The data is captured by transaction processing systems, and even when the data is captured by a very sophisticated enterprise resource planning system, or ERP system, such as SAP. We'll find that that data is organized in a manner that is suited for the data updated. Therefore, when data has to be used for decision making, it has to be reoriented and organized in a manner that is suitable for data analysis and further for predictive analytics also. What we do is pull out data from multiple data sources, either on SAP or somewhere else.
There could be a certain budget or plan or target-related data on some other platform or on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The data is stored at different places. Some data could be on your internet platforms. Wherever it is, we pull out the data. Then we get that into the SQL server and we organize it in a manner that's suitable for further creation of dashboards and analytics applications, which can be used for better decision making.
Owner at Pranali Consultants
Straightforward to setup, constantly updated, and very stable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is quite scalable."
- "Anybody who has worked on existing spreadsheet-based solutions can quickly adapt to Microsoft BI and the data visualization and interactive data features, they'll find it very exciting to use and very fast to adapt to it."
- "Microsoft has got a very large repository of all change suggestions which have been raised by the BI community. They keep on adding features that are very widely sought after by the community. We don't focus on product features. We focus on business requirements. To use the solution, we find that existing features are good enough and offer us a very effective solution."
- "We don't have much to complain about except that they can always add many more features as they go."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
The company has been able to make better decisions, due to the fact that, when we prepare business intelligence or data analytics applications, they are used by very similar decision-makers, as well as middle-level management decision-makers. From the same infrastructure, the data is used by even the report consumers. You can consider three layers of users, report consumers, mid-level use, as in, those who do interactive analysis of data, and decision-makers. Right at the top, those who would like to see the key performance indicators and use them for deciding a course of action can do so. All of our applications have been providing functionality for all these types of needs, including risk and compliance.
What is most valuable?
The solution offers many features, however, just the way in which that product is designed is quite useful for us.
The way in which it can connect to multiple data sources is also very useful. The way in which data can be manipulated by using data analysis expressions has also been a good feature for us.
The solution is stable.
The solution is quite scalable.
Our clients seem to be happy with the level of technical support they receive.
With our experience, the initial setup is straightforward.
Microsoft is often updating the solution adding new helpful features.
What needs improvement?
I'm not a product expert as such, however, I am aware that Microsoft comes out with a newer version, which is really downloadable and it's replaced every month. Therefore, the improvement is continuous. Since Microsoft provides a free downloadable desktop version of our BI. That desktop portion gets a new version which comes every month, we can replace the older version.
Their ecosystem is quite good in terms of adding new features, in terms of adding custom visuals or adding many more interfaces or reporting features and more functionality within existing reporting and graphs. We don't have much to complain about except that they can always add many more features as they go.
Microsoft has got a very large repository of all change suggestions which have been raised by the BI community. They keep on adding features that are very widely sought after by the community. We don't focus on product features. We focus on business requirements. To use the solution, we find that existing features are good enough and offer us a very effective solution.
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Microsoft Power BI
September 2026
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For how long have I used the solution?
We've used the solution since its inception. We've used it for a very long time. We have been in this domain for the past 30 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is quite stable. That's why it is right at the top, of Gartner's quadrant. We have deployed it with hundreds of users and it's withstood the test of time.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is quite scalable. Of course, it requires data strategy just like any solution or any tool.
We tend to have 100 to 200 users at a minimum using the solution.
The solution is extensively deployed. We have plans to use it on an ongoing basis. They come out with new versions and new features every month, and this constant updating and iteration of the product have really been very helpful for us to provide more advanced solutions.
How are customer service and support?
In terms of technical support, we don't really deal with it. Normally, our clients have a contract with Microsoft, however, my understanding is that their experience is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using a CA tool and we have done work on Oracle. We have done work on many such platforms. However, since 2008 or 2009, we have been focusing on Microsoft as the total cost of ownership has been quite reasonable.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is quite straightforward.
Our implementation strategy involved a business requirement phase where we sought out to understand exactly the expectations for a particular project. Then there is was a design phase where we decided on a data strategy of pulling data from multiple data switches. After that, there was a dashboard design phase, which includes wireframing of dashboards and then designing the dashboards according to those wireframes. Finally, we deploy and in that phase, we put in role level security, et cetera, and deploy it at an enterprise level. The entire process tasks three to four months in total, end-to-end.
