Pro license or other license models.
When you put the on-premise reports, you can scale out or scale up. It depends on your existing resources. However, in the services as a software (SaaS) version, it actually comes with Microsoft's units or Microsoft resources.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have an ASFP agreement with Microsoft. As a Gold Partner, Microsoft is pretty good and responding automatically and helping us resolve issues.
If a partner does not have an ASFP agreement, they tend to have to go to forums or try to Google answers to their problems.
We are aware that sometimes when we make changes to BI, the solutions might be complex. There might be SQL involved, which needs to be taken into account, for example. We may have to look into other resources and other tools to see if there are interactions that are the issue. However, Microsoft is quite helpful as we work through issues. We're quite satisfied with their level of support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also work with and sell MicroStrategy in Turkey. 95% of the MicroStrategy projects have been completed with our company. It is a direct competitor with Power BI. My company commonly does consulting for some small and medium markets and for that we recommend Power BI. Whenever we talk about enterprise-level solutions, the company we will use is MicroStrategy.
How was the initial setup?
There isn't much of an installation process, as the solution is on the cloud.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a free license, however, it is limited. The Premium license and the Pro license functionalities are very different. Whenever we talk with our customers, they ask "Should we chose the Premium?" We say that "No, you don't need to, as it's too expensive. It is much more expensive than the Pro license." However, the Pro license functionality is not enough for some customers. There is no middle between Pro and the Premium. We need something in between.
The Pro license is maybe suitable for SMBs, small and medium-sized businesses. The premium version is ideal for companies that need to scale up and out.
There also may be some additional costs that can drive up the price.
What other advice do I have?
I prefer this product and I suggest Power BI to all customers, however, we know that if Power BI is a new idea, we make sure to show company-specific data or analytics for analyzing the data and how this solution can analyze everything quickly. That said, it's not for everybody. If all companies tried to put all their reporting expectations in the Power BI, it would not fit their expectations.
It's not a standalone solution. You need other items in your toolbelt. You need, for example, something that can handle raw data, you need warehousing, et cetera.
In general, I would rate the solution eight 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: Reseller
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power BI
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power BI. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
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Senior Manager: ICT Compliance at DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION
Relatively new, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "It's a pretty scalable product."
- "The product could have better analytics capabilities."
What is most valuable?
The solution is stable.
It's a pretty scalable product.
Overall it's a good product. It is still rather new, therefore, for now, it's still a learning curve as we get used to all of the features and capabilities.
What needs improvement?
The charting tool could be improved.
The product could have better analytics capabilities.
The initial setup is not straightforward.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for five months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is quite stable. I'd call it reliable. It doesn't crash or freeze and I can't recall bugs or glitches happening.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. If your organization needs to expand it, it shouldn't be a problem to do so.
We have about five people on the solution, however, we don't have it fully functioning just yet.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not use a different solution previously before the implementation of this product. This is the first solution we've used for these purposes.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty complex. It's not straightforward or simple. You need to be a bit of an expert in order to handle it, and I am, unfortunately, not an expert. If you had more experience with it, you might find it easier than I did.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I was not involved in the pricing or procurement process of the solution. I'm not sure how licensing works of the overall cost of the solution on a monthly or yearly basis. It's not part of my day-to-day.
What other advice do I have?
We're just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with Microsoft.
I'm not sure which version of the solution we are using. It may be the latest.
On a scale from one to ten, I'd rate it at an eight. We've been pretty happy with it, even though it is quite new to us.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
BI Consultant at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Easy to use, good inquiry and visual gallery features, and the community is strong
Pros and Cons
- "This is a self-service BI tool, so it doesn't require a huge amount of technical training, knowledge, or a background in BI in order to induct new people into it."
- "A lot of people work on Excel, so being able to export an Excel file as part of a subscription would be an improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use Power BI for data science solutions.
How has it helped my organization?
This is a self-service BI tool, so it doesn't require a huge amount of technical training, knowledge, or a background in BI in order to induct new people into it. This is true even for business people who want to do a little bit of self-service. The whole thing has become quite simplified, as compared to what it was.
What is most valuable?
There are many good features in this product.
The most valuable features are a combination of the DAX and the inquiry capability, plus the visual gallery that we have. I think that these three things, or the combination of them, is the best that we have found.
What needs improvement?
