I use Power BI primarily for generating reports, analyzing data, and supporting data-driven decisions across various functions within the organization.
Internal Audit Officer at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Provides valuable data visualization tools, but the customization features need improvement
Pros and Cons
- "The product is scalable."
- "There is room for improvement in terms of customization and configuration options, particularly for more advanced users."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
The solution's data integration capabilities are beneficial because they allow us to seamlessly integrate data from multiple sources, simplifying the analysis process and providing a comprehensive view for better decision-making.
What needs improvement?
There is room for improvement in terms of customization and configuration options, particularly for more advanced users.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Power BI for quite some time now.
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December 2025
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is scalable. Expanding its use across different teams within the organization has been relatively easy.
What was our ROI?
We are seeing a good return on investment with Power BI, particularly in terms of how it has streamlined our reporting and analytics.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution's costs are quite reasonable given the range of features provided.
What other advice do I have?
We receive real-time reporting with Power BI, which greatly impacts our decision-making process by allowing us to respond more quickly to changes in the data.
The data visualization tools particularly strong. The ability to create custom dashboards and reports tailored to different
It is highly user-friendly and cost-effective. However, it may lack certain advanced features present in other solutions.
Overall, I rate it a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Software Engineer at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Enables us to look at the budget for all of the departments in our company
Pros and Cons
- "The accounting data needs improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Power BI to budget for all departments and to compare the balance of the past month.
What needs improvement?
The accounting data needs improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Power BI for a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Ten users are using the solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is complex.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power BI
December 2025
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power BI. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,371 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Expert Data Quality Management at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Stable product with efficient data updation features
Pros and Cons
- "It offers a lot of information and is very flexible and interactive."
- "The product’s on-premise reporting servers could support real-time data refreshing capabilities like its on-cloud version."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Power BI to automate dashboards to present information to our senior management. It helps us extract the relevant data from the dashboard.
What is most valuable?
The product’s most valuable feature is data updates after modifying and refreshing the dashboard. It offers a lot of information and is very flexible and interactive.
What needs improvement?
The product’s on-premise reporting servers could support real-time data refreshing capabilities like its on-cloud version. It would be a very useful functionality.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Microsoft Power BI for about a year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable. It works perfectly, and we haven’t encountered any issues working with it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable product. We have around 100 Microsoft Power BI users in our organization. We are expecting growth in the number of users.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have worked with SAP BusinessObjects. Power BI is better because it has more flexibility and functionalities.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Power BI a nine out of ten. I recommend it to users who want to pursue a career in data engineering. It will be very helpful and provides a lot of guides on the Internet, especially on YouTube. They can gain knowledge about its advantages and disadvantages.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Head of analytics team at a media company with 51-200 employees
A stable solution that can be used for reporting and dashboarding, but its integration and visualization could be improved
Pros and Cons
- "We've used Microsoft BI for the general use cases around reporting and dashboarding."
- "Microsoft BI’s integration and visualization could be improved."
What is most valuable?
We've used Microsoft BI for the general use cases around reporting and dashboarding. We used it once for Power Apps to develop a live application.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft BI’s integration and visualization could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft BI for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft BI is a stable solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Between Microsoft BI and Tableau, I would go for Tableau because it's more powerful. Tableau could connect to a variety of databases, and the visualization is much, much better. I would always prefer Tableau because of the dimension picking you could do there. Speed-wise, the latency issues were much lesser in Tableau.
If you're using Azure in general as a cloud service provider, Power BI would be more integrative. If you need a stand-alone system and are not worried about the cloud setup, I recommend using Tableau.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft BI for desktop is free to use, and you can download and use it.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate Microsoft BI a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
BI Expert at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Fast and user friendly
Pros and Cons
- "You don't need much support with Microsoft Power BI because it has such a large base of users who can answer your questions on their forums. There are also many video tutorials and webinars available online that offer solutions to whatever problems you may have."
- "Microsoft is behind IBM when it comes to security features."
What is our primary use case?
I've used it for work I did with three clients in the Brazilian banking sector:
Bank Bradesco, B&B Bank, and the Regional Bank of Brazil.
What is most valuable?
It's very fast and user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft is behind IBM when it comes to security features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used Microsoft Power BI for about three years with different clients.
How are customer service and support?
You don't need much support with Microsoft Power BI because it has such a large base of users who can answer your questions on their forums. There are also many video tutorials and webinars available online that offer solutions to whatever problems you may have.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I use Cognos Analytics 11 for some projects, but many of my clients prefer Microsoft Power BI because it is less expensive.
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.
Director of Systems of the TCESP at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Useful drag and drop function, straightforward implementation, and high availability
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features in Microsoft BI are the analysis using the feature drag and drop function. It's very easy to load and use different data sources."
- "Microsoft BI could improve by allowing large-size data sources. We have large data sources, and we have problems loading them in Microsoft BI."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft BI to construct panels and analysis for the final users by themselves. We have all the units outside and analyses made by the final users. They can share their work with other colleagues and other teammates easily.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features in Microsoft BI are the analysis using the feature drag and drop function. It's very easy to load and use different data sources.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft BI could improve by allowing large-size data sources. We have large data sources, and we have problems loading them in Microsoft BI.
I would like to see in a future release the ability to create rules with no code. Similar to drag-and-drop solutions, or some other way with no code.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft BI for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is reliable, we do not have a problem with the availability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft BI is a scalable solution.
We have approximately 500 users using this solution in my organization. We have plans to increase the use of the solution. Our employees are getting better with the ability to use the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Microsoft is satisfactory.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Microsoft BI was straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
I would encourage others to use Microsoft BI, it is a good solution.
I rate Microsoft BI a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Software developer
Stable solution, but interface could be improved
Pros and Cons
- "The stability is good."
- "The interface could be improved."
What needs improvement?
The interface could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is good.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution 8 out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Client Director, Head of Sales & Marketing, Partner at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Very smooth, has matured a lot; great scalability
Pros and Cons
- "Implementation is very quick and the solution is very user-friendly."
- "Automation could be improved and performance enhanced."
What is our primary use case?
We are a consultant company, so we use BI for project follow-up, sales and pipeline. We are partners with Microsoft and I'm the company's client director.
What is most valuable?
I like that implementation is very quick and that the solution is very user-friendly and easy to work with. The solution has provided us with speedy insight and faster effects on the table. It's a smooth product.
What needs improvement?
I think that automation could be improved and performance enhanced. Documentation for developers could also be improved.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is very good. It can be pricey to move to the P1 licenses for $5,000 a month for smaller companies, but there are workarounds using A1 to A6 licenses which are cheaper and more flexible in the pricing. We have 50 users in the company.
How was the initial setup?
When we deployed five years ago, the setup was very complex. Since then, it's become much easier.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Compared to competitors like Tableau, Microsoft BI is not so expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution. Microsoft BI has matured a lot in the last year.
I rate this solution nine out of 10.
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 has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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Updated: December 2025
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