We don't require much maintenance due to our maturity in design and development. We have been monitoring sites without having to add too many resources at our end as we have a robust design and maybe one person can handle four to five.
What about the implementation team?
We do the implementation on our own. We have deep experience in this area, and we have developed two types of processes that we use to deploy our solutions. One is the data approach, where you know all best practices and methodologies are embedded into that thing. That framework gives a hundred percent assurance in terms of the success of that project. We have also developed a presentation layer framework whereby different subject areas are designed with very indicative dashboards and those dashboards can be quickly adapted to any data. That way, rather than starting from scratch, we use this framework which helps us to deploy our solution quite successfully. It's very fast also. We save around 50% to 55% of the time this way.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We don't deal directly with licensing. That said, certainly, we are aware in terms of what the Microsoft BI license costs. If it has to be applied on the cloud, then it costs around $10 per month per user. For a pro license and for a premium license it's around $20 per month per user. If it has to be applied on-premises then, depending on the course of your server, you have to buy a software assurance version of the database.
They don't charge for additional features. If you want a premium capacity to handle your work or job, then there is a separate license available. That is a premium license, which is available with the entire product managed by Microsoft and you can use lot more features, including Azure, et cetera.
What other advice do I have?
We are Microsoft partners.
We have two deployment options. Some of our clients have deployed the cloud solution. Some are deployed on-premises.
Anybody who has worked on existing spreadsheet-based solutions can quickly adapt to Microsoft BI and the data visualization and interactive data features, they'll find it very exciting to use and very fast to adapt to it. It's a very effective solution.
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Technology Solutions Professional at OrchidaSoft
Has good implementation features
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to set up and implement."
- "We like the solution's ease of use, functionality range and ability to be quickly implemented."
- "I would like to see a change in the premium capacity."
- "I feel like we don't have a very powerful ELT or ETL tool when it comes to power and data cleansing, and the solution compares unfavorably with such products as Informatica in this regard."
What is most valuable?
Defining the most valuable features would take a long time. While I cannot point to a specific feature, I feel the solution provides a full range of implementation capabilities. This allows for integration and modeling, for carrying out good transformations within the same platform, as well as visualization. There are not many products included inside and one can start from scratch.
In respect of the customer, one can quickly implement phases. A person can start out with creating his data set on a miniscule amount of the client's work and, working solely with a sales team, make it agile, only involving three or four dashboards. At this point, completion is possible and progress may be made to the next one very quickly. We like the solution's ease of use, functionality range and ability to be quickly implemented.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see a change in the premium capacity. It is very costly, particularly for the Egyptian market, amounting to $5,000 per month. Perhaps in the Gulf this would work well. The data flow should be enhanced from OnPrem-Gateways, which we find to be somewhat complicated and which does not always work. Regional pricing is the main issue.
The stability is okay, although there can sometimes be an issue with the connection when it comes to data OnPrem and the need to manage gateway communication and do troubleshooting. In brief, there are certain issues with OnPrem stability.
'Although we feel the solution to be a dream, it would be great to see everything on Power BI services, obviating the need for Power BI desktop. I hope to see such Power BI implementation.
I feel like we don't have a very powerful ELT or ETL tool when it comes to power and data cleansing. The solution compares unfavorably with such products as Informatica in this regard.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft BI for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is okay, although there are occasional connectivity problems when it comes to managed gateway communication of data OnPrem and troubleshooting. The OnPrem stability should be addressed.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
While the stability is okay, there is an occasional need to add extra products, such as those involving Azure data analysis and Azure Analytics Services.
Big data would require the involvement of different products, Microsoft sign ups, for example. While we did not go for this, our technical teams are trying to get up to speed to have big data rediness.
I feel like the solution has a comparatively inferior ELT or ETL tool when it comes to power and data cleansing and compares unfavorably with Informatica. There is occasionally a need to involve other solutions, such as Informatica and Alteryx.
How are customer service and support?
While we have not made much use of Microsoft support, I did previously work with Microsoft's premier support and found it to be very good, overall.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is easy to set up and implement.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The premium capacity is very costly in respect of the market in Egypt, amounting to $5,000 monthly. The regional pricing should be addressed.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
The solution has an edge over others in its quick implementation. It is also very helpful to consider Microsoft data platform on Azure. Doing a combination with Microsoft data plaform will give one a great edge over, say, Tableau.