I would like to have the capability to schedule exports in different versions. For example, if I want to schedule a subscription and attach an Excel file, we don't have this capability right now. A lot of people work on Excel, so being able to export an Excel file as part of a subscription would be an improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with Power BI for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Overall, it is pretty stable. The cloud version is definitely very stable, and I have found very few flaws or areas for improvement. We have been using it for more than five years and we have every intention to continue with it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It has been pretty nice for us, in terms of scalability. There hasn't really been a problem, as such. We have approximately 300 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support from Microsoft gets a big thumbs up from me. They have blogs, a support page, and the community is very active. Most of the answers we need, we find them there.
With this amount of information available, we don't need to use technical support extensively. When we do post something on the blog or in the community, the response that we get is pretty prompt.
The last time we utilized technical support was when we were investigating creating a subscription with an Excel file attached to it. We found out that it isn't yet possible with the current version.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward, to say that least. It took just a few days to deploy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is very reasonable compared to any other tool.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anybody who is considering this tool is that if you want to move to a self-service BI, this is probably the best tool available right now. The self-service is pretty good in terms of os user acceptance, usage, and simplicity. It is something that everybody wants and Power BI does really well in that area.
The biggest lesson that I have learned from using Power BI is that if the data is not according to what you want, that really isn't a problem. It has been a problem in the past, especially where the data is not in the form or the shape that you need, but with Power BI, that problem can be solved very easily.
I would rate this solution an eight 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.
BI Expert with 1,001-5,000 employees
Each solution has its pros and cons which are largely dependent on the target organisation’s existing software, infrastructure and skill set
Last year ServiceNow released ODBC access to their database, enabling customers to produce their own high quality reporting.
As direct reporting from ServiceNow is in increasing demand, I thought I’d put together a brief overview of the more popular choices of Reporting Software on the market.
Of course, if anyone has experience of any others, or wants to add to (or contradict!) my views, please feel free to post.
MS SQL Reporting Services (SSRS)
MS SQL Reporting Services is part of the MS BID package of Business Intelligence software but is a capable piece of reporting software in its own right which produces professional results.
But its main selling point is that it is not sold! If you already have MS SQL Server, it is free. This is fantastic news for software of this calibre. And because SSRS belongs to a suite of programs within SQL Server, there is no extra cost to schedule reports to run at set times automatically.
Report development in SSRS is quite SQL heavy, which is great for DBAs and programmers, not so much for people used to Excel as a reporting tool.
Of course, the flip side of it being free if you already have MS SQL Server is that it is expensive to buy a database just to get the free reporting software.
Because SSRS is intended for use with a suite of other software, it can struggle to do some of the more complex things that other programs in this list can as it is not a full solution in its own right. This can lead to a ‘bitty’ architectural solution with functionality being spread out without any apparent order.
SSRS is primarily designed for use with MS SQL Server. As a result, pointing it at over databases can be trickier than the other software in this list (who were created independently of any particular database).
Hiring SSRS expertise can be difficult as consultants tend to be DBAs, rather than SSRS specialists and are in high demand.
Business Objects
‘Business Objects’ tends to refer to an actual suite of software which together form an impressive toolset for data manipulation and display. The Business Objects component itself is focused on taking the tables from a database and transforming them into a structure ideal for reporting: called a Universe.
With the latest version of Business Objects there is a choice of Web Intelligence (WebI) and Crystal Reports for Enterprise to actually cut and display the data gathered in the Universe.
(Older versions of BO have Desktop Intelligence, but I strongly recommend avoiding this option, it is not future proof and produces reports that just look dated.)
Crystal Reports is covered as a separate solution later, but viewed purely as a means to report on a Universe, it is a match for WebI and arguably better in some respects. But Business Objects and WebI have been used together for longer and most BO developers are also WebI developers, whereas Crystal Reports is often a separate skill set.
Most of the shortcomings in WebI functionality is covered by the work already done when developing the Universe.
One of the best things about a Universe is that all the statistics you want to create can be done in one place and then included in reports as needed. There is no duplication of effort that tends to occur in standalone reporting and a standardisation of reporting metrics is enforced automatically.
Scheduling reports is not a problem, as the scheduling software is included within the standard Business Objects suite of products.
However, this standardisation can also be a hindrance. Professional level ITIL reporting often requires a very flexible approach to data interrogation to cover certain measures. Often some measurements are at logical odds with other measures based on the same data. This is where Business Objects can get mired down trying to accommodate all requirements in one place.
