Across retail, logistics, legal, finance, and more, I use Power BI to craft custom solutions. From analyzing sales to optimizing operations, Power BI helps me extract actionable insights for informed decision-making across diverse industries.
Project and Consultant Manager at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Offers comprehensive features, user-friendly interface, and strong community support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Power BI is its ability to provide customized visualizations and insights tailored to specific business needs."
- "Areas of Power BI that could be improved are the learning curve for developers who come from non-technical backgrounds."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
I'm working with a law firm that has hundreds of professionals working across various areas for different clients. They struggle to accurately track hours worked per client and compare profitability. With Power BI, I can integrate data from their ERP systems and create insightful reports. These reports not only show the hours worked per client but also compare profitability between clients and highlight KPIs. By providing clear and actionable insights, Power BI helps the firm make informed decisions quickly, leading to improved profitability and efficiency.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Power BI is its ability to provide customized visualizations and insights tailored to specific business needs. By offering a range of visualization options and customization capabilities, Power BI enables users to quickly analyze data and gain actionable insights. Depending on the preferences and requirements of the customer, different visualization styles can be utilized, from simple and standardized views to more colorful and dynamic charts and graphs.
What needs improvement?
Areas of Power BI that could be improved are the learning curve for developers who come from non-technical backgrounds. While Power BI is a powerful tool, mastering its development aspects, including coding and formulas, can be challenging for those without a technical background. Additionally, some users find the default visualizations in Power BI Desktop to be outdated and prefer more modern and customizable options.
One additional feature I would like to see in Power BI is tighter integration with Power Apps. This would allow for easier development without extensive coding, making it more accessible for users who aren't familiar with technical aspects like JSON files or Visual Studio Code. Simplifying the development process would streamline workflow and enhance overall usability.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power BI
February 2025
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For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Microsoft Power BI since 2016.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of Power BI at around nine out of ten. It has been consistently reliable over the past year, and any bugs are quickly addressed by a supportive community.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Power BI is scalable, but its scalability depends on factors like the amount of data, infrastructure, and database type. For large BI data, other tools might be more suitable. However, Power BI offers great flexibility, and its scalability varies based on specific needs and circumstances.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support for Power BI is generally good, but it can be limited in handling diverse customer needs. While Microsoft technicians are highly knowledgeable, they may provide standard solutions based on their expertise, which might not cover all possible scenarios. Finding solutions often requires additional research, practice, and exploration of community resources. Overall, I would rate the support at a nine out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
Deploying Power BI isn't difficult, but it requires time and experience. With regular updates and new features from Microsoft, staying current and understanding changes can be a continuous learning process. While it is manageable with experience, teaching someone from scratch would require significant time and effort.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Power BI is very good. It is reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
Power BI has revolutionized our reporting and decision-making processes. Instead of spending hours manually working with static data in Excel, we now have dynamic information at our fingertips. With Power BI, we can quickly make queries, access answers, and generate reports in minutes. By efficiently extracting data from databases and creating visually appealing visuals, such as KPI dashboards, Power BI enables us to identify trends, compare data, and make informed decisions promptly. It streamlines the entire process, from data extraction to visualization, saving us time and providing valuable insights for effective decision-making.
My advice for someone looking to use Power BI would be to start with the Pro license, as it is usually sufficient for most users. If you are dealing with a large number of customers, consider consulting with a Microsoft partner to find the best licensing solution. Based on my experience, I would recommend Power BI to others. Overall, I would rate the product as 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.
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Responsable du département Projets et Applications at CHD Vendée
Straightforward report development and publishing that's easy to use
Pros and Cons
- "The solution makes it easy for me to develop reports and publish them."
- "The solution makes it easy for me to develop reports and publish them."
- "I have found that some issues exist, indicating room for improvement in scalability."
- "I have observed issues regarding stability."
What is our primary use case?
I use this solution for activity reporting.
What is most valuable?
The solution makes it easy for me to develop reports and publish them. Additionally, it effectively supports communication or data diffusion.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used the solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have observed issues regarding stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found that some issues exist, indicating room for improvement in scalability.
How are customer service and support?
I rate the customer service a seven out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation required only one team.
What was our ROI?
I have seen some cost savings, however, overall, I have not experienced a return on investment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I found the setup cost to be expensive, and rate it at seven out of ten also.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
SAP Business Object is considered an alternative.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Jan 10, 2025
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Microsoft Power BI
February 2025
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Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power BI. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Manager, IT Security at Averis Sdn Bhd
Easy to visualize our data through dashboards and modify views based on our requirements
Pros and Cons
- "It has greatly improved our reporting capabilities."
