Microsoft Power BI Reviews

My company uses Microsoft BI for reporting purposes. In my company, we extract data from different sources, put it in the staging area, and then use Microsoft Power BI to build the reports and dashboards.

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is an easy-to-use tool.

Microsoft BI lacks integration capabilities, so it needs to consider increasing its integration capabilities. Microsoft BI needs to improve its mobile application compatibility so that people view their reports and dashboards through a mobile app since, nowadays, people move towards tools that are in the digital transformation phase.

I have experience with Microsoft BI. I recently joined a new organization where I see Microsoft BI being used extensively.

Considering that most people in my organization use Microsoft BI, I can say that it is a stable solution.

Microsoft BI is a part of Microsoft Power Platform, because of which Microsoft can increase its capacity based on the needs and licenses of its users.

Around 20 people in my company use Microsoft BI.

My company plans to increase the use of Microsoft BI.

The initial setup of Microsoft BI is straightforward since it comes along with Microsoft Power Platform.

The solution is deployed on the cloud.

I am unsure about Microsoft BI's deployment process since it was already deployed when I joined the organization.

In my company, we have two developers and two testers to look after the deployment and maintenance of the solution.

The company's in-house team did the installation process of Microsoft BI.

When my company compared the price of Alteryx to Microsoft BI, we found Alteryx's price to be higher than Microsoft BI's price.

In general, Microsoft BI's price is lower compared to Alteryx.

I am not a user of the solution at the moment. I am an architect taking time to evaluate and see how my company can use Microsoft Power BI.

Our company hardly finds a tool where we can say one size fits all, so we need to use other tools for larger amounts of data and data cleansing.

It would be effective for those planning to use the solution to find the best solution that suits their requirements.

I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten.

It’s not just a specific tool I use when providing solutions. In these scenarios, clients often have a significant Microsoft presence with servers for data collection, whether it's in a data lake, data warehouse, or a data lake house. Their users typically require reporting, dashboards, or ad-hoc queries based on their specific business needs. However, most vendors tend to offer inflexible solutions, focusing on predefined reports.

Power BI stands out because it provides considerable flexibility in creating reports, dashboards, and various types of analytics to meet those dynamic requirements. It is lightweight and easy to use with good support.       

Microsoft BI typically connects to a database, often SQL Server, but it's also capable of connecting to multiple databases, pulling data from them, and allowing for data consolidation. You can then aggregate and generate dashboards and reports from this combined data. Personally, I wouldn't claim to have the expertise to suggest significant changes or additional features, as it functions quite well as is.

I have been using this solution for the past five years. 

It is a stable solution. 

It's a cloud-based platform, and it scales seamlessly based on your usage, which is one of the key advantages of cloud services. You pay according to your usage, without worrying about licenses or ownership. However, there are some limitations to consider. While it's a front-end tool for visualization and analytics, it lacks extensive customization options. If you require complex reports or queries, Microsoft offers support to help you achieve those goals. In my experience over the past five years, I haven't encountered any use case that couldn't be addressed with Power BI. On the contrary, I faced performance issues with other tools like Spotfire, which prompted us to explore different solutions. The effectiveness of Power BI also depends on factors like architecture, deployment, and network quality. If network configurations aren't optimized, it can lead to slow data transfer. However, being a cloud-based solution, the cloud infrastructure often manages these issues. Nevertheless, if you want the best performance, you might need to invest in improving your network infrastructure.

Positive

I'm not very familiar with the licensing aspect, as it operates in the cloud as a SaaS (Software as a Service) model. Essentially, you pay based on cloud cost models, which might include hourly rates or similar billing structures introduced by Microsoft. Many organizations utilize it and pay for its services, somewhat like Office 365. It's a cloud-based platform that provides the necessary services, including support, for development, and you pay accordingly for the usage.

 would recommend the solution, rating it eight out of ten. There’s no such thing as an ideal product. In my perspective, perfection remains an unattainable goal. However, I can't rate it lower than eight because Microsoft actively invests in BI's development and expansion. They have a roadmap and allocate resources to it, which is evident in the growing user base. This continuous growth adds value to the product and benefits its users.