The combining of Power BI with Microsoft data platform on Azure provides one increased familiarity. We are talking about a great ecosystem.
The solution is comparatively inferior to those offered by other companies in respect of the ETL and ELT as these relate to power and data cleansing. It is not the best.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to someone looking to implement Power BI for his own organization would be to take things step by step. He should initially refrain from taking on big projects, instead focusing on agility, starting with the most requisite dashboards, working on them and garnering experience. The person will improve from one time to the next. One should familiarize himself with the details and how to move data and big data. He should not remain stuck waiting for the implementation of a big project.
I rate Microsoft BI as an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Microsoft Power BI
September 2026
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Program Director Education Technology & Data Services at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
It's good for training and teaching, handles Excel data well
Pros and Cons
- "I like the fact that Power BI lets me use Excel data. At least 90% of my state data is in Excel spreadsheets. Having the ability to just attach a spreadsheet as a data source is very, very important. It's also good for training and teaching. Sometimes you don't always have access to a live production database, so having a spreadsheet with sample data is always nice."
- "The Microsoft BI interface should be simpler and more user-friendly. I find it very difficult to move between their data sources and their analytics section."
What is our primary use case?
I would describe myself as more of a casual user, only because I have so many other things that I have to get done. I wish I could be more of a user, but it's hard. Right now, I have two different main use cases. I use it for teaching. At another institution, I use it for demonstrating how easy it is to build dashboards. It was really to show to all my users the benefit of business analytics. I use it to demonstrate how easy it is to generate your own analytics versus having a department run reports for you then putting it in Excel and making graphs.
What is most valuable?
I like the fact that Power BI lets me use Excel data. At least 90% of my state data is in Excel spreadsheets. Having the ability to just attach a spreadsheet as a data source is very, very important. It's also good for training and teaching. Sometimes you don't always have access to a live production database, so having a spreadsheet with sample data is always nice.
What needs improvement?
The Microsoft BI interface should be simpler and more user-friendly. I find it very difficult to move between their data sources and their analytics section. It's probably designed by data analysts that typically get the data from somewhere else. So, one person logs into Power BI, moves the data around and puts it in the proper form then somebody else goes in from the dashboard. What I'm finding more and more is that the person playing with the data is also going to be the person building the dashboard, so the interface needs to be more seamless and dumbed down for the average user.
Tableau is much better at that, which is probably why it's more expensive. The days where one person works on the data and someone else does the analytics are coming to an end. In the past, larger organizations usually had a dedicated analytics team and a dedicated data team. Now we buy data as a service, so we got rid of our data team and we don't have analysts per se. Instead, we have smart users. So I think Microsoft BI needs to move on to the next iteration of truly user-friendly solutions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Microsoft BI for about three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft BI has never crashed on me.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I honestly can't comment on how scalable Microsoft BI is because I've never taken it beyond training or simple use. But I would imagine, if it's on Azure, that it's scalable. I haven't had the pleasure of scaling it, so I don't know, but it doesn't strike me as a solution that would have problems with scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not had to contact technical support, but I've actually downloaded and taken three Power BI courses for free and they're very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I was using Tableau but the licensing cost went up when Salesforce required them to raise the price. But if the price hadn't changed, I would've absolutely stuck with Tableau because I like it. I do not know about the cost of the licenses. We buy it from the state and when it went up, our CIO at the time said no more Tableau licenses. I had to scramble to find a replacement, and fortunately, I discovered that Power BI is included in Microsoft 365. However, I prefer Tableau's interface. Microsoft BI's user interface is convoluted in terms of how you attach a data source. You have a separate screen for defining your data and then you have to jump to a different screen to model the results. In other words, there are two separate interfaces for data and analytics. In Tableau, it's more seamless.
How was the initial setup?
Setup is very easy. You click on the icon, download the MSI, and it loads itself. It takes about a couple of hours to deploy overall.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate Microsoft BI as an eight out of 10. The biggest drawback is the user interface. From what I'm seeing, Windows 11 is going to have a more user-friendly interface. Even Microsoft Edge is adopting a more user-friendly interface. I'm hoping that Power BI follows this trend as well.