Even with free software (and Business Objects is far from free!) implementing an ITIL reporting solution costs money. Expertise usually has to be hired in, time and money is spent on requirements gathering, hardware and so on. Setting up a Business Objects Universe and then a complementary suite of reports can take weeks or even months.
This can be too long a wait for a business eager to give their managers the information they need to work at full capacity. This is a shame, as the table structure of the ServiceNow database is so well thought out there is almost no need for a Universe anyway beyond the aforementioned efficiency of effort.
Crystal Reports
Crystal Reports can report from virtually any data source including of course, the ServiceNow ODBC, is quick to develop with and can produce a wide variety of reporting styles.
Crystal’s inbuilt scripting language allows a huge amount of control though can take some time to learn for those new to programming.
Crystal Reports is hugely popular and used across all business sectors and is versatile enough to do just about any job. This versatility can also be a problem and without proper work practices in place a suite of Crystal Reports can become an unmaintainable mess.
The main negative thing for Crystal Reports is that it requires a separate piece of scheduling software to automate reporting. Whichever scheduling software is chosen, be sure to thoroughly test it within your business before deployment, especially the security if you intend distributing reports outside your own intranet.
The charting can also be a bit limiting and is starting to look a little dated now, but still crisp and clear.
Another possible minus for Crystal Reports is that if you do not have the skills in-house already, it can be tricky to hire an effective consultant. Unlike SSRS and Business Objects developers, who tend to come from a DBA or programmer background, a large percent of Crystal Reports consultants started in office admin jobs and tend not to have the technical experience needed to solve the more difficult questions.
Xcelsius / Crystal Visualation / SAP Dashboards
This product of many names was originally developed as an add-on to MS Excel and still uses Excel for much of its underlying functionality.
The result is reporting software with a shallow learning curve which produces gorgeous, interactive looking Dashboards that can be easily exported and distributed online.
Of course, there is a downside, or two.
The main one is that plugging Xcelsius directly into databases is a pain. It does not have that underpinning ODBC foundation like the other products in this list and data must either be piped in via another product entirely or through a third party component that plugs straight into Xcelsius.
The good news on this front is any company using ServiceNow probably has some good Java developers at their disposal that can develop Web services to connect Xcelsius to the database.
On a final note, anyone using Business Objects and/or Crystal Reports should add Xcelsius to their arsenal. It integrates well will both software and is definitely worth the effort in this case, both for dashboard designs and more flexible/nicer looking charting in standard reports.
JasperReports
This software is not really in the same league as the above products in many respects and may look like the odd one out.
But it does have a number of strong benefits in its favour:
1. Very capable software and produces professional results to challenge any other product in this list.
2. It is free.
3. Very, very similar to Crystal Reports, so similar that a Crystal Reports expert can quickly get to grips with JasperReports.
4. Java based and can be distributed through your organisation with relative ease.
JasperReports is definitely worth a look for any serious ServiceNow reporting implementation.
Summary
All of the above software has its own pros and cons which are largely dependent on the target organisation’s existing software, infrastructure and skill set. With this in mind, I cannot recommend a specific piece of software, but am happy to answer any questions I can.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Product and Systems Director at SPCM
It's good for tracking indicators like KPI, sales, and a bunch of other essential metrics for our company's strategic planning.
Pros and Cons
- "Power BI has strong support from Microsoft. If you need help, they answer promptly. There are also several discussion groups where you can get information, like the product roadmap and any new things coming up."
- "Microsoft has made a lot of progress with Power BI in the past couple of years, but there is still some room for improvement. For example, Integration is one area they could work on. They are adding more integration with other Microsoft tools, but I would like it if they sped up the process."
What is our primary use case?
Power BI is used internally to track indicators like KPI, sales, and a bunch of other essential metrics for our company's strategic planning. Power BI creates reports and compiles data coming from various sources, and we create dashboards for managers and executives to monitor these indicators.
There is also an external use case. We also have a team that provides BI as a service. Let's say your company collects all your data manually in Excel sheets and creates reports. We get rid of the Excel files and automate everything using Power BI to create dashboards and reports.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft has made a lot of progress with Power BI in the past couple of years, but there is still some room for improvement. For example, Integration is one area they could work on. They are adding more integration with other Microsoft tools, but I would like it if they sped up the process.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been a Microsoft partner for 12 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Bi is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft BI is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Power BI has strong support from Microsoft. If you need help, they answer promptly. There are also several discussion groups where you can get information, like the product roadmap and any new things coming up.