We use it for data modeling, joining data from different data sources, and visualizing dashboards and reports for end-users and business process owners in the company.

The various different ETL tools within it and the ability to have different data refreshes and scheduled refreshes [real-time data refresh capabilities] have most significantly improved the data analysis processes.

Power BI is easy to adopt. It's quite easy to roll out into the business for end-users, and the functionality for modeling and such is quite extensive for the data department.

It has connected to quite a few different things. We use the Microsoft stack, so it's fairly connected.

Better structure and stability in terms of licensing and capacity. Microsoft is changing things with Microsoft Fabric and how it's impacting different functionality for premium users, capacity users, and pro users. So, that's where licensing could be improved.

I have been using it since it came out. It's been many years.

I would rate the stability a seven out of ten.  

Sometimes, updates can cause data refresh issues.

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. 

There are 100 end users in my organization. We use it daily. 

It takes a while to get the issue described, looked into, and resolved. It's a lot of troubleshooting and "try this, try that," rather than acknowledging that they've had this issue elsewhere. There doesn't seem to be a joined-up approach for people experiencing similar issues and how to resolve them.

Neutral

I have used various different modeling tools and BI tools. 

We used Tableau before, and general Excel modeling, etc.

I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, with one being difficult and ten being easy. 

It's cloud-based.

Initially, it's quite straightforward. It depends on how you want it set up, like with gateway refreshes, etc.

Just more visibility for end-users to use and interact with data.

I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten. 

We use it to create dashboards. We input our data and visualize it as dashboards.

While it hasn't significantly enhanced collaboration, it has greatly improved our reporting capabilities. It allows us to present visually appealing dashboards to management.

Our main focus with Power BI is dashboarding rather than collaboration.

Power BI makes it easy to visualize our data through dashboards. It is quite dynamic. We can easily modify views based on our requirements, which helps us see the data more clearly and makes it visually appealing for management.

Moreover, the integration of Power BI with other Microsoft products is quite easy. 

There are certain features that are only available in the cloud version. It would be beneficial if they could be brought down to the on-premise version without the necessity of using the enterprise SQL database, as that can be very costly. We need more cost-effective features that are available in the cloud to be accessible on-premise.

We've been using Microsoft Power BI for about three years now.

It is a stable product for me. I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. There are less than ten end users in my company using this solution. 

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

The customer service and support are okay.

Positive

We're essentially a Microsoft house. We use a wide range of Microsoft products and are very happy with them. So far, we have no plans to switch, as we haven't found alternatives for essentials like Office or Windows.

Azure DevOps is something we're starting to explore to enhance our desktops. We also work with Microsoft Dynamics, DPM, Hyper-V, and Microsoft Exchange.

Cost was a decisive factor when opting for Power BI. 

I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, with ten being easy to set up. 

The deployment process took one to two days. 

I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with one being cheap and ten being expensive. 

I would recommend it, especially the Pro or Premium versions. They are better.

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. 

I've been using it for financial data.

Flexibility and usefulness of the data.

Trend data and dashboards need improvement.

I have been using Microsoft Power BI for some time. 

The stability is a seven out of ten. 

The initial setup is straightforward. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. 

I've mainly worked within the banking sector. It is particularly useful for vertical clients. Power BI is a great tool for reporting. You can source data from any database, like Oracle or Microsoft SQL. It generates reports and provides methods to control your report's power.

Power BI works with both real-time and offline data. When interacting with real-time data across multiple systems, it offers a great advantage.

I've worked with real-time interactions and appreciate them, similar to how AI is increasingly being incorporated. It's fascinating to see the shift towards AI.

