But amassing mountains of digital information isn’t much used unless organizations are able to make sense of it. That’s where business intelligence software comes in.
Thinking about implementing a platform to help you pluck useful, actionable insight from your data? You’re in the right place. In this publication, we’re going back to basics to find out exactly what Microsoft’s flagship BI software Power BI does and what it can do for your business. Strap in.
Power BI is the collective name for an assortment of cloud-based apps and services that help organizations collate, manage, and analyze data from a variety of sources, through a user-friendly interface. Business intelligence tools like Power BI can be used for a multitude of purposes.
This allows users to generate and share clear and useful snapshots of what’s happening in their business.
from basic Excel spreadsheets to databases, and both cloud-based and
on-premise apps.
and can refer to either a Windows desktop application called Power BI Desktop, an online SaaS (Software as a Service) service called Power BI Service, or mobile Power BI apps available on Windows phones and tablets, as well as for iOS and Android devices.
the learning curve from Excel to Power BI is not that steep; anyone who can use Excel can use Power BI, but the latter is far more powerful than its spreadsheet counterpart.
Microsoft Power BI is used to run reports and surface insights based on a company’s data. Power BI can connect to a wide range of data sets, and “tidies up” the info it’s fed so that it can be better digested and understood. The reports and visuals generated from this data can then be shared with other users.
Get a glimpse of your companies future: Power BI helps users see not only what’s happened in the past and what’s happening in the present, but also what might happen in the future.
Informed predictions through A.I.
Power BI is infused with machine learning capabilities, meaning it can spot patterns in data and use those patterns to make informed predictions and run “what if” scenarios. These estimates allow users to generate forecasts and prepare themselves to meet future demand and other key metrics.