- "There are certain features that are only available in the cloud version. It would be beneficial if they could be brought down to the on-premise version without the necessity of using the enterprise SQL database, as that can be very costly. We need more cost-effective features that are available in the cloud to be accessible on-premise."
What is our primary use case?
We use it to create dashboards. We input our data and visualize it as dashboards.
How has it helped my organization?
While it hasn't significantly enhanced collaboration, it has greatly improved our reporting capabilities. It allows us to present visually appealing dashboards to management.
Our main focus with Power BI is dashboarding rather than collaboration.
What is most valuable?
Power BI makes it easy to visualize our data through dashboards. It is quite dynamic. We can easily modify views based on our requirements, which helps us see the data more clearly and makes it visually appealing for management.
Moreover, the integration of Power BI with other Microsoft products is quite easy.
What needs improvement?
There are certain features that are only available in the cloud version. It would be beneficial if they could be brought down to the on-premise version without the necessity of using the enterprise SQL database, as that can be very costly. We need more cost-effective features that are available in the cloud to be accessible on-premise.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using Microsoft Power BI for about three years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable product for me. I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. There are less than ten end users in my company using this solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and support are okay.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We're essentially a Microsoft house. We use a wide range of Microsoft products and are very happy with them. So far, we have no plans to switch, as we haven't found alternatives for essentials like Office or Windows.
Azure DevOps is something we're starting to explore to enhance our desktops. We also work with Microsoft Dynamics, DPM, Hyper-V, and Microsoft Exchange.
Cost was a decisive factor when opting for Power BI.
How was the initial setup?
I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, with ten being easy to set up.
The deployment process took one to two days.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with one being cheap and ten being expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend it, especially the Pro or Premium versions. They are better.
Overall, I would rate the solution a seven 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.
Head, Development Chapter (DevOps) at First Bank of Nigeria Ltd.
Flexibility and usefulness of the data are good features, but dashboards could be improved
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup is straightforward."
- "Trend data and dashboards need improvement."
What is our primary use case?
I've been using it for financial data.
What is most valuable?
Flexibility and usefulness of the data.
What needs improvement?
Trend data and dashboards need improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Power BI for some time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is a seven out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Technical Consultant at LinkDev
Helps with data analysis and visualization tasks
Pros and Cons
- "Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
- "At times, I feel that the system needs improvement in single sign-on, especially for the on-premises side of the tool."
What is our primary use case?
I use the solution to generate analytics reports for most of the projects we are engaged in within our company.
What needs improvement?
Some controls and integration capabilities of the product require configurations with the help of NoSQL databases, as it is one area where the product has certain shortcomings.
At times, I feel that the system needs improvement in single sign-on, especially for the on-premises side of the tool.
At times, I see the product freeze in unexpected areas. Unknown exceptions appear in the tool for no reason. One problem with the tool arises from the fact that it does way too much monitoring, impacting areas like reports and performance. The aforementioned areas can be improved in the product.
The tool should provide cloud support to help users deal with problems related to the frozen servers.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Power BI for five years. My company has a partnership with Microsoft.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Around 100 people in my company use the product. Most of the product's users are managers in my company.
The problematic licensing part of the product influences my company's decision on whether to increase the use of the product.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't seen any major problems when dealing with the product's support team. The product's support team is friendly, but I think there are problems in Microsoft's internal communication since a problem gets distributed between multiple internal teams.
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase has no problems unless we choose to have it integrated on an on-premises model and not on a cloud version.
Most of the product deployments are carried out manually by our company.
My company opens reports and publishes the report files for the projects being handled. My company gives required permission for other users to access the reports.
The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.
The solution's deployment process is simple to handle, but problems appear in the area of domains, considering that Microsoft Power BI manages the configuration part.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My company needs to make monthly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product. Considering my company's turnover, we need a tool that offers more flexibility and allows us to increase or decrease the solution in our environment.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Tableau offers more flexibility in service compared to Microsoft Power BI. Microsoft Power BI is simple to use compared to Tableau.
What other advice do I have?
Microsoft Power BI has improved our company's data analysis and visualization tasks since it helps simplify our work. My company is able to generate data analysis and easily deal with visualization tasks.
