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Lead Business Analyst at a media company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Data visualization tool which has an extensive number of features including offering user defined charts
Pros and Cons
  • "Power BI allows you to create user defined charts which is really useful."
  • "The UI is the main improvement that could be made. Specifically, there is something called DAX, in Power BI, which is complicated compared to calculated fields used in Tableau."

What is our primary use case?

We use this data visualization tool for the business to understand data in a graphical manner. It is similar to Tableau, a tool also used for data visualization. A tool like this is used mostly by the leadership team to make decisions. 

What is most valuable?

Power BI allows you to create user-defined charts which is really useful. 

The Power Query button in the power tabs is a unique selling point and is very useful.

What needs improvement?

The UI is the main improvement that could be made. Specifically, there is something called DAX, in Power BI, which is complicated compared to calculated fields used in Tableau. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for six months. 

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable solution. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a scalable solution. We have 500 users. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy. 

What other advice do I have?

The main difference between Power BI and Tableau is the cost. Power BI is much cheaper. Tableau is the best BI tool that I've worked on and is easier for developers to work with. However, there are many things that can be done in Power BI which can't be done in Tableau.

If you're starting working with Power BI, then I would suggest first getting experience with the free version of Tableau to understand and learn about data visualization. From there, moving to Power BI will be much easier as the tools are so similar. 

I would rate it a nine out of ten. 

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.
PeerSpot user
Technology Solutions Professional at OrchidaSoft
Real User
Has good implementation features
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to set up and implement."
  • "I would like to see a change in the premium capacity."

What is most valuable?

Defining the most valuable features would take a long time. While I cannot point to a specific feature, I feel the solution provides a full range of implementation capabilities. This allows for integration and modeling, for carrying out good transformations within the same platform, as well as visualization. There are not many products included inside and one can start from scratch. 

In respect of the customer, one can quickly implement phases. A person can start out with creating his data set on a miniscule amount of the client's work and, working solely with a sales team, make it agile, only involving three or four dashboards. At this point, completion is possible and progress may be made to the next one very quickly. We like the solution's ease of use, functionality range and ability to be quickly implemented. 

What needs improvement?

I would like to see a change in the premium capacity. It is very costly, particularly for the Egyptian market, amounting to $5,000 per month. Perhaps in the Gulf this would work well. The data flow should be enhanced from OnPrem-Gateways, which we find to be somewhat complicated and which does not always work. Regional pricing is the main issue. 

The stability is okay, although there can sometimes be an issue with the connection when it comes to data OnPrem and the need to manage gateway communication and do troubleshooting. In brief, there are certain issues with OnPrem stability. 

'Although we feel the solution to be a dream, it would be great to see everything on Power BI services, obviating the need for Power BI desktop. I hope to see such Power BI implementation. 

I feel like we don't have a very powerful ELT or ETL tool when it comes to power and data cleansing. The solution compares unfavorably with such products as Informatica in this regard.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft BI for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is okay, although there are occasional connectivity problems when it comes to managed gateway communication of data OnPrem and troubleshooting. The OnPrem stability should be addressed. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

While the stability is okay, there is an occasional need to add extra products, such as those involving Azure data analysis and Azure Analytics Services. 

Big data would require the involvement of different products, Microsoft sign ups, for example. While we did not go for this, our technical teams are trying to get up to speed to have big data rediness. 

I feel like the solution has a comparatively inferior ELT or ETL tool when it comes to power and data cleansing and compares unfavorably with Informatica. There is occasionally a need to involve other solutions, such as Informatica and Alteryx. 

How are customer service and support?

While we have not made much use of Microsoft support, I did previously work with Microsoft's premier support and found it to be very good, overall. 

How was the initial setup?

The solution is easy to set up and implement. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The premium capacity is very costly in respect of the market in Egypt, amounting to $5,000 monthly. The regional pricing should be addressed. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

The solution has an edge over others in its quick implementation. It is also very helpful to consider Microsoft data platform on Azure. Doing a combination with Microsoft data plaform will give one a great edge over, say, Tableau. 

The combining of Power BI with Microsoft data platform on Azure provides one increased familiarity. We are talking about a great ecosystem. 

The solution is comparatively inferior to those offered by other companies in respect of the ETL and ELT as these relate to power and data cleansing. It is not the best. 

What other advice do I have?

My advice to someone looking to implement Power BI for his own organization would be to take things step by step. He should initially refrain from taking on big projects, instead focusing on agility, starting with the most requisite dashboards, working on them and garnering experience. The person will improve from one time to the next. One should familiarize himself with the details and how to move data and big data. He should not remain stuck waiting for the implementation of a big project. 