My advice for anyone who is thinking about adopting Microsoft BI is to understand what you're trying to do with it. If you're trying to do analytics with it, then it depends on the kind of analytics. If you're want to do statistical analytics, it's not the tool for you. It's a tool that's better suited for visual analytics than it is for straight-up analytics. If you're dealing with patterns and data, it's great. If you're working with numbers and data, it's not so good. You're better off with a statistical package.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Manager Technical Architect at Legato Health Technologies
Useful for data visualization and building interactive dashboards
Pros and Cons
- "It works well with SSAS, which we use to generate all different kinds of trending and analytics reports, and sometimes we use Power Query and DAX to build some aggregations on the Power BI side as well."
- "Sluggish performance when handling large amounts of data."
- "I feel that scalability is one area where there is room for improvement. When there is a huge volume of data, like when we apply the aggregation, the reporting slows down."
What is our primary use case?
It is one of the business intelligence tools we are using—mainly for all our data visualization purposes and building interactive dashboards. We use Microsoft Power BI to generate all different types of analytic reports. We move information from our data warehouse to a SSAS cube that we've built on top of all our dimensions. We also do a certain level of aggregation in the cube itself, which is then connected to Power BI.
What is most valuable?
It works well with SSAS, which we use to generate all different kinds of trending and analytics reports. Sometimes we use Power Query and DAX to build some aggregations on the Power BI side as well.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see Microsoft BI add custom visuals and certain machine-learning capabilities. It would be nice if the DAX functions could perform some kind of predictive modeling. Right now, it just does a kind of descriptive analytics.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working on Microsoft Power BI for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Throughout several updates over the past three years, I never saw any issues, particularly with installation or anything, so I see the product as stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I feel that scalability is one area where there is room for improvement. When there is a huge volume of data, like when we apply the aggregation, the reporting slows down. That's why we mostly build things in the SSAS cube itself instead of bringing it back to Microsoft BI to do the aggregation. Certain incredibly small aggregations can be done on the Microsoft BI side, but if the dashboard size is more than 1 Gigabyte, you start to see some performance issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
The Power BI community is really big, so we mostly rely on other users for support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In some projects, we have used Tableau or ThoughtSpot. If we're dealing with big data, then we often consider using Tableau. Power BI has some additional features that Tableau doesn't have, like DAX and Power Query, but Tableau works better from a scalability standpoint. Sometimes for reporting purposes, when we want to generate some kind of dashboard on the fly for the user, we have used ThoughtSpot.
How was the initial setup?
We didn't experience any complications. We built everything on the desktop and in the .pvi files, then just move those files to the server. Afterward, we didn't see any issues at all in terms of setup.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm unsure about the exact cost, but the Pro license comes out to around $10 per user. There are also additional costs for custom visuals that you can pay for.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Microsoft BI an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Manager.Marketing Strategy & Analysis. at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Integrates well, secure, but cannot handle large databases
Pros and Cons
- "The solution integrates with other Microsoft solutions very well."
- "If you are having millions of rows of data or you have a large database, Microsoft BI's performance depends upon how powerful your hardware is. When I am handling large amounts of data I do not use Microsoft BI or Tableau because of this, I use D3."
What is our primary use case?
We are using this solution for analytic dashboards.
What is most valuable?
The solution integrates with other Microsoft solutions very well.
When it comes to security Microsoft BI can integrate well with Microsoft Domain Services, you are able to make it as secure as you want.
There are useful visualizations available in the dashboards.
What needs improvement?
If you are having millions of rows of data or you have a large database, Microsoft BI's performance depends upon how powerful your hardware is. When I am handling large amounts of data I do not use Microsoft BI or Tableau because of this, I use D3.
In a future release, they need to have better integration to allow any visualization that is done in other solutions, such as D3 or Tableau, to be able to be imported in Microsoft BI easily.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft BI for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable when the database is reasonably sized. If you have large databases of 20 million rows it can begin to have difficulties requiring a purchase of more hardware.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is good. If you have a direct query, Microsoft BI can run on billions of rows of data.
Microsoft BI is available to the 70,000 users in my organization.
This solution is used extensively because everyone has access to it, not because it is the best.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support from Microsoft could improve.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is easy to install.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation of the solution.
For those customers we have that use Microsoft BI on a dedicated server, we have a technical team that does the maintenance.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have evaluated Tableau and D3.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Microsoft BI over Tableau if you are comfortable with Microsoft solutions. Additionally, understand your use case and choose the best solution that fits your needs.
I rate Microsoft BI a six out of ten.
