Microsoft Power BI Reviews

I've been using it for financial data.

Flexibility and usefulness of the data.

Trend data and dashboards need improvement.

I have been using Microsoft Power BI for some time. 

The stability is a seven out of ten. 

The initial setup is straightforward. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. 

I've mainly worked within the banking sector. It is particularly useful for vertical clients. Power BI is a great tool for reporting. You can source data from any database, like Oracle or Microsoft SQL. It generates reports and provides methods to control your report's power.

Power BI works with both real-time and offline data. When interacting with real-time data across multiple systems, it offers a great advantage.

I've worked with real-time interactions and appreciate them, similar to how AI is increasingly being incorporated. It's fascinating to see the shift towards AI.

Using middleware technology, like web services, allows Power BI to interact with multiple systems efficiently. This request and response mechanism ensures data is transmitted from the source to the target system in real-time, which significantly benefits business operations by providing up-to-date information.

Moreover, integration capabilities were smooth. I worked on integrating Power BI with PeopleSoft, focusing on custom solutions rather than out-of-the-box features, tailoring the experience to specific needs.

Power BI is very user-friendly and easy to learn. I've even uploaded instructional videos on YouTube, which have helped many users, including some who have become long-term administrators of Power BI.

Reporting is the best thing about Power BI. And it could help improve decision-making in many ways.

Power BI is flexible and easier to use compared to tools like Crystal Reports.

It should integrate with multiple enterprise applications. For instance, integrating CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and HCM (Human Capital Management) with Power BI can be a significant advantage.

Because, organizations focus on and like software that can do multiple tasks.

The user interface is good but it should have the ability to interact with multiple systems.

I would like to see more AI capabilities in future releases. There's a strong interest in AI, including technologies like GPT, which facilitate real-time interactions.

It's all about real-time interaction between customers and the system, automated to operate under specific scenarios. This ensures it functions in real-time, leveraging AI for more dynamic engagements without needing predefined projects or setups, much like how chatbots are designed for real-time use.

In future releases, I would like to see more encrypted software, and there should be version control for Software. It will avoid pirated downloads. 

I would also like to see dynamic content. It should be an add-on in Power BI. It helps users understand reports more easily. For example, when a developer is building a report, they should consider using dynamic content to make the report more user-friendly.

I've worked with Power BI for almost one and a half years, focusing on reporting and integration with Power BI.

Power BI is very stable, especially in sectors like banking, retail, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications. 

Its stability is expected to increase in the future with advancements in Azure.

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. 

I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten. It's very scalable.

I haven't needed to press for support activities, so based on my experience, it is good in general. 

Positive

Compared to other reporting tools, it is very easy to acquire, demonstrate, and understand.

I would rate my experience with the initial setup a nine out of ten, with ten being easy. 

It is very easy to set up. Security in a private cloud is optimal, whereas public cloud lacks in security. Hybrid solutions offer some balance, but on-premises solutions have a lot of limitations.

Many customers are moving to the cloud for its ease of use, security, availability, and flexibility. Cost efficiency is also a factor. For example, Why would you use the cloud? Say you have 1000 people in your organization, and only 500 need access to Power BI. On-premises, you'd need to buy licenses for all the users. With the cloud, you only pay for what you use.

Considering cost, cloud solutions like Amazon Cloud, GCP Cloud, or Azure Cloud are preferred for their scalability and cost-effectiveness.

So, our customers mainly use cloud deployments.

Deployment doesn't take much time, thanks to it being a Microsoft product, which makes it easy to handle compared to other software.

So, it takes just a few hours.

It's about balancing cost and value. Although Power BI is cost-effective compared to other reporting tools, its pricing should be more adaptable based on the size of the organization to ensure it remains cost-effective for both small and large entities.  For example, if the organization has a million end-users, it should be cost-effective. 

This is important when considering the scalability of solutions like Kronos or Banner ERP systems, ensuring the cost is aligned with the organizational needs.

The pricing is very low and competitive. Microsoft could consider adjusting the price according to the size and needs of the organization, balancing demand with supply.

Power BI is an essential tool for any kind of detailed reporting. It's efficient and effective. 

I would definitely recommend using this solution. Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten. 

We use Microsoft Power BI for both data manipulation and visualization, with a strong emphasis on data-driven storytelling. It allows you to clean and transform data. You can connect to various data sources, such as Excel, SQL databases, and SharePoint files, and clean and prepare your data using Power Query. Additionally, you can write DAX to create powerful measures for diverse use cases. Power BI enables the creation of highly insightful dashboards to convey information.

The data manipulation and data cleaning tasks are handled in the backend by Power Query in Microsoft Power BI.

Integrating data from multiple sources in Microsoft Power BI is very easy. For example, you can connect to SharePoint, various SQL servers, and other platforms. Power BI also offers a range of connectors and libraries for integrating data from various sources, including databases, online services, and cloud-based platforms. It saves a lot of time by handling large datasets. It can process millions of rows of data and allows users to create visualizations and analyze trends quickly. Power BI is effective for various types of data analysis and can adapt to complex data needs.

