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Microsoft Power BI Reviews
19 reviews
- 01 Is Microsoft Power BI any Good? My expert Review
- 02 Pros and cons from reviewers
- 03 Main features
- 04 How Microsoft Power BI compare to similar software?
- 05 Who is Microsoft Power BI best for according to our reviewers?
- 06 Microsoft Power BI Reviews
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01 Is Microsoft Power BI any Good? My expert Review
I have some experience with data visualization tools, and I would definitely say Power BI has a lot going for it as a reliable and relatively user-friendly platform. I have created dashboards for several teams, including sales tracking of monthly goals, and HR looking at employee performance. However, what I have appreciated most is the intuitive nature of the dashboard--most of my colleagues who are not technical at all, were able to create their own dashboards without training--they were able to see the data, and reports, or insights for themselves much faster without having to sit through training sessions.
What I really like about Power BI is that it works very well with other Microsoft tools that our organization already uses (e.g., Excel, SharePoint, Teams). Our ability to simply embed our live dashboards into Teams channels has made our dialogue more productive. I also enjoy the different visualizations, and ability to customize reports to fit the needs of the various stakeholders.
Having said all of that, it has not been without its challenges. I have experienced moments of slow load time or summary failures when trying to work with large datasets, and with complex calculations over the years (especially when analyzing 5 years of historical sales data). There have also been times I have struggled with exposing data from a third-party source, which can require further troubleshooting because of connectivity related issues. Overall, nonetheless, the benefits that come with Power BI usually outweigh the obstacles. The user-friendly interface allows for deeper analysis without any required code, and while I do not always have access to timely support; the potential to problem-solve with the active user community in addition to the online support available are helpful. Overall Power BI continues to be one of my go to tools for analytics because of its user-friendliness, capability to effectively present data and findings, and ability to integrate directly with other Microsoft products.
02 Pros and cons from reviewers
Pros from reviewers
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Integration with other Microsoft tools
Power BI integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft tools, making it a good fit for environments already using Microsoft software -
Wide variety of chart types and customization options
Power BI offers a broad range of chart types and customization options, providing all the necessary functionality to create real-time updating dashboard infrastructures for several departments -
Time-efficient report creation
Power BI significantly reduces report creation time, making it a powerful tool for data aggregation and dashboard creation. -
Easy to learn and teach
Microsoft Power BI is user-friendly and easy to learn, making it simple to teach to colleagues with low IT literacy once a template is created -
Capability for deep data analysis without requiring code or SQL
Power BI allows for deep data analysis without the need for code or SQL, making it user-friendly for small to medium businesses to gain insights from data
Cons from reviewers
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Limited sharing and visualization in free version
The free version of Microsoft Power BI does not allow sharing and account specific data visualization, limiting its usability for collaborative work -
Inadequate data connectivity and report maintenance
Power BI has significant issues with data connectivity and report maintenance, particularly when extracting data from third-party products, making it less effective for comprehensive data analysis -
Absence of live support feature
Unlike some other BI tools, Power BI does not offer a live support feature, which can make troubleshooting and learning the software more challenging -
Slow loading and crashing with large data
The software often takes too long to load embedded charts and can crash when the data is too large, affecting efficiency and productivity -
High demand on computing power
Power BI requires significant computing power and can be slow when loading large data sets, which can limit its performance and usability.
03 Main features
Starting Price
Free Plan
Data analysis made easy
Integrate with your existing tools
Collaborate and share
Insights on the go
Interactive dashboards
N/A
Free Plan
No
Data analysis made easy
Integrate with your existing tools
Collaborate and share
Insights on the go
Interactive dashboards
04 How Microsoft Power BI compare to similar software?
05 Who is Microsoft Power BI best for according to our reviewers?
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Clients
Power BI's reporting, analysis, and data visualization capabilities, along with its shareability and third-party tool integration, make it a preferred choice for clients who are already familiar with it -
Casual Users
Even those who only use Power BI a few times a week can find its basic functions helpful in assessing work and learning data analysis on their own, although they may need hardware that can handle the volume of data they want to work with. -
Business Analysts
These professionals can leverage Power BI's wide variety of chart types and customization options to create real-time updating dashboard infrastructures for several departments -
IT Professionals
Despite some limitations in data connectivity and report maintenance, IT professionals can still find value in Power BI's native integrations and initial setup ease, especially if they are already using other Microsoft tools -
Small to Medium Business Owners
Power BI's user-friendly interface and deep data analysis capabilities without requiring code or SQL make it a valuable tool for SMBs looking to gain insights from their data
06 Microsoft Power BI Reviews
Microsoft Power BI rating
Ease of use
Customer service
Value for money
Likelihood to recommend
Features
Microsoft Power BI Reviews
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Alexis R
Exploring Online Forums: Troubleshooting and Learning Resources
there are numerous online forums and resources available for troubleshooting and learning new techniques.