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
Project Manager at GlaxoSmithKline
Very good toggling feature; unfortunately some performance issues and inability to aggregate
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has a good toggling feature."
- "We initially used Tableau because our data was an internal data source, and now all of our data is migrated to tool environments, that the Power BI is more comfortable with."
- "Lacks the ability to copy data from BI into PowerPoint."
- "Because of performance issues and because we're unable to do all the aggregation, I rate this solution six out of 10."
What is our primary use case?
I'm a project manager and we are customers of Microsoft.
What is most valuable?
I like the toggling feature, the ability to switch from one page to another.
What needs improvement?
I have a couple of dashboards that are weekly and monthly. I was able to download the dashboard, but I cannot paste any images into PowerPoint. There are also visuals based on the brand that should automatically pop up in the graph and which should be a toggling option. And I'm having performance issues if I want to add two or three tables at a time, which I could easily do in Tableau. Copy-pasting data to PowerPoint for presentation to the executive level should be easy but we're only able to copy the visual, not the underlying data.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for the past eight months.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable but we haven't yet migrated everyone to Power BI. Our users are not finding Power BI as good as Pique, which perhaps they're just more used to. They're trying but some of the features available in Pique are not there so they are not comprehensively using it. It's being used mainly for internal analysis for now.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We initially used Tableau because our data was an internal data source, and now all of our data is migrated to tool environments, that the Power BI is more comfortable with. BI is also a free product which is another reason the company recommends it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward, we have a Power BI admin team who take care of all that.
What other advice do I have?
Because of performance issues and because we're unable to do all the aggregation, I rate this solution six out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Lead Senior Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Stable, scalable and well suited for specific applications
Pros and Cons
- "We have found the product to be scalable."
- "From what I have seen, the solution seems to be very stable."
- "If you need data in real-time, it's not an ideal solution."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is basically used for data. It's on a proprietary piece of equipment on which we collect data. We look at impurities in molten metal, and it's a database and it keeps track of all the batches that we have through the furnace that we have. It tells when it's dirty and stuff like that. It's a large database that we keep track of the history of all the ingots that we run.
What is most valuable?
The solution serves its purpose. When you have the recurring cost every year on this other project, Qlik Sense didn't fit with it as you'd have to have Qlik Sense plus something else.
As long as you don't need the data in real-time, it's okay.
The solution is stable.
We have found the product to be scalable.
What needs improvement?
We looked at it for these two new projects too, however, we needed more real-time data on this other project and so it wasn't a good solution and we thought Qlik Sense would work better.
If you need data in real-time, it's not an ideal solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've dealt with the solution for about a year or so at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
From what I have seen, the solution seems to be very stable. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the product has been fine. We can expand it if we want to.
How are customer service and technical support?
I've never contacted technical support. I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have more of an industrial type application and we're going to have Tulip interface with Qlik Sense or we're just going to use Domo's platform. Domo is more expensive, a little bit more expensive, however, one of my colleagues here already used Domo and he really liked it, so we're gearing towards Domo. We haven't purchased it yet.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We looked at Qlik Sense. However, when you have the recurring cost every year on this other project, Qlik Sense didn't fit with it because you'd have to have Qlik Sense plus something else.
What other advice do I have?
Our corporate office may have some sort of agreement with Microsoft. We're just an end-user.
Corporate is kind of pushing Microsoft BI, and they have questions about using it for this project, however, we had an IT consultant that said it's not a good solution.
I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten. It's not ideal for every application, however, it works pretty well.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Owner at BNS
Reliable with good reporting, easy to setup, can capable of scaling
Pros and Cons
- "The reports are easy to create."
- "The data visualisation is very attractive from the user's point of view; users see their reports and think "Wow - that is amazing"."
- "The orchestration module for refreshing data flows is something that is missing and we have to do it manually."
- "It's not as wonderful as Microsoft pretends it to be, but it's not bad, and I am not knocking it, but you have to cut out all the hype that comes with it."
What is our primary use case?
We are software developers. We generate data using the basic data connectors that Microsoft provides. We just follow the importing and exporting data around, the Azure platform.
We are doing C# development. We use an SQL server, and we use Power BI. Those are the main three technologies, and then it's just Microsoft to put it together.
We use this solution to create business intelligence reports for the executive users of our applications. We are creating standard business applications like ERP and CRM and e-commerce type applications. Then, we extract a sample of the data, build a simple data warehouse, in the Power BI service, and create some BI reports.