Additional features can enhance Power BI's capabilities in predictive analysis. Currently, Microsoft Fabric is integrated with Power BI. As Copilot and further integrations continue to develop, they will enhance Power BI's functionality.

It offers a range of formatting options for reports and dashboards. For example, if you have multiple headers and change one header's color, all the subheadings can automatically adopt the same color. This feature allows for extensive customization and formatting, which is important because leaders often prefer color-coded information presented in a specific manner.

I have been using Microsoft Power BI for seven years.

I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

More than 400 people utilize it. It is suitable for small and medium businesses.

You can create dashboards using Power BI Desktop and share the Power BI Desktop file itself. However, for larger organizations, Power BI offers a web-based solution through Power BI Service, where you can publish reports and dashboards.

I rate the solution’s scalability a ten out of ten.

Microsoft offers excellent products, and its community provides many options and support. If users encounter specific issues, they can find solutions in various Microsoft communities.

I have experience with both Microsoft Power BI and Tableau. Working with Tableau posed multiple challenges, such as data integration and ETL, which can be quite complex. Additionally, Tableau's measures and visualizations can be somewhat intricate. However, the flexibility in Power BI is comparable to that of Tableau.

I used Tableau for about five years before switching to Power BI, so I have a total of around eleven years of experience with these tools. As an advanced Tableau user, Power BI is simpler in comparison. Additionally, Tableau requires a paid license, whereas Power BI does not require a purchase unless you deploy it.

The initial setup is simple. You can start in about twenty minutes. However, you'll need to thoroughly understand the application to gain deeper and more critical insights. While you can learn the basics within a few hours, mastering the more advanced features involves a steeper learning curve.

Compared to other solutions, it can be relatively expensive, while the cost can be more manageable for organizations, considering the scale and the benefits.

Power BI offers several built-in AI capabilities. For instance, it includes features for sentiment analysis, generating word clouds, pattern recognition, and trend analysis. While Power BI integrates well with various external data sources and services, including advanced AI models, many analytical functions are available directly within the Power BI suite.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

We use Microsoft Power BI to manage and visualize the control of permits to work for service companies in industrial plants in Mexico. The control of permits is crucial because all service companies must be registered with a special number by the government, and all personnel must be certified for the specific work they will perform inside the plant. For example, if installing cameras at a high level, you need a permit for that specific condition, which has specific rules to comply with to carry out the job. In Power BI, we can visualize the number of permits, open permits, closed permits, refused permits, and all types of permits we have. This allows us to manage all permits for people working on various projects inside the industrial site.

The most valuable aspect of Microsoft Power BI in my field is the insights it provides from analyzing data. Sometimes, these insights go beyond what traditional analysis can reveal due to the large volume of data involved. In terms of improving our data analysis process, it starts with identifying data sources, followed by cleaning and filtering out irrelevant data. Then, we categorize and structure the data to achieve the best visualization and insights.

Regarding Power BI's integration with other tools, although we haven't implemented it ourselves, it's known that Power BI can integrate with systems like SAP or ERP software, which could enhance our analytics capabilities if needed.

I believe Power BI could improve by making data tables and databases easier to handle, especially for non-programmers who may not be familiar with languages like Python. Simplifying these aspects would enhance the usability and accessibility of Power BI for a broader range of users.

I have been using Power BI for the last six months.

In terms of stability, it's been reliable. We haven't encountered any bugs or crashes.

We've definitely seen a return on investment. We calculated the benefits and ROI for our solution.

Regarding cost, the initial investment wasn't too high, but ongoing licensing could add up.

Overall, I'd rate Power BI as an eight out of ten. It's been quite effective for us.

We use the solution for data analysis. 

The tool's most valuable features are slicer and Microsoft Copilot integration. It also allows users to see reports on mobile devices. The solution can also integrate with various data sources. 

The limitations within Microsoft Power BI include the volume of data it can handle, as there's a cap on the number of rows you can keep. When you pull your data and build your models, you're restricted by this row limit. Additionally, certain SSRS features are deprecated, which can be a drawback for users who rely on those capabilities.

I have been working with the product for three to four years. 

I rate the solution's stability a seven out of ten. It has limitations on rows, datasets, and the things that can add to the memory. 

I rate the product's scalability a ten out of ten. It is resilient and scalable. 

I am a technical supporter and can support myself. 

Before Microsoft Power BI, we used Reporting Services. We switched to it because it is part of Microsoft's ecosystem, and Microsoft has mapped the roadmap for visualization from SSRS to Microsoft Power BI.

I rate the solution's deployment ease a ten out of ten. It is easy and can take around 14 hours to complete. 

Microsoft Power BI's deployment was done in-house. 

The solution's pricing is medium.

I would recommend Microsoft Power BI based on the use cases. I rate it a seven out of ten. 

I use the solution to generate analytics reports for most of the projects we are engaged in within our company.

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.

I have been using Microsoft Power BI for five years. My company has a partnership with Microsoft.