Using middleware technology, like web services, allows Power BI to interact with multiple systems efficiently. This request and response mechanism ensures data is transmitted from the source to the target system in real-time, which significantly benefits business operations by providing up-to-date information.

Moreover, integration capabilities were smooth. I worked on integrating Power BI with PeopleSoft, focusing on custom solutions rather than out-of-the-box features, tailoring the experience to specific needs.

Power BI is very user-friendly and easy to learn. I've even uploaded instructional videos on YouTube, which have helped many users, including some who have become long-term administrators of Power BI.

Reporting is the best thing about Power BI. And it could help improve decision-making in many ways.

Power BI is flexible and easier to use compared to tools like Crystal Reports.

It should integrate with multiple enterprise applications. For instance, integrating CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and HCM (Human Capital Management) with Power BI can be a significant advantage.

Because, organizations focus on and like software that can do multiple tasks.

The user interface is good but it should have the ability to interact with multiple systems.

I would like to see more AI capabilities in future releases. There's a strong interest in AI, including technologies like GPT, which facilitate real-time interactions.

It's all about real-time interaction between customers and the system, automated to operate under specific scenarios. This ensures it functions in real-time, leveraging AI for more dynamic engagements without needing predefined projects or setups, much like how chatbots are designed for real-time use.

In future releases, I would like to see more encrypted software, and there should be version control for Software. It will avoid pirated downloads. 

I would also like to see dynamic content. It should be an add-on in Power BI. It helps users understand reports more easily. For example, when a developer is building a report, they should consider using dynamic content to make the report more user-friendly.

I've worked with Power BI for almost one and a half years, focusing on reporting and integration with Power BI.

Power BI is very stable, especially in sectors like banking, retail, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications. 

Its stability is expected to increase in the future with advancements in Azure.

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. 

I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten. It's very scalable.

I haven't needed to press for support activities, so based on my experience, it is good in general. 

Positive

Compared to other reporting tools, it is very easy to acquire, demonstrate, and understand.

I would rate my experience with the initial setup a nine out of ten, with ten being easy. 

It is very easy to set up. Security in a private cloud is optimal, whereas public cloud lacks in security. Hybrid solutions offer some balance, but on-premises solutions have a lot of limitations.

Many customers are moving to the cloud for its ease of use, security, availability, and flexibility. Cost efficiency is also a factor. For example, Why would you use the cloud? Say you have 1000 people in your organization, and only 500 need access to Power BI. On-premises, you'd need to buy licenses for all the users. With the cloud, you only pay for what you use.

Considering cost, cloud solutions like Amazon Cloud, GCP Cloud, or Azure Cloud are preferred for their scalability and cost-effectiveness.

So, our customers mainly use cloud deployments.

Deployment doesn't take much time, thanks to it being a Microsoft product, which makes it easy to handle compared to other software.

So, it takes just a few hours.

It's about balancing cost and value. Although Power BI is cost-effective compared to other reporting tools, its pricing should be more adaptable based on the size of the organization to ensure it remains cost-effective for both small and large entities.  For example, if the organization has a million end-users, it should be cost-effective. 

This is important when considering the scalability of solutions like Kronos or Banner ERP systems, ensuring the cost is aligned with the organizational needs.

The pricing is very low and competitive. Microsoft could consider adjusting the price according to the size and needs of the organization, balancing demand with supply.

Power BI is an essential tool for any kind of detailed reporting. It's efficient and effective. 

I would definitely recommend using this solution. Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten. 

We mostly use Microsoft Power BI for reporting. We are going to build some solutions. We are going to deploy the scripts from Intune so that it can pull some data, which we can aggregate and show the projections on Power BI.

I really like the solution's integration part. You can integrate Microsoft Power BI with various other solutions like Intune. You can push the Intune data warehouse to Power BI. I really like the custom-built solutions that are available in Power BI.

I really wanted to send the inventory data to Power BI. I don't know whether the feature is available because I'm working on it and still need to look into it. The solution should increase the API functionality so that we can use Microsoft Power BI for other purposes and aggregate things.