What is most valuable?
The data visualisation is very attractive from the user's point of view. Users see their reports and think "Wow - that is amazing".
However, it is much harder to prepare data for reporting. I would say 95% of your development time is spent gathering, cleaning, and modelling data. However once that is done reporting is easy.
What needs improvement?
The capacity needs improvement. It is limited in its capacity in power.
Some of its features are incredibly difficult to understand. There is a learning curve to do the more sophisticated things. For example, paginated reports are complicated. But in general, Power BI, it's not an end-user tool, however much Microsoft pretended it is. We just treat it is like another tool that we use and we deliver the reports to our clients.
The orchestration module for refreshing data flows is something that is missing and we have to do it manually. It should be one of the admin features of Microsoft BI.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Microsoft BI for 15 months.
We are using the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a reliable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I haven't tried to scale it, but in theory, I know that is capable. Power BI Premium is easy to scale as long as you have the money.
Inside the business, we only have one user, and outside the business, we have our clients where we have four developers who use this solution.
Our clients are medium-sized companies with 50 to 100 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not contacted technical support. Google provides the information that we need.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
It can take a couple of hours to deploy the gateways, then there is the development of it.
It doesn't require maintenance, but we are forever enhancing the reports. In general, it works without problems.
What about the implementation team?
We are developers, we can complete the installation ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We view it as an expensive product.
Most of our clients cannot afford the premium capacity.
We just make do with Power BI pro features, which is always a big shame because we know that the premium version has a lot of features that we would like to use, and are not available to us.
There are a few different licensing models.
It ends up being complicated and people don't like paying for things. It's okay if you're working for a large corporation because they can obviously spend thousands of pounds every month on licenses, but our customers cannot.
Licensing is paid on a monthly basis.
What other advice do I have?
Power BI has approximately 20 new features that come out every month. You just have to be patient and eventually, the features come out.
My advice to others would be to do your homework. It's one of those things where you have to get past the marketing. The marketing message is not helpful.
I would suggest that if you are going to use Power BI, you need to use developers who understand what it can do, what it can't do, and how it works.
Then they will then guide you to say, this is the type of report you can expect.
It took me a long time to realize what you can and cannot do with Power BI.
That's why I suggest doing your homework first. It's not as wonderful as Microsoft pretends it to be, but it's not bad, and I am not knocking it, but you have to cut out all the hype that comes with it.
I would rate Microsoft BI a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Managing Director at Streamline Strategies
Easy to use, integrates well, and gives us the ability to collaborate and keep track of everything
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to use. It has got a desktop where people can develop their own dashboards. Basically, we have figured out how to connect finance contracts and all programs for the government agency. So, they can see everything in a dashboard. So, it is very easy to use from a technical standpoint of view."
- "Its desktop tool is a little bit memory CPU intensive, and it can be improved, but the machines nowadays come with a lot of memory. For the desktop users who are using it on the desktop, we recommend that they do an upgrade. It is a minor issue. We can fix it on the desktop."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for financial analytics and reporting. We are using it to keep a track of projects and being able to degrade the projects. We are also using it for contract closeout.
My technical guy has been using the first version of it since it came out, but we are getting ready to upgrade to the newer version. It comes along in a bundle with the 365 Enterprise version.
It is on the cloud. We're probably going to run a hybrid because we want to be able to move around. If anything happens or if needed, we can move from platform to platform.
How has it helped my organization?
We can see things from a bird's eye view. We can do predictive analytics. I can tell who's capable, who's doing what, when and how much money they're spending, and how fast they're burning. So, it gives us a bird's eye view over the financials and the money. It basically gives us the ability to collaborate and keep track of everything that's going on in an organization. We were able to bring all the collaboration and tasks right into Power BI.
What is most valuable?
It is easy to use. It has got a desktop where people can develop their own dashboards. Basically, we have figured out how to connect finance contracts and all programs for the government agency. So, they can see everything in a dashboard. So, it is very easy to use from a technical standpoint of view. We publish a report every morning for the government, and we got all the data into one place. The data can be refreshed. We are using the API to connect to various systems, such as the financial system, contract writing system, and workflow. We are able to bring things from NIPA, which is their budget and where they keep all their money. There are a lot of features, but the most important thing is it is very easy to use. It is not like Tableau. With Tableau, you've almost got to be a rocket scientist.