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Power BI for data storytelling stems from the integration with different types of products along with the support option it provides to help integrate with other tools. Caching in Microsoft Power BI would improve the organization's performance.
Microsoft Power BI's Q&A feature impacted our company's data exploration efforts since it is an area used by many types of users, including those involved in management and analytics, as it helps with cross-filtering.
The product's real-time dashboard and data refreshing capabilities are good, but it freezes without showing any status during the data retrieval if the volume is high.
It is not possible to use the product's in-depth features since it requires many controls and user interfaces.
The product is mainly for managers who want to track work details.
I rate the overall tool an eight 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.
Managing Director at Streamline Strategies
Easy to use, integrates well, and gives us the ability to collaborate and keep track of everything
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to use. It has got a desktop where people can develop their own dashboards. Basically, we have figured out how to connect finance contracts and all programs for the government agency. So, they can see everything in a dashboard. So, it is very easy to use from a technical standpoint of view."
- "Its desktop tool is a little bit memory CPU intensive, and it can be improved, but the machines nowadays come with a lot of memory. For the desktop users who are using it on the desktop, we recommend that they do an upgrade. It is a minor issue. We can fix it on the desktop."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for financial analytics and reporting. We are using it to keep a track of projects and being able to degrade the projects. We are also using it for contract closeout.
My technical guy has been using the first version of it since it came out, but we are getting ready to upgrade to the newer version. It comes along in a bundle with the 365 Enterprise version.
It is on the cloud. We're probably going to run a hybrid because we want to be able to move around. If anything happens or if needed, we can move from platform to platform.
How has it helped my organization?
We can see things from a bird's eye view. We can do predictive analytics. I can tell who's capable, who's doing what, when and how much money they're spending, and how fast they're burning. So, it gives us a bird's eye view over the financials and the money. It basically gives us the ability to collaborate and keep track of everything that's going on in an organization. We were able to bring all the collaboration and tasks right into Power BI.
What is most valuable?
It is easy to use. It has got a desktop where people can develop their own dashboards. Basically, we have figured out how to connect finance contracts and all programs for the government agency. So, they can see everything in a dashboard. So, it is very easy to use from a technical standpoint of view. We publish a report every morning for the government, and we got all the data into one place. The data can be refreshed. We are using the API to connect to various systems, such as the financial system, contract writing system, and workflow. We are able to bring things from NIPA, which is their budget and where they keep all their money. There are a lot of features, but the most important thing is it is very easy to use. It is not like Tableau. With Tableau, you've almost got to be a rocket scientist.
On the user side, it is quite simple. If you know how to run a pivot table, and then you can do almost anything. All the data is right there in the database. So, if you understand pivot tables and know how they are run, and you know the reports that you are looking for, then everything becomes very easy to run in your organization.
What needs improvement?
Its desktop tool is a little bit memory CPU intensive, and it can be improved, but the machines nowadays come with a lot of memory. For the desktop users who are using it on the desktop, we recommend that they do an upgrade. It is a minor issue. We can fix it on the desktop.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using Microsoft BI for about four and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Its stability is pretty good. It is pretty stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate it an eight out of 10 in terms of scalability. Currently, we are running a pilot. We're doing a pilot for army headquarters. They dictate what happens and what they use. Currently, there are 10 users, but I'm looking to go up to at least a hundred.
We got an architect and an assistant administrator. We got a staff of three and a half people because people take vacations or sick leaves. The good part about it is that these people can work from anywhere.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are a Microsoft reseller. We have partnered with Microsoft. We have developed a relationship with their technical folks over the years. So, we kind of go directly to them. My partner came from Microsoft, so he has a very good relationship with a few technical folks. So, we, kind of, have some special privileges that a couple of other vendors don't have.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
As a matter of fact, we had built a tool, but it took so long to get it vetted and get it through to ATOs. That's when we decided to convert to Microsoft Power BI. It has already been vetted and approved in the army environment. It is an approved government site for cloud services. We were looking for the easiest path, and that's why we worked with Microsoft BI. They've already been embedded into the government. It is bundled with Office 365.
How was the initial setup?
If my technical person had to rate it, he would say very easy. All we need is to have the software.
What about the implementation team?
It was done in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
They are charging us by users in storage, and there is a license fee. My financial people handle all that. The client has already worked out a contract with Microsoft, and basically, we're getting government prices.
What other advice do I have?