It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tableau offers more flexibility in service compared to Microsoft Power BI. Microsoft Power BI is simple to use compared to Tableau.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I have been working with Microsoft Power BI since 2016.

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.

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.

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.

Positive

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.

The price of Power BI is very good. It is reasonable.

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.

I am currently a tech lead in data science for the Middle East team at Vodafone, especially working with Cloudera CDP cluster. I administer three mega clusters: one for production, one for disaster recovery, and one for AI and machine learning practice. I cover the administration part and how to build the cluster from the beginning. In the development cycle, I have successfully integrated different tools into Cloudera such as Microsoft Power BI. I fully integrated this visualization tool, so now we can report the data directly from Data Lake. This is the modern approach because the market leads to having one single source of truth. We apply the Medallion Architecture and report directly to business users from the Data Lake without needing the middle layer such as a data warehouse.

I have five years of experience working with Microsoft Power BI. I have already developed over twenty dashboards for the commercial and finance teams, with different types of dashboards. I cannot share the actual dashboards because this is confidential information, but I can show you how I simulate the data and gather meaningful insights that help businesses make decisions quickly. I also developed dashboards for a mega transportation company in KSA called Welcome or Arheb. Currently, I am developing my experience to lead other teams on how to develop the best scenarios in Microsoft Power BI.

Microsoft Power BI is a powerful tool with many capabilities, but my favorite feature is its data modeling. It has many capabilities to link tables together and determine what you need specifically to get insights for KPIs. The same dashboard can serve different teams who have experience in how to model the data differently to fulfill the requirements. Additionally, Power Query can handle basic ETL and data cleaning, but I do not favor this approach because Microsoft Power BI is the end layer. I handle the ETL and development outside Microsoft Power BI and then choose the right approach for the dashboard, whether it needs to be real-time or patched. I can choose direct query, import mode, and reschedule the dashboard to refresh weekly, daily, or even hourly. All of these capabilities are present in Microsoft Power BI and more.

The drag and drop interface in Microsoft Power BI is straightforward. It allows you to drag and drop visuals and create meaningful insights. However, the deep concept is how to create meaningful insights because it is not just about having a powerful chart or visuals. I am focused on the significance of the data. The drag and drop visualization in Microsoft Power BI is straightforward, but initially, I focus on data modeling, validation, and quality. I ensure all of this is good before moving forward to visualization.

Inside Microsoft Power BI, I generate Row-Level Security (RLS) and share the dashboards in one source on the cloud or a shared link. I track changes via version control such as Git, and collaborate together. Everyone has a development plan, any changes or enhancements are aligned with us. I determine downtime for applying these changes successfully and accurately. If I face any issues, I can roll back to the old version, and everything runs smoothly.

I believe the enhancement in Microsoft Power BI should focus on cleaning or validating the data. Bad performance or heavy load on the dashboard often results from issues in backend data modeling or invalid data. Ensuring quality queries and equations makes the dashboard run smoothly every time. I am totally focused on not just delivering data but delivering quality data, checking the validation of each process in data.

I have been working in my current field for seven years.

I have not experienced significant stability or performance issues with Microsoft Power BI. I have faced some issues similar to any software tool, but they can be handled with workarounds and experience.

Cloudera especially needs our infrastructure. It is straightforward; I can integrate it with any cloud provider, including AWS, Azure, and GCP. All of this is straightforward.

I did not work with Microsoft Power BI's natural language processing. However, I believe it is straightforward to implement a Python script embedded in Microsoft Power BI, which can handle how to generate dynamic visuals through NLP. I already implemented an in-house LLM model at Vodafone that helps developers check SQL queries from the data warehouse and automatically generate reports by gathering information from the end user. I developed this project end-to-end, and it is in my CV. It covers manual handling from developers, and I believe I can implement the same inside Microsoft Power BI.

Neutral

I have worked with many other BI solutions such as Looker, Tableau, and Data Fabric end-to-end. The concept is the same across tools; if you master one tool, you can handle others with similar concepts.

Microsoft Power BI and other BI products such as Tableau and Looker are similar, but Microsoft Power BI is more powerful and has more capabilities, especially since it has a free version. Many people cannot work or simulate dashboards in Tableau without a corporate license, while Microsoft Power BI allows that. Looker, supported by Google, is similar. I find that there are no significant pros and cons, but rather it depends on how familiar one becomes with each tool.

The initial setup of Microsoft Power BI depends on the volume of data being dealt with, whether it is natural data or big data. Different approaches apply based on the type of data, such as handling a distributed system or a specific platform.

I already utilize real-time data updates in Microsoft Power BI using a feature called DirectQuery. DirectQuery hits the database in real-time and gathers updated data every time the dashboard is refreshed.

Microsoft Power BI has the capability to integrate with different systems such as Cloudera, Impala, Hive, and any Apache technologies. In the new versions, Microsoft Power BI added new technologies to enhance integration, making it an embedded feature. I do not have any fees associated with Microsoft Power BI. My overall review rating for Microsoft Power BI is nine out of ten.