On the user side, it is quite simple. If you know how to run a pivot table, and then you can do almost anything. All the data is right there in the database. So, if you understand pivot tables and know how they are run, and you know the reports that you are looking for, then everything becomes very easy to run in your organization.
What needs improvement?
Its desktop tool is a little bit memory CPU intensive, and it can be improved, but the machines nowadays come with a lot of memory. For the desktop users who are using it on the desktop, we recommend that they do an upgrade. It is a minor issue. We can fix it on the desktop.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using Microsoft BI for about four and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Its stability is pretty good. It is pretty stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate it an eight out of 10 in terms of scalability. Currently, we are running a pilot. We're doing a pilot for army headquarters. They dictate what happens and what they use. Currently, there are 10 users, but I'm looking to go up to at least a hundred.
We got an architect and an assistant administrator. We got a staff of three and a half people because people take vacations or sick leaves. The good part about it is that these people can work from anywhere.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are a Microsoft reseller. We have partnered with Microsoft. We have developed a relationship with their technical folks over the years. So, we kind of go directly to them. My partner came from Microsoft, so he has a very good relationship with a few technical folks. So, we, kind of, have some special privileges that a couple of other vendors don't have.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
As a matter of fact, we had built a tool, but it took so long to get it vetted and get it through to ATOs. That's when we decided to convert to Microsoft Power BI. It has already been vetted and approved in the army environment. It is an approved government site for cloud services. We were looking for the easiest path, and that's why we worked with Microsoft BI. They've already been embedded into the government. It is bundled with Office 365.
How was the initial setup?
If my technical person had to rate it, he would say very easy. All we need is to have the software.
What about the implementation team?
It was done in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
They are charging us by users in storage, and there is a license fee. My financial people handle all that. The client has already worked out a contract with Microsoft, and basically, we're getting government prices.
What other advice do I have?
The backend is the most important part. We understand its backend. We implemented the on-time system for an airport. We don't find its modeling complicated. We set up the back offices and get all the modeling done and everything connected. The customer doesn't even see that. They only see the part where they're running their reports and doing the analytics or whatever they need to do. We give them all the information at their fingertips.
Everybody is going to Business Analytics. A lot of people don't understand the difference between analytics and coding, but that's something for me to teach and educate them on.
I would advise doing your testing and environment setup. You should evaluate your product very well and figure out what platform your organization is running on. You should be careful and look at how well it integrates with other products. If you're not in a Microsoft environment, it is going to be quite difficult. Oracle and Microsoft are competitive. So, you go with one or the other. The reason why I like Microsoft is that they integrate with all applications. Microsoft controls 99% of the desktops.
I would rate Microsoft BI a nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
OBIEE/ODI senior consultant at Kastech
A stable and scalable solution with good tech support
Pros and Cons
- "The visualization part and its inclusion in a cloud-based application are valuable features."
- "The scalability is very good and use of the application is flexible."
- "The solution is somewhat costly in comparison with MSBI tools."
What is most valuable?
The visualization part and its inclusion in a cloud-based application are valuable features.
What needs improvement?
The solution is somewhat costly in comparison with MSBI tools.
In MSBI, when it comes to mobile and maps-related applications, we are always looking for some support with the reporting tools. Once we click on the region, then automatically it goes to the two area maps. Based on the map, it will reinforce our data values. There is constant change involved and new updates and enhancements are coming out as needed in new versions.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution performs well and is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is very good and use of the application is flexible.
How are customer service and technical support?
We can create certain tickets, contact them and explain our requirements and they will look into the issue and help us to find a workaround for us to implement. They will address the issue in the next version.
We are very satisfied with their support.
What about the implementation team?
We are implementers of this solution and maintain the visualization on the reporting parts, as well as fulfill the business requirements.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is less expensive than other PowerBI tools, but more so than those of MSBI.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
The solution is less expensive than other PowerBI tools, which is why most people go with it, although it does cost more than MSBI tools. It has good feasibility for fulfilling one's business needs. PowerBI is very strong in the market at the moment and we are creating visualization that works. It is a stable tool, as well.
What other advice do I have?
While PowerBI is cloud-based, it can be used both on-and-off-premises. MSBI can also be implemented on-premises. PowerBI mostly involves visualization.
I rate Microsoft BI as an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Implementer
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Updated: September 2026
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