Microsoft Power BI – what is it?
Microsoft Power BI is an advanced business analysis and data visualization tool developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Power Platform family of products, which enables companies to analyze, visualize and share data in an intuitive and efficient way. Power BI allows users to combine data from a variety of sources, such as databases, spreadsheets, cloud services and more, and then transform that data into easy-to-read visualizations such as interactive charts, tables, maps and dashboards.
The tool offers an intuitive interface that allows users to drag and drop items to create dynamic reports and dashboards. Power BI has advanced analysis features such as temporal analysis, trend analysis, data segmentation and more. Users can create personalized key performance indicators (KPIs) to track important business metrics in real time.
One of the main advantages of Microsoft Power BI is its ability to share reports online. Users can publish their reports to the cloud, allowing teams and stakeholders to easily access up-to-date data and reports on a variety of devices, including computers, tablets and smartphones. In addition, Power BI integrates with other Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Excel, Azure, SharePoint, allowing easy importing of data and collaboration with other business tools.
Power BI is a popular tool among companies of all sizes and industries that want to increase the efficiency of data analysis, make better-informed decisions and monitor the performance of their business in real time.
How does Microsoft Power BI improve the efficiency of companies?
Constant access to data from various sources
In order for individual project teams to improve their efficiency, they need access to an abundance of data. With the help of Power BI, you can import data from more than 60 different sources. Importantly, the system allows the sharing of collected data and created reports and visualizations among those involved in a given project.
Reduce the burden on the IT department with data analytics systems
Business Intelligence solutions offer a range of analytical tools that improve the performance not only of IT departments, but also of other departments in organizations. With Power BI, the consolidation of all data is automatic. Thanks to the drag-and-drop functionality, even people with little technical knowledge can successfully use this system. In this way, the degree of involvement of employees from the IT department decreases. Data can be accessed regardless of the workplace, on desktop computers and mobile devices.
Quick questions and answers – only with Power BI
If you are currently finding it difficult to find answers to certain questions in your data, the ability to enter queries using natural language will prove very useful. The Q&A function allows Power BI users to enter queries in ordinary language, such as “how many units of product X were sold in the previous year?”, “how much did we spend on Google Ads?”, “by how much percent did sales revenue increase in September?”.
Power BI looks for answers by considering all available data. They just need to be properly aggregated and grouped according to a specific key, so that the discussed function will do its job and speed up the pace of work.
Ability to share data between different teams in the company
Power BI provides the ability to give individual team members varying degrees of permissions to aggregated data. This allows people working on a particular project even when they work in different departments to access common data. For example, the sales department can view data on promotional campaigns and vice versa. This increases work efficiency and translates into company profits.
Putting out fires before they happen
Power BI provides constant insight into the health of the company and the degree to which the company is meeting its business goals. In doing so, it facilitates decision-making and supports managers in solving problems. It also often identifies weaknesses and inefficient processes in the organization that need improvement. This gives us information about the need to make changes early and can prevent problems before they actually arise.
These are just some of the benefits of using Power BI in your business. The investment in software is sure to pay off in the form of saved time and more accurate business decisions that translate into higher profits. It is important to remember that this system must be individually tailored to the needs and capabilities of a particular company. It will then maximize the benefits and improve the efficiency of the work.