I recently used Microsoft Power BI reporting for Windows Update. I wanted to understand where the reporting data came from, but I couldn't find it. It could be because I had fewer privileges. It would be good to know the data source for the solution's reporting part.

I have been using Microsoft Power BI for the past six months.

I rate the solution’s stability ten out of ten.

Microsoft Power BI can be used by all company sizes because it's all about aggregating and visualizing data. Any organization needs to have a broader perspective on what is happening. It could be useful for both large and small applications. All ranges of companies can utilize Power BI.

I rate the solution a nine out of ten for scalability.

The support engineers are not ready to schedule the calls or understand the issues and are very eager to close the cases. I have previously worked at Microsoft as a support engineer. I know they may have workloads and may need to handle multiple cases in a day.

However, I'm not finding even the basic courtesy of handling the issues from the engineers' perspective. Except for a few, many engineers are not willing to help the customers. They focus more on their limitations, saying that they don't deal with such issues or that they are out of their scope.

I rate the solution’s technical support a six to seven out of ten.

Neutral

Informatica is a competitor to Microsoft Power BI. However, Microsoft Power BI is very easy to use, and even a nontechnical person can implement it. Other solutions are a bit complicated when compared to Microsoft Power BI.

The solution’s initial setup is very simple. The solution's deployment takes less than 15 to 30 minutes.

Microsoft Power BI is deployed on the cloud in our organization. I would recommend the solution to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

I use the solution to generate analytics reports for most of the projects we are engaged in within our company.

Some controls and integration capabilities of the product require configurations with the help of NoSQL databases, as it is one area where the product has certain shortcomings.

At times, I feel that the system needs improvement in single sign-on, especially for the on-premises side of the tool.

At times, I see the product freeze in unexpected areas. Unknown exceptions appear in the tool for no reason. One problem with the tool arises from the fact that it does way too much monitoring, impacting areas like reports and performance. The aforementioned areas can be improved in the product.

The tool should provide cloud support to help users deal with problems related to the frozen servers.

I have been using Microsoft Power BI for five years. My company has a partnership with Microsoft.

It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Around 100 people in my company use the product. Most of the product's users are managers in my company.

The problematic licensing part of the product influences my company's decision on whether to increase the use of the product.

I haven't seen any major problems when dealing with the product's support team. The product's support team is friendly, but I think there are problems in Microsoft's internal communication since a problem gets distributed between multiple internal teams.

The product's initial setup phase has no problems unless we choose to have it integrated on an on-premises model and not on a cloud version. 

Most of the product deployments are carried out manually by our company.

My company opens reports and publishes the report files for the projects being handled. My company gives required permission for other users to access the reports.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model. 

The solution's deployment process is simple to handle, but problems appear in the area of domains, considering that Microsoft Power BI manages the configuration part.

My company needs to make monthly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product. Considering my company's turnover, we need a tool that offers more flexibility and allows us to increase or decrease the solution in our environment.

Tableau offers more flexibility in service compared to Microsoft Power BI. Microsoft Power BI is simple to use compared to Tableau.

Microsoft Power BI has improved our company's data analysis and visualization tasks since it helps simplify our work. My company is able to generate data analysis and easily deal with visualization tasks.

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Power BI for data storytelling stems from the integration with different types of products along with the support option it provides to help integrate with other tools. Caching in Microsoft Power BI would improve the organization's performance.

Microsoft Power BI's Q&A feature impacted our company's data exploration efforts since it is an area used by many types of users, including those involved in management and analytics, as it helps with cross-filtering.

The product's real-time dashboard and data refreshing capabilities are good, but it freezes without showing any status during the data retrieval if the volume is high.

It is not possible to use the product's in-depth features since it requires many controls and user interfaces.

The product is mainly for managers who want to track work details.

I rate the overall tool an eight out of ten.