What is our primary use case?
I have used the solution primarily for building models for different verticals. It doesn't matter which industry you are in. I do some modeling and presentations for clients in different verticals.
What is most valuable?
The solution is flexible and works across industries.
I do love the way a user can flexibly design items. You can add and use Docs, for example.
The initial setup is pretty simple.
We have found the solution to be stable.
Our team finds the solution to be scalable.
The solution has a robust online and blog community that's great for troubleshooting.
It has Power Automate available, however, I have yet to try it out. It's something I'll look at next.
What needs improvement?
Using Docs with Microsoft BI can be difficult and hard to figure out. It has a steeper learning curve at first.
There are some other visuals that are available in the Microsoft marketplace, however, you need to use them via trial and error. There needs to be a write-up about how to use them with a quick guide about the basics of visuals. That way, you would get more of a sense of if it would work for your purposes. Right now, you need to add it to Microsoft BI and then just hope it works, or go back to the drawing board.
I had one query that came in that didn't have a direct connection it was for Oracle 9 connecting to Power BI directly. They don't integrate directly. You need to do something different or look for something else that might connect them.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with the solution for five years now. It's been a while at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is reliable and stable. There is not much downtime or anything. In terms of data, there will be more data related to or within your connection and with your set of data or gateway.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. It's not an issue.
We have about ten people using the solution currently.
How are customer service and support?
I've used the help that's available online and within the blog community, however, in terms of going to Microsoft for support, I haven't used them so far. Therefore, I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are during direct interactions.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are currently using IBM, Microsoft BI, and Qlik.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty simple and pretty straightforward. It's not overly complex or difficult.
There's a bit of maintenance required as there is data coming in every month. There are just a few server updates and write-ups to keep up on.
What about the implementation team?
We handled everything in-house. We did not need to get a consultant or integrator to assist us. It's pretty easy to do within your existing team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have an official enterprise license. We are not on any trial license, however, I did try out the trial which lasts for 30 days. It's nice that you can really dig into the features before you buy it.
What other advice do I have?
We're an IT consulting company. We're Gold Partners with Microsoft.
I'm using the latest version of the solution. I cannot speak to the exact version number we are currently working on.
I'm using both a desktop and a cloud version of the solution.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. I do work with also other software. What I recommend to clients will depend on the user as well as the scope or scoping he wants to do, how big or how small the company is, the number of users, et cetera. Making recommendations for software all depends on this analysis first.
I won't tell go directly to Power BI, however, I will study whatever the customer would require first. Based on his requirement, we'll do the recommendation of software. That said, mostly so far what happens is that people really like Power BI due to the fact that it's easy for them to navigate around and work with it.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
*Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner