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What Is Microsoft Power BI?

Power BI can help you connect your data into a single source of truth, uncover powerful insights from this data, and translate them into impact across your organization. Connect data across clouds, databases, and engines to OneLake to create a single place to manage and analyze your data while minimizing data duplication and movement. Turn your data into visuals with advanced data-analysis tools, AI capabilities, and a user-friendly report-creation tool. Turn these insights into impact and help

Who Uses Microsoft Power BI?

Power BI is used by developers, analysts, IT, and other businesses to visualize and analyze data on a unified interface.

Microsoft Power BI Software - Overview Power BI
Microsoft Power BI Software - Power BI Desktop
Microsoft Power BI Software - Govern and protect your data
Microsoft Power BI Software - Data Hub
Microsoft Power BI Software - Sharpen your Power BI Skills

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Reviews of Microsoft Power BI

Average score

Overall
4.6
Ease of Use
4.1
Customer Service
4.2
Features
4.5
Value for Money
4.4

Reviews by company size (employees)

  • <50
  • 51-200
  • 201-1,000
  • >1,001
Максим
Максим
Analyst in Norway
Verified LinkedIn User
Utilities, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Good and improving

4.0 7 months ago

Comments: As an analyst, I appreciate the versatility of Power BI, but feel that more improvement for use cases needed

Pros:

It is a combination of all you need: visuals, analysis, data cleansing in one place, which has lots of native connectors.

Cons:

Power BI is not the most efficient tool in terms of operatinal memory, and it lacks some features which you would expect it to have.

Issac
Senior Engineer in India
Automotive, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

A professional business intelligence tool

4.0 2 months ago

Comments: I use it primarily for developing dasboards and the whole experience is great from creating the dashboard to publishing it in workspaces everything is seamless

Pros:

Very easy to connect to a wide variety of datasources such as sharepoint List,SQL Databses and excel files . The data transform option supports a wide variety of data manipulation and data cleaning options which makes data modelling very easy It supports a lot of inbuilt visualization graphs and figures with an easy drag and drop functionality.

Cons:

Only the data loading while working on large datasets takes a lot of time if that can be improved a really great tool

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Creating and Using PowerBI Reports Daily

3.0 7 months ago

Pros:

It is easy to link with existing datasets in the Microsoft ecosystem and external databases such as SQL servers. Reports can be customized to display information however you want to.

Cons:

it can be very confusing and difficult to have everything displayed correctly. there are bugs that can cause the dataset tables to not show information accurately

Pathan
Project and Program Consultant in India
Architecture & Planning, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

POWER BI - Visualize your Data

5.0 3 months ago

Comments: The UI is great & easy to make your dashboard. The insights we get from a click is a cherry on the top.

Pros:

The number of ways we get to show the data is the visualization part.

Cons:

The DAX query can be simplified like Excel would be more helpful.

Warren
CFO in Canada
Apparel & Fashion, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Benefits of Microsoft Power BI

5.0 2 months ago

Comments: Overall very pleased with this product. It allows us to customize our own reports and dashboards without the need for costly ERP consultants.

Pros:

The ability to create impressive looking dashboards and reports on our own.

Cons:

Somewhat complicated to attach it to a database.

Jace
Sr. Project Manager in US
Computer Software, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

#1 in the industry for a reason

5.0 4 weeks ago New

Pros:

This is one of the best analytics tools on the market. We can combine multiple data sources into 1 report, create relationships and many other amazing things.

Cons:

The licensing and limited capabilities to share to others. Also, it requires a lot of memory to run on a laptop, I recommend buying some additional RAM

Ajoke
Regional Network Analyst in UK
Information Technology & Services, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

My Power BI Experience

5.0 last month New

Pros:

It is a good visualization tool for creating interactive dashboards

Cons:

It sometimes does not update in real-time

olamide
performance analyst in UK
Automotive, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

seamless data sharing

5.0 last month New

Comments: Its data visualization and the integration between other Microsoft products make its easy to work

Pros:

I really appreciate the seamless integration between all the tools in power and easy to link to excel and power point.

Cons:

What I like least about Microsoft Power BI is for beginners it could be overwhelming.