The backend is the most important part. We understand its backend. We implemented the on-time system for an airport. We don't find its modeling complicated. We set up the back offices and get all the modeling done and everything connected. The customer doesn't even see that. They only see the part where they're running their reports and doing the analytics or whatever they need to do. We give them all the information at their fingertips.
Everybody is going to Business Analytics. A lot of people don't understand the difference between analytics and coding, but that's something for me to teach and educate them on.
I would advise doing your testing and environment setup. You should evaluate your product very well and figure out what platform your organization is running on. You should be careful and look at how well it integrates with other products. If you're not in a Microsoft environment, it is going to be quite difficult. Oracle and Microsoft are competitive. So, you go with one or the other. The reason why I like Microsoft is that they integrate with all applications. Microsoft controls 99% of the desktops.
I would rate Microsoft BI a nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private 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:
Inovation Manager at SoCalGas
Creates charts and graphs to provide visuals of the data
Pros and Cons
- "The standard BI visualization capabilities are great."
- "Anything they can do to improve enterprise collaboration is going to help people get set up and utilize the solution."
What is our primary use case?
We mostly use this solution for dashboards and reporting.
There are roughly 2000 people in our office. At the least, 100 people use Power BI. We have around 10 super users who use it a lot. A lot of people just use it to look at dashboards. A lot of managers look at Power BI for their dashboards.
How has it helped my organization?
It has centralized our organization. It has democratized dashboard and report building and provides a centralized format. Without Microsoft BI, people would otherwise develop and manage their spreadsheets in Excel, which is just a lot harder than what Power BI enables us to do.
What is most valuable?
The standard BI visualization capabilities are great. It makes all the visualizations and has a drag and drop builder. It also has a power query data modeling capability that's excellent.
What needs improvement?
We're a big organization. We're looking at standardizing. Anybody can just pick it up and use it because it's easy. We want to be able to standardize what Power BI is and I think that's a challenge that we're encountering now.
Anything they can do to improve enterprise collaboration is going to help people get set up and utilize the solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft BI for roughly two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has crashed, but it's pretty stable. I haven't had any problems where a published dashboard was not working. Once a dashboard is published, I haven't seen any problems with it.
I think it depends a lot on the data access. As long as the data backend can get into Power BI, then everything works. If there are any data connection issues, that's when there will be problems.
How are customer service and technical support?
I get tech support from my admin. I've never contacted support.
What about the implementation team?
We have a Power BI admin administrator that helped us with the initial setup. From the user's perspective, it's pretty easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I think it's a good price, from what I've heard. I know it's competitive with other Power BI tools. It comes in lower. I've heard no complaints about the pricing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Our company did evaluate Tableau and a couple of other tools. We ended up promoting Power BI for everyone because it was licensed and we were already using Office 365. It integrates well with all of our existing environments.
What other advice do I have?
From a user's perspective, I'd advise people to really try to understand the data sources and have a good data environment in place, beforehand. That makes the Power BI environment much better.
Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of nine. I think it's the best BI tool that I've used. I know it has a really good rating. It accomplishes a lot for us in terms of data manipulation and BI in the reporting.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Senior Technical Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Provides valuable DAX functions and has a simple setup process
Pros and Cons
- "The product's most valuable features are DAX functions for formulas and calculations."
- "I would suggest improvements in visualization standards, particularly in customization and appearance."
What is our primary use case?
I use the platform primarily to create visualizations and reports from data to gain insights. It is utilized for operational, decision-making, and managerial reports.
What is most valuable?
The product's most valuable features are DAX functions for formulas and calculations.
What needs improvement?
I would suggest improvements in visualization standards, particularly in customization and appearance, to match tools like Tableau.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Microsoft Power BI for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the platform stability a seven and a half or eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is suitable for medium-sized companies with straightforward requirements. It can handle thousands of users, but its effectiveness depends on the data volume and reporting needs.
I rate the scalability an eight.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support team's response quality can vary based on the engineer's expertise and availability.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Power BI is more cost-effective, whereas Tableau provides more advanced features and higher-quality visualizations. For critical business needs and high data volumes, Tableau might be more suitable.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup process is simple.
I have worked with both the cloud version and the desktop model. Each has its advantages depending on the need for high-quality visualizations or the volume of data.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the product pricing a ten.
What other advice do I have?
The solution supports integration from various applications well enough to meet most business requirements.
I rate it a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Last updated: Aug 12, 2024
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Updated: February 2025
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