I rate Microsoft BI as an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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Microsoft Power BI
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reviewer1650804 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Data Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Easy to use, quick report generating, and simple installation
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft BI was very helpful for me because I had a huge variety of connections. It is very convenient to build reports, even if somebody has no experience using BI tools or data visualizations. Additionally, the performance is very good when generating reports."

    What is our primary use case?

    I used Microsoft BI to develop reports and then deployed them into Microsoft BI web.

    What is most valuable?

    Microsoft BI was very helpful for me because I had a huge variety of connections. It is very convenient to build reports, even if somebody has no experience using BI tools or data visualizations. Additionally, the performance is very good when generating reports.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Microsoft BI for approximately three months.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability of the solution has been good.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable.

    We have approximately 100 people in my organization using the solution and they are mostly managers.

    We used the solution on a daily basis, we were using it extensively.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I have used Tableau previously.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was very easy to complete and it took approximately 30 minutes.

    What about the implementation team?

    We did the implementation of the solution using two technicians.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The current licensing model that Microsoft BI has is expensive. My customers have told me the cost is approximately $20 per user and this can get expensive fast. There should be a one-time purchase option if the customer has a lot of users.

    What other advice do I have?

    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.
    PeerSpot user
    Consultant at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
    Consultant
    Valuable dashboard and automated reporting features but should have better integration with RPA and Tableau platforms
    Pros and Cons
    • "There was a lot of manual work involved with Excel, whereas once we moved on to Microsoft Power BI, it was a cleaner dashboard and it was faster too."
    • "I think because I'm moving more into RPA, I'd definitely like to see integration across the RPA, Power BI, or Tableau platforms, because that integration could then make automation and mundane reporting much faster."

    What is our primary use case?

    The primary use case was mainly to create dashboards and present them for reporting purposes. We use Microsoft Power BI to create dashboards, provide insights, and use its various analytical and insight functions to send to either the departmental manager or the general manager of marketing and sales or retail ops.

    How has it helped my organization?

    In short, we had to create sales reports. The sales reports needed to be emailed to the different sales managers all across New Zealand. The Excel file data had to be filtered manually, whereas, in Power BI, you can set restrictions. For example, if you have North, South, East and West branches, you can set corresponding restrictions, while allowing the national sales manager to view the entire data without having to do a lot of filtering, because of the restrictions involved.

    It is time-saving for the person who creates the report and also a lot of that is automated, whereas with Excel you've got to keep working on it and keep filtering it all the time.

    What is most valuable?

    Our most valuable features are the dashboard and the reporting feature because, before that, our organization used to only use Excel. There was a lot of manual work involved with Excel, whereas once we moved on to Microsoft Power BI, it was a cleaner dashboard and it was faster too. The end user also had an opportunity to alter the reporting as per requirements with Power BI.

    What needs improvement?

    I haven't experienced any issues with it right now, so I can't really advise on that part.

    I think because I'm moving more into RPA, I'd definitely like to see integration across the RPA, Power BI, or Tableau platforms because that integration could then make automation and mundane reporting much faster.

    You'll always require some more complex reports that the analyst could work on, but the very standard sales reports could then be automated very quickly using Power BI and RPA together.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using this solution for one year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability is pretty good. I've been using other services from Microsoft and the support also has been really good so it's a very stable platform and the support services are excellent.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I've been using it for a year and it's only across my single department so I've not yet had to scale it to a very large level.

    Across my department, there are two users. Across other departments at my company, there are many more. Most users are commercial or insights analysts.

    Across our organization, Power BI is not extensively used, although I'm not privy to every department and their plans. I think it's being used moderately, but could be used more.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    In terms of Microsoft Power BI, if there was ever a query, you can find support online. There's a lot of help available but what I generally meant was I have been using Microsoft Office products through the Office 365 subscription business and the support of Microsoft Office, in general, has always been really good. They usually come back on the very same day and try and solve the problem. This is not something I've experienced with other platforms in the past.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We hadn't previously used another solution. We were just using Excel and decided to go to a much better platform.

    How was the initial setup?

    The setup was straightforward for me because as part of an organization, I didn't have to set it up myself. It was set up via the organization, through the IT department, so it was pretty straightforward.

    What about the implementation team?

    I adopted it in my team, but it was already being implemented across other parts of the company. I just brought it into my department, so I wouldn't be able to tell the time frame for the actual implementation strategy. For my team alone, it probably took me around two months or so.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    The other departments in my company were using Power BI, so it would not make sense to get another solution when they already had Power BI in other parts of the organization.