Sar
Marketing in Australia
Entertainment, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Good visualisation but requires correct set up

5.0 4 weeks ago New

Comments: Good experience easy to have everything in one place

Pros:

Nice visualisation and easy to filter everything

Cons:

Sometimes the data is wrong but that’s cause of different reasons

Abiola
Administrator in UK
Health, Wellness & Fitness, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Astounding features

5.0 last month New

Comments: It has been an interesting experience as data interpretation has never been easier

Pros:

Ability to present comparisons of data easily to anyone

Cons:

I have to always check my filters to ensure I have the correct data

John
General Manager in UK
Fishery, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Our one solution for all-things data

5.0 last year

Comments: MS Power BI has been a wonderful asset for our data side. We use it for all kinds of things from putting together a basic report for a presentation to designing dashboards with a dozen KPIs all being synced in realtime. It's hugely powerful and maintains good performance even with large data sets. 10/10 would recommend.

Pros:

We used to be on Excel which was pretty good by itself, but Power BI takes it to a whole another level. It has tons of advanced features like better data connectors, embedded reports, better dashboards and worklows, the ability to handle bigger data, and more.

Cons:

It would be good to have more dashboard and report templates to work off of, and we've had issues with cloud syncing in the past that caused us a lot of headache.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Information Technology & Services, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Intuitive interface

5.0 last year

Comments: Has an active community of users who share knowledge, solve problems and contribute to the development of the platform.

Pros:

Allows real time updates and integration with microsoft tools

Cons:

Some users habe note that there ir a learning curve, especially for those who are new to the tool or have no prior data analysis experience.

Sadie
General Manager in Germany
Hospitality, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Power BI is our go-to solution for all-things data

5.0 last year

Comments: Power BI has brought data into our operations company-wide. It can easily go up against BI tools 10 years younger. It's got tons of chart types and customization options, a good number of native integrations, and it's easy to get it up and running in the beginning.

Pros:

I think the dashboard creation is one of its best aspects. It has all the functionality needed to create the dashboard infrastructures of several departments that also update in real time. The visual customizations are pretty decent and there are a lot of charting options.

Cons:

The embed feature needs to be improved in my opinion. It sometimes takes too long for embedded charts to load, and sometimes it just crashes when the data is too big

Nida
Senior Data Engineer in India
Verified LinkedIn User
Oil & Energy, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Transforming unprocessed data into insightful visuals using power BI

5.0 last year

Comments: It has been a very smooth transition from old reporting solutions which were limited to tabular representation to Power BI with it's wide range of visuals which can be transformed and adapted as per the end user need

Pros:

Easy learning curve, user friendly interface, cross platform integration and compatibility, ability to setup custom logics.

Cons:

DAX has a steep learning curve and power can be optimised to handle large volumes of data .

Rhea
Internal Sales Executive in UK
Utilities, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Microsoft Power BI is an impactful product for analyzing business performance.

5.0 5 months ago

Comments: Our over experience with Microsoft Power BI has been so efficient. We have experienced Microsoft Power BI transform our business by giving us access to the most critical insights we need when making decisions.

Pros:

Microsoft Power BI has top-notch tools for analyzing business data which help gain deep insights about our business performance. It has simple visualization boards making it easy to visualize insights in a more easier to understand way. Microsoft Power BI allows customization which allows us to use it to analyze different types of data.

Cons:

Nothing has ever gone wrong with Microsoft Power BI so no cons to comment on.

Hosam
People Analytics. in Egypt
Information Technology & Services, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

The best self-service business analytical tool.

5.0 8 months ago

Comments: Microsoft Power BI helps me turn raw data into reports and actionable insights as I pull data from various sources, including our local files using the desktop version and online data via the Azure SQL database service. I can transform this data to build interactive reports and dashboards, which I then embed into our internal Power App to visually communicate key metrics and make them available to analytics teams and across the company. I connect Power BI directly to our Azure SQL database and virtual machines to get a live view of data that are important to our business operations. My team and I use DAX and SQL for on-the-fly data queries and analysis to generate performance reports on employees, turnover, and other key HR metrics.

Pros:

Microsoft Power BI is an easy-to-use analytical tool that provides a convenient self-service data reporting and visualization solution for the average and non-technical business users. The desktop app and online service support data extraction, transformation, and visualization from various file types and offer built-in Power Platform integrations. The web service's rich AppSource marketplace provides apps and templates that help users design better dashboards more efficiently. Power BI's well-organized navigation menus make it seamless to integrate with other Microsoft solutions like Azure SQL database, virtual machines, and various Fabric Platform services for data science and data warehousing workflows. The Power BI community forums and user tutorials are helpful for new and experienced users alike.

Cons:

Managing user permissions can become a bit complex when dealing with a large number of users and varying report access levels within the same workgroup and department. Also, the increasing number of options available in the user interface can sometimes feel overwhelming.

