Power BI, or the power of data analysis

With the Microsoft Power BI tool, it is possible to capture, catalogue, analyse and report on the data collected. It is a revolutionary and innovative analytical solution for businesses in various industries. 

Working in the cloud and SaaS model with Power BI streamlines many aspects of work and allows projects to be handled faster. It facilitates the flow of information between specialists and access to data and enables the editing of material by those authorised to do so. 

Power BI services are differentiated in terms of price and capabilities. This allows you to select the variant according to the amount of data and information to be processed, among other things. 

What is Power BI Desktop?

Power BI Desktop is the fundamental solution of the Power BI service for those who want to work on data in an advanced way. All you need to do is:

• download the application;
• install it free of charge on your local computer;
• and you're ready to go! 

The tool allows you to collate and transform data, segment it, and adapt its form to your needs. Power BI Desktop gives you that option if you are most comfortable presenting your data in graphical form (e.g., diagrams or charts).

In addition to working on the data, Power BI Desktop allows you to share reports within your organisation. This makes teamwork go smoothly, as everyone has real-time access to the material.

Notably, the Desktop service is free and mainly aimed at small and medium-sized companies. It is, therefore, great for getting started in the Microsoft Power BI environment.

The Power BI Desktop variant allows generating a report and emailing it to selected people or adding it to a cloud drive. In addition, users with a licence can share reports within their business organisation. 

Power BI Pro should be interesting if you want to share reports with users outside your organisation.

What is Power BI Pro?

If Power BI Desktop is not enough for you, you can opt to purchase the Pro version. 

This solution is similar to the Desktop version but expanded with additional capabilities, such as sharing reports outside the organisation (e.g., with business partners or contractors).

It is excellent for small and medium-sized businesses thanks to its computing capabilities.

With the service, you can share reports with colleagues within your organisation. In addition, with Power BI Pro, you can give team members specific permissions to work on material. 

Power Bi Pro lets you view reports, add comments, and edit. 

Power BI Premium

Microsoft Power BI Premium, on the other hand, is an ideal service for large enterprises that generate significantly more data. It comes in per-user (PPU) and per-capacity variants. 

Power BI Pro or Power BI Desktop may not have sufficient processing power and may be unable to handle the size of data that giants generate.

The performance of the Premium variant enables much larger volumes of data to be processed than the versions mentioned above.

Notably, the information you enter is encrypted and secure. So you don't have to worry about losing important documents or files.

With the Premium Pro per user, or PPU, variant, you can share content and collaborate freely in the workspace with other PPU users.

Power BI Premium is the solution if a company wants to standardise information processes. The high power of the tool allows it to be introduced into the daily work of specialists from a large corporation.  

Which variant Power BI to choose?

In summary, the choice of service variant depends on, among other things:

• how much data your company processes daily;
• whether you want to share reports outside your organisation,
• as well as whether your entire team is expected to work on the same data. 
• The first two propositions are ideal for small and medium-sized companies that want to take advantage of Power BI's capabilities but do not need the most advanced premium solution.

Power BI Desktop is the free variant, making it great for a start-up to know the service and see if it suits the company's needs.

The Pro variant, on the other hand, is the enhanced Desktop variant. Therefore, it is ideal if the basic version has worked well for your company's working model and you want to try the advanced options.