Don’t waste your time with lengthy data exports, format settings or searching for errors in endless reports. Instead, simply describe your requirement and what exactly you expect from the data interpretation.
You may have already heard about Microsoft’s cloud technology called Power BI (Power Business Intelligence). Effective tools for processing and analysing vast amounts of data are essential for running a business in today’s digital age. Power BI is one of the most popular tools on the market that makes this possible. It offers users a way to turn the data they collect into meaningful and interconnected information. So let’s take a look at what benefits Power BI brings to businesses and individuals.
First and foremost, this handy cloud-based tool allows corporate data to be analysed and visualised in a simple way. This provides an overview of the entire organisation. The wide customization options, the creation of real-time analyses, and the integrated security and data management features make Power BI an asset for all companies that want to speed up and improve their decision-making processes.
In practice, the enterprise collects data from various systems within operations, economics, business and so on. Thus, a lot of heterogeneous data has to be evaluated in order for the management to have an overview of what is actually happening in the enterprise. Using Power BI, a company can link hundreds of different data sources, simplify data processing, and then analyze the data. The service includes a suite of tools to create reports with a comprehensive view of the entire business. Business analytics can thus be set up for individual departments or levels of company management according to individual needs. The business will be able to create separate analyses, reports and statistics through Power BI.
Which basic questions can Power BI answer:
- How our retail operations are doing;
- What is the value of our stock;
- Which products sell the most and where;
- Which location is most prosperous;
- Which ad campaign brings us conversions, in which channels;
- How individual sales reps are doing in sales;
- How individual contracts are doing.
With Power BI, companies can connect to and combine different systems and data sources, including those related to operations, finance or human resources.
Power BI also integrates easily with other Microsoft tools such as Excel and SharePoint. It can also be used in conjunction with other data services. Overall, it is a flexible and powerful data analysis and visualization tool that can help companies make decisions based on better and more connected information.
Benefits of Power BI
One of the advantages of the platform is the ability to analyse data in real time, where reports can then be shared and published online. Different work teams can thus collaborate in real time and share only relevant information.
Another advantage is the integrated safety features. By sharing reports online, the platform bypasses the opening of attachments in emails, where there is a risk of encounters with viruses, for example. Permissions for opening and reading reports are configurable and the worker is given access, only allowed up to the level corresponding to his or her job position. Built-in management and user rights settings is sure to be a secure and scalable solution for organizations of all sizes.
Third: reports can also be presented and monitored using mobile devices or tablets. You will thus be constantly informed about important business parameters of the company. With Power BI, users can create their own dashboards with data and share them with others. They can easily access dashboards on the web, mobile, or embed them in other applications.
And importantly: the powerful analysis capabilities that Power BI enables will mediate and create even very complex calculations and statistical evaluations. Data reports can be collaborated on and shared across the business.
The most important trends for business intelligence (BI)
Automation and prediction: thisglobally growing trend allows BI users to generate reports and visualizations automatically, without the need for manual input. They can thus create custom reports and dashboards without the need for IT or data analyst intervention. Power BI is particularly popular due to its user-friendly interface and drag-and-drop functionality.
Interactive visualizations: an important trend that allows users to change parameters directly in the report and track the change in the result.
Cloud technologies: access to data from virtually anywhere and from different devices, easy and fast implementation or easier scaled infrastructure are the reasons for the growing trend of cloud for BI. Power BI is a cloud solution that integrates with other cloud services. It is a popular choice for companies with a cloud-first strategy.
Security and data management: data is simply worth its weight in gold. Power BI has therefore added features related to security and data management, in compliance with GDPR and CCPA regulations.
Mobile apps: Creating mobile apps for BI reporting and visualization, accessible anywhere via a mobile device, is definitely a trend.
AI and machine learning: the new trend of AI cannot be missed in BI. Therefore, AI features such as natural language queries and automated insights have been added to Power BI. They enable faster identification of patterns and trends in the data.
Data stories: another trend in the BI industry that makes it easier to understand and interpret data. Creating compelling visualizations that are better able to communicate insights and make data accessible to a wider audience.
Integration with other systems: integrations with other systems such as CRM, ERP, etc. are also a trend.
Although these trends change and evolve according to the needs of users, BI reports and data visualizations clearly deliver effective management of business information and resources. Therefore, first and foremost, they should be simple and easy to understand for every user.
Real-world Power BI usage scenarios
- Sales and marketing analysis: The marketing team can use Power BI to track things like website traffic, social media engagement, or to see which campaigns are driving the most conversions. Thus, Power BI can be used to analyze marketing and sales data.
- Financial reporting: the finance team can use Power BI to create financial reports that track revenue, expenses, or profitability. For example, a dashboard could show cash flow trends or outstanding invoices.
- Operations and supply chain analysis: a manufacturing company could use Power Bi to track production schedules, production efficiency, inventory levels, etc.
- HR analytics: the HR team in turn can use Power BI to analyse HR data such as employee engagement or compensation data.
- Healthcare analytics: for example, Power BI can also be used to analyze healthcare data such as patient outcomes, readmission rates and healthcare utilization.
Microsoft’s Power BI platform can therefore work with huge amounts of data and combine different data sources. These can then be instantly analysed, reported and published. The visibility and linking of reports allows managers to make quick and more effective decisions. Power BI is a proven solution for businesses of all sizes. Organizations can move from excel spreadsheets and sending attachments to online reports on the web.
Why choose Power BI?
In addition to the aforementioned features and functions of the platform, our experienced process analysts will be happy to help you with requirements and process analysis. Database and BI specialists will facilitate the selection of the appropriate tool, implementation, data collection, setup of reports and graphs, as well as ongoing maintenance and adjustments. Power BI can thus become a great asset for speeding up and improving decision-making processes in your company as well.
