Overview
Power BI is a suite of business analytics tools developed by Microsoft. It our organization to analyse data and share insights through rich interactive visuals, dashboards, and reports. By connecting to various data sources, Power BI can transform raw data into meaningful information, fostering data-driven decision-making within organizations. Some of the main functionality consists of creating interactive reports and dashboards with capability to dig deeper into the data as well as export it in a desired format.
Here are some of the key features:
Data Connectivity and Preparation: Power BI provides wide-ranging data connectivity options, from simple Excel spreadsheets to on-premises SQL Server databases or cloud services like Azure SQL Database, Salesforce, Google Analytics, and more. It allows for data shaping and transformation, handling large volumes of data with ease.
Data Modelling: With Power BI, you can create relationships, hierarchies, calculated columns, and measures using Data Analysis Expressions (DAX). This enables complex data modelling and analysis.
Interactive Dashboarding: Power BI dashboards are collections of visualizations, reports, and other data that provide a consolidated view of business data. Dashboards are interactive and customizable, providing insights at a glance.
Collaboration and Sharing: Power BI allows for secure sharing and collaboration on reports and dashboards within the organization. It also integrates well with other Microsoft products like Teams, SharePoint, and more.
Power BI Reports: These are collections of visuals, reports, and other data in one place. Reports are highly interactive and highly customizable. Users can dig into the data to find insights and drill through pages to find specific details.
Data Visualizations: Power BI supports a vast range of data visualizations, from basic charts and graphs to more complex and custom visuals. Visuals are interactive and can be linked with each other for easy exploration of data.
Real-time Analytics: Power BI enables real-time analytics, allowing for live visual updates and always up-to-date dashboards. This is particularly valuable for monitoring business metrics that change rapidly.