How was the initial setup?
Everything is in the cloud, so you don't do anything. You only need to download a client, and that's it. If you have to create an embedded solution, it only takes five minutes.
The entire deployment takes a couple of hours, but you don't need a specialist to deploy it. Obviously, you need someone who understands the technology and how to follow instructions, but it's pretty straightforward stuff.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Power BI's price is good relative to its competitors. It has more than 400 or 500 different connectors. A lower price would always be welcome. The price is fine, but the licensing is complicated. Quantum mechanics is easier to understand than Microsoft licensing.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft BI nine out of 10. If you are thinking about using Microsoft BI, go for it. Microsoft BI is worth it. It's one of the products Microsoft got right from the beginning. It's perfect.
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: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Senior Business Analyst at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Allows us to create dashboards that provide insights about operations and different transactions for top management
Pros and Cons
- "The user experience is easy. Users get familiar with it quickly."
- "Sometimes while developing, the front end is not easily customizable and it has limitations. We cannot go and do any UI we want. We have to stick to the limitations of the product."
What is our primary use case?
The use case is mainly creating the dashboard for the organization's data transaction and its data project. We create dashboards on top of this data for the top management.
I am using the latest version.
The solution can be deployed on cloud or on-premises. It depends on what the client wants and if it's available.
We have around 10 to 15 people using this solution in our organization.
How has it helped my organization?
Microsoft BI provides insights about the normal day-to-day work from operations or different transactions. It depends on the organization's business. It provides insights for top management to help them make more accurate decisions.
What is most valuable?
The user experience is easy. Users get familiar with it quickly.
What needs improvement?
Sometimes while developing, the front end is not easily customizable and it has limitations. We cannot go and do any UI we want. We have to stick to the limitations of the product.
It's user friendly, but it does have its limitations. A designer cannot dream of anything they want to do and just go and do it. The dashboard has to look a specific way. If we can make the front end more flexible, that would be good because it's on the server. Clients are asking for a better UI, but it has its limitations.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good. The solution is being used daily, on a moderate to high level in our organization.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Sometimes I work with Qlik Sense, which is another BI tool.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup was straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
Our technical team completed the deployment. It was all done in-house. Deployment only required two people.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution 8 out of 10.
The solution is reliable, maintainable, and scalable. It has good performance. The security is good. The only thing would be improving the front-end limitation, which prevents us from designing a UI that can match what the client wants. Be aware of the product's limitations so you don't promise the clients anything that the product itself cannot do.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
DGM IT at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Easy to use solution
Pros and Cons
- "The data can be accessed from anywhere."
- "I would like to see a more user-friendly interface with Microsoft BI."
What is our primary use case?
Our company is a manufacturing firm. We have an ERP running in our company. I develop the reports for the business that include sales, stock and production related information. These dashboards are used for analytics purposes by management, enabling them to make decisions regarding the products and business improvement.
We use the BI text file and summarize the information on dashboards to help management make the right decisions for the business. The information includes production figures, running status, forecasts and actual positions.
We have 10 users of this solution.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Microsoft BI is the ease of use. The data can be accessed from anywhere. We control access through Office 365.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see a more user-friendly interface with Microsoft BI. Microsoft does regular updates, new features are added every month or so.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft BI for one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Power BI is stable with no issue.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Overall, technical support is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to using Microsoft BI, we had been using OBIEE. Oracle is a complicated product with poor visuals. Comparing with Microsoft BI, we found Microsoft to have better handling, graphics, features, and easier development and coding.
How was the initial setup?
The initial deployment of Microsoft BI was relatively easy. We installed it to the machine and connected it to our Oracle database.
What about the implementation team?
We were able to install the solution ourselves internally.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft BI requires licenses.
What other advice do I have?
Microsoft Power BI is an easy product. If you have some idea about the business intelligence solutions and some technical knowledge, it is a self-deployed solution.
I would rate the solution an 8 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Updated: March 2025
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It is completely true that while a certain BI product (or any other product for that matter) can work for a particular business, it might fail in another. This is due to the fact that a perfect solution for any business is influenced by various factors such as infrastructure that vary from one company to another. Therefore, businesses should not just pick the Microsoft BI tool for their needs but consider other options that would work best for them to achieve maximum output.