PRACHI
Cyber Breach Riview Attorney in India
Legal Services, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Best analytics tool for data transformation and informed decision making

5.0 4 months ago

Comments: It has been a good experience using Power BI as it allows me to collect all the scattered data on various other platforms and visualize it at a single place.

Pros:

It is one of the best analytics tool and the cloud storage enhances its ease of use. Also it is easy to collaborate on reports and other stuff.

Cons:

There is no bottlenecks in the tool but sometimes it slows down a bit when handling very large datasets.

Mariia
Software Engineer in Canada
Computer Software, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Best data analytics and visualization platform

5.0 2 months ago

Pros:

Data processing speed and rich functionality covering any possible reporting request. Desktop version is free.

Cons:

Since Power BI is a part of Microsoft suite it might be a bit hard to integrate Power BI with different platform.

Vallery
Talent Partner in UK
Information Technology & Services, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Microsoft Power BI Review

5.0 4 months ago

Comments: The best - as a business, we would not be able to function without Power BI.

Pros:

Power BI is very robust! There's no report that we cannot get out of it with the right integrations. I love that its customizable and integrates with a lot of other programs.

Cons:

Steep learning curve especially if you have to create dashboards from scratch. We also sometimes experience problems with the way data translates across different platforms.

Johan
Application Management in Sweden
Computer Software, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Very powerful reporting

4.0 5 months ago

Comments: It's a great tool for creating reports and diagrams.

Pros:

The possibilities to create very complex reports

Cons:

You need a lot of SQL experience to create complex reports.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Efficient but difficult to set-up

4.0 9 months ago

Comments: Overall, this tool is really great. It is super effective if it is used and set-up properly. If the right people operate the dashboards and pull the data in, it can be used very well and safe a project a lot of time for reporting and communication internally.

Pros:

I like the ability to pull data from multiple sources.

Cons:

It is truly difficult to set it up. It is not intuitive.

Keith
Keith
Head of Business Process Management in UK
Verified LinkedIn User
Telecommunications, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Transforming Data into Strategic Insights

5.0 12 months ago

Comments: My overall experience with Microsoft Power BI has been extremely positive. It stood out as an essential tool for transforming complex process data into clear, actionable insights.

Pros:

The most impressive aspect of Microsoft Power BI for me was its robust data integration and visualization capabilities. It enabled me to combine various process datasets into a comprehensive reporting suite. The platform's drill-down functionality was particularly useful, allowing us to delve into detailed views from top-level opportunities down to specific process steps. This made identifying and analysing critical points for improvement and automation much more efficient.

Cons:

One area where Power BI could improve is its initial learning curve. For new users, especially those not familiar with other Microsoft products or lacking a strong background in data analytics, getting up to speed can be somewhat challenging.

Galateya
Executive Administrative Assistant in Bulgaria
Computer & Network Security, 5,001–10,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Recommendation for Microsoft Power BI

5.0 3 months ago

Comments: My overall experience with Microsoft Power BI is super positive

Pros:

The most I like about Power BI is the automation and how it made my work life easy when it comes to making reports.

Cons:

There is nothing I like least, in general there are only Pros for Power BI

Refaei
it manager in Saudi Arabia
E-Learning, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Power BI boasts an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.

5.0 last year

Pros:

User-Friendly Interface , Data Import and Integration

Cons:

Power BI excels in Key Performance Indicator (KPI) monitoring

Joshua
Senior SAP Business One Consultant in Kenya
Computer Software, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Microsoft Power B1 is a Useful Tool in this data driven Digital World of Today

5.0 last year

Comments: Overall, this is a great product for data visualization.

Pros:

- Power B1 allows you to pull data from a variety of sources for your analysis. Examples of this sources are Microsoft SQL, Excel, Oracle Database, HANA database, MYSQL database, etc - In my career as a SAP Consultant, Power B1 comes in very handy especially for clients we implement SAP Business one with the SQL Database option. Power B1 helps the decision makers of a company to view their data in easy data visualization objects like KPI's and Dashboards.- The application has a general user friendly interface and many users can easily interact with it.- The fact that it easily integrates with other Microsoft Products like Azure and QL server is a huge plus. - It also offers data cleaning functionalities, helping you to to work with cleaner data for more accurate insights.- You can use Power B1 both on cloud and on premise as per your preference.

Cons:

- There is a little bit of a learning curve involved if you want to get comfortable in deploying more complex features of Power B1 and making maximum use of it.- The license cost of Power B1 may not be viable to everyone who might want to use it.- When dealing with very huge data sets, Power B1 may not be the best option. You might need other more powerful data visualization tools like HANA database.