August 12, 2024
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Madison Jones
Microsoft Power BI: A Complimentary Tool for Easy Data Analysis
Even though I only use Microsoft Power BI a few times a week, I find its basic functions helpful in assessing my colleagues' work who use this software in our company. Its primary strength is its user-friendliness, allowing me to learn data analysis on my own without much difficulty. It also lets me generate reports from the data collected by the software. While I appreciate the free plan, I find the paid plans somewhat expensive compared to similar products. Regarding data analysis, it demands hardware that can handle the volume of data I want to work with. For example, if I want to work with large data volumes, I need a processor that can manage it, or else the performance will be insufficient.
August 3, 2024
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Cynthia Johnson
Flexible Customization and Exceptional Community Support: Power BI Review
I can tailor my reports and dashboards to meet specific needs. Lastly, the community support for Power BI is excellent
July 30, 2024
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Margaret B
Unveiling the Realities of PowerBI
My experience with Microsoft Power BI has been challenging. I've found it hard to administer and support, and the documentation hasn't been very helpful. There are many access levels, but it's unclear what each one involves. While the free version seemed like a good option at first, it hasn't met our needs. Despite these issues, I recognize that Power BI has great potential for Business Intelligence. However, I'm frustrated with the difficulty of importing data from AWS into Power BI, and the apparent need to install SQL Server on-premises for real-time data. We chose Power BI thinking it would integrate well with our 365 environment, but sadly, this hasn't been the case.
July 21, 2024
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Ashley Rodriguez
Effortless Report Updates with Power BI's Drill-Down Feature
I no longer have to manually update my reports each time new data comes in. The drill-down feature in Power BI is particularly useful
July 16, 2024
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Marilyn
Power BI: The Market's Top Choice for Data Visualization
I utilize Microsoft Power BI for reporting, analysis, and data visualization. It's advantageous because my clients are familiar with it and it integrates easily with third-party tools. I appreciate its graphics and shareability. However, it demands significant computing power and loading large data sets can be slow. I selected Microsoft Power BI as my clients are satisfied with the reports it produces.
July 7, 2024
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Donna
User-friendly and Highly Customizable: A Superior Data Visualization Tool
I've been a user of Excel and Power BI for a long time. What I value most is its capability to conduct deep data analysis without requiring code or SQL. This makes it user-friendly for small to medium businesses like ours to gain insights from data. It provides a range of chart types and the option to include custom elements. I highly endorse it. The interface, which is heavily influenced by Excel, was easy for me to navigate due to my extensive experience with Excel. However, I do wish it offered a live support feature like some other BI tools. I opted for Power BI over Tableau because I was already comfortable with the Microsoft environment.
July 1, 2024
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Gregory Williams
Effective Reporting Tool for Select Microsoft Products, Limited Use Beyond Microsoft Ecosystem
As a follower of Microsoft Power BI, often hailed as a "Tableau destroyer", I want to highlight some significant issues with its data connectivity and report maintenance. Despite my feedback, the Product Team has disregarded these problems as "not in scope", rendering Power BI virtually ineffective for extracting data from third-party products, particularly cloud-based ones. My review is based on my experience with Power BI as of mid-March 2017, which includes testing, community interaction, and numerous tickets with Power BI Pro Support. My focus is on data acquisition via Web Services, in line with Microsoft’s "Cloud First" Strategy.Firstly, Power BI Online, which is cloud-based, does not permit HTTP calls. Power BI Desktop does, but only with static authentication parameters. Power BI Online is the "master" that enables you to share and publish your reports, but its design experience is hindered by HTML limitations and restricted data connectivity.
June 24, 2024
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Carolyn A
Uncovering Hidden Insights: Exploring Data at a Granular Level with Impressive Customization
it allows me to explore data at a granular level and uncover hidden insights. The software's capacity for customization is impressive
June 18, 2024
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Abigail
PowerBI: My Go-To Dashboard Solution
I consider Microsoft Power BI a powerful tool for data aggregation and dashboard creation, which I can share with my teams. It does require some training to fully understand and learn the PowerBI language. I switched to Microsoft Power BI as it drastically cut down my report creation time from over 2 hours to roughly 30 minutes per week.
June 10, 2024
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