    What other advice do I have?

    Microsoft Power BI is definitely a good product and Microsoft has a good integration of a good suite of products across the range. I think if you take UI parts recent release, for example, I'm not sure that does it with Power BI but it definitely integrates it across the Microsoft Office activities, so I think it's only a matter of time before a majority of the Microsoft Office products start integrating with UI parts. That would take analysis, reporting, and automation to the next level and we could free up time for the general reporter.

    I would rate this solution as seven out of ten because it's easy to use and there is a lot of support online. I think Microsoft Office itself has a lot of support being provided. In addition, I like its features and it's growing much faster than some of the other analytical tools out there, although it started off later.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    IT Specialist at a wholesaler/distributor with 1-10 employees
    Real User
    There is a lot of help and documentation on the Internet
    Pros and Cons
    • "There is a lot of help and documentation on the Internet, so no special training is needed to use the source code."
    • "The reporting part of Microsoft BI is rather limited compared to other reporting tools."

    How has it helped my organization?

    • It is free. 
    • SSAS and SSRS work great together. 
    • There is a lot of help and documentation on the Internet, so no special training is needed to use the source code.

    What is most valuable?

    It has the most secured database that I have ever used, which is the most important part of Microsoft BI.

    What needs improvement?

    The reporting part of Microsoft BI is rather limited compared to other reporting tools.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Less than one year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It works perfectly so far.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The information which we are working on is not that deep.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We use information from the Internet everyday.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We previously used iFrame.

    We did long studies about which tool to use in our company. We decided to use Microsoft BI because it was a complete product, and it is easier and cheaper than others.

    How was the initial setup?

    In the beginning, it was a rather complex because all the documents are in English. If it is in French, it was really complex, so then we would have to read the English documents. That was the most difficult thing here. It made the product difficult to use, because of the language, so Microsoft did provide help.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    In the beginning, we were about to choose Pentaho because it is an open source suite. The problem is that beyond the enterprise version of Pentaho, it is more expensive than Microsoft. We would always need to rely on an expert of Pentaho, instead of finding solutions on the Internet, and that was the reason why we did not choose it.

    What other advice do I have?

    Most important criteria when selecting a vendor:

    • Price
    • Ability to go on the Internet and locate support information.
    • Secure product
    • Easy interface to use.
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Bidirect377 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Manager at a logistics company with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User
    Provides accurate data and easy navigation
    Pros and Cons
    • "They should add mobile access."

      What is our primary use case?

      Using it, I receive financial information from the financial department.

      How has it helped my organization?

      It gives us accurate data and an easy way to navigate.

      What is most valuable?

      I get the information I need easily, and it's easy to read.

      What needs improvement?

      They should add mobile access.

      For how long have I used the solution?

      More than five years.

      What do I think about the stability of the solution?

      Stability is okay.

      What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

      For me it's okay, I don't have any issues with scalability.

      Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

      The decision to use Microsoft BI was made by the financial department.

      What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

      I don't have any advice as I am not in a position to recommend it. I am just an end-user, I do not develop, I do not maintain it.

      Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
      PeerSpot user
      it_user876765 - PeerSpot reviewer
      Founder with 1-10 employees
      Real User
      Users can access data much more easily than before, and it works with Excel
      Pros and Cons
      • "Other people can access data much more easily than before. Its usability is the main advantage, people in the company are using it."
      • "With Power BI, you're able to store your data within spreadsheets and SharePoints, and then have Power BI pull the data out and report on it. So we actually saved a ton of money not needing to load the data into databases, which is a big prerequisite for many other reporting tools."

        What is our primary use case?

        It's primarily for reporting, and the performance has been very good.

        How has it helped my organization?

        Other people can access data much more easily than before. Its usability is the main advantage, people in the company are using it.

        What is most valuable?

        It works mostly with Excel, and it's a very good price.

        What needs improvement?

        The Report Server is pretty expensive on-premise. But as long companies are happy to use the cloud version, that's very cost effective.

        For how long have I used the solution?

        One to three years.

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        The stability is very good now; it was definitely really poor a year ago.

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        Because it's cloud-based, it's very scalable.

        How are customer service and technical support?

        I haven't used tech support specifically for Power BI but, in general, for Office and Office 365, it has been very responsive.

        Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

        Before, we just had a whole bunch of spreadsheets lying around all over the place. So we really needed to get things tightened up but we weren't ready to invest in a database. But with Power BI, you're able to store your data within spreadsheets and SharePoints, and then have Power BI pull the data out and report on it. So we actually saved a ton of money not needing to load the data into databases, which is a big prerequisite for many other reporting tools.

        My most important criteria when selecting a vendor are usability and support.

        How was the initial setup?

        The initial setup was very straightforward.

        Which other solutions did I evaluate?

        The shortlist was, obviously, Tableau because they're in everyone's face and a couple of other smaller tools.

        What other advice do I have?

        I rate it a nine out of 10 because it's very cost-effective, so it's very accessible in that respect, and a lot of folks do use spreadsheets so it helps ease the transition from using just spreadsheets to a more mature reporting environment.

        My advice is, speak to your users because, at the end of the day, if they don't use it, you've failed, which was the case with other reporting tools.

        Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
        PeerSpot user
        Brian  Rowland - PeerSpot reviewer
        Brian RowlandSenior IT Project Manager at a local government with 501-1,000 employees
        User

        The above review is consistent with the findings in my organisation.
        Cloud hosting is the way to go to avoid expensive on premises support costs.

        it_user7683 - PeerSpot reviewer
        Head of Data Analytics with 51-200 employees
        Vendor
        Why would you choose Microsoft as your BI platform?

        This morning I was on the train going to a briefing session and I was compelled to look again at the Gartner Magic Quadrant paper on BI – in the same way as mid-exam you might go back and look at the question to make sure you are answering it. Here are the things I pulled out for my slides. You might find them useful.

        I see Gartner as the arbiters of good-taste in matters informatics. They explain the market and solutions, they rate vendors and they offer thought-provoking insight to people making technology choices – whether you are buying or making. I love ‘em. I’m making no apologies for my promotion of Microsoft. I believe it to be the most complete in terms of the company’s vision, the easiest to execute and I buy into the visionaries in Redmond and beyond (especially Cambridge in the UK) as Microsoft tries to lead the market. I bet my house on this a few years ago and I still live there. Phew.

        Thinking about what BI is. It’s really about getting people with the right tools for their job to work effectively and collaboratively in managing the flow of information across an integrated infrastructure (so the flow doesn’t break), an integrated data architecture (so that when you blend the liquids flowing through the pipes they taste nice), without IT being constantly in their homes / offices / cars / clients houses. It’s about delivering the information to people who need it to make good business and clinical decisions in the right way at the right time. It’s about being able to find information and getting information to find me – I want to hear the erudite information shouting loudest at me amid the tumult of data chatter. It’s about the information being structured so that I can plug tools into it and predictive model, run SPC and do all the other things that I want to do in order to improve the safety, quality and cost-effectiveness of my services.

        The Microsoft stack does this for me – see previous posts. This is recognised. Gartner points out that the Microsoft solution set is wide in scope – there is something in the toolset for everyone, however the set is integrated and so it works. See my article on why you wouldn’t buy reporting solutions for example – in and of themselves they don’t solve your problems.

        Clearly the Microsoft Bi stack is designed with Gartner’s feedback in mind, he said smilingly, as we can directly map what they have done, to the above description of good BI.

        Microsoft BI is recognised as being wide in scope and deep in functionality so that it ticks all of the above boxes and the UI has something in it for everyone in terms of the abilities of the combined tools to enable access to data. Some might say they have too many tools – see previous post – however the partner eco-system of people like us in Ascribe should be able to line up features and functions to roles and so that shouldn’t be a concern. The eco-system is actually another reason why people buy Microsoft. As the technology giant creates a giant platform niche (and even scale) vendors build targeted solutions on the platform – which is why it’s as good for banks as it is for hospitals. Giants feed themselves on R&D and Redmond leads the biggest R&D budget in the world which means the platform that Ascribe work upon is always the best. The scale makes it cheap – particularly if you invest in Microsoft across your enterprise and then sweat BI out of the asset with marginal cost. You can also use a range of resources to help, whether its software vendors with Microsoft powered software or consultancies who configure BI solutions or contractors or your own staff. Finally there is the architecture. The software is designed to align with industry standard methodologies such as Agile, so you can build solutions quickly, and Kimball so you can have a concrete data management strategy but a rubber implementation plan. Thanks Simon M for the concrete and rubber….

        The other big play is cloud – I’ll post on that later. All in all then it’s easy to see why I bought into the platform, as the foundation to my business. It should have clear benefits for you too.

        Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
        PeerSpot user
        it_user1068 - PeerSpot reviewer
        it_user1068Tech Support Staff at a tech company with 51-200 employees
        Real User

        Great Ali. That is another advantage to the Microsoft BI product against their competitors.

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        Updated: February 2025
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