Know The Pros and Cons of Power BI Before You Invest In It

Gone are the days when Business Intelligence and Data Analytics used to be reserved for programmers and technical analysts. However, the advent of self-service analytics tools has brought a paradigm shift in the BI market. In fact, a recent report by Verified Market Research indicates that the Business Intelligence Software Market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.10% during 2022-2030 and will reach USD 42.99 Billion by 2030. Today, the market is brimming with an array of Data Visualization tools including Tableau, QlikView, Power BI, Datawrapper, Zoho Analytics, Plotly, Sisense, and many more. Amidst all, Microsoft Power BI is leading from the front. For 12 consecutive years, Microsoft has been recognized as a leader in Analytics and Business Intelligence platforms by Gartner’s Magic Quadrant. Before we dive deep into the pros and cons of Power BI, let’s quickly understand what exactly Microsoft Power BI is. 

What is Power BI?

Power BI is a relatively new entrant in the realm of Data Visualization and Analytics. Launched back in 2015 by the industry titan Microsoft to create a data-driven culture in businesses across industry verticals. This robust and interactive Data Visualization tool is a suite of applications, software services, and data connectors that work synergistically to transform raw and unstructured data into visually appealing and meaningful insights. Using Power BI, you can not only build self-serve analytics dashboards and interactive reports but also share them with users that are looking for actionable insights. Over 5 million subscribers have already embraced Power BI for Data Visualization and Business intelligence including some of the leading brands such as Nestle, EY, KPMG, HP, Nokia, and many more. If you are also planning to invest in Microsoft Power BI services, you must check out the pros and cons listed below to ensure you choose the right tool for BI and Data Analytics. Let’s look at some popular advantages and disadvantages that come with Power BI. 

Pros of Using Power BI

1) Inexpensive

Microsoft Power BI is relatively inexpensive as compared to other Data Visualization and Analytics tools. Before you opt for premium plans, it’s wise to give Power BI Desktop a try. The reason being is that the desktop version is free to use and it allows users to create visually-rich reports, dashboards, and datasets in Power BI.

To use the desktop version, you have to download and install the setup on your computer. Once the installation is done, you can start creating reports and dashboards. You may also require an additional setup to connect to disparate databases. Simply put, the free version of Power BI is quite simplistic and you might struggle, especially when you are working with large sets of data. On the other hand, if you want to experience the true potential of Power BI, it’s recommended to opt for paid plans. With Premium plans, you can not only create interactive reports and dashboards but also publish them directly on the cloud. This enables other Power BI pro users to visualize data with live reports and dashboards resulting in improved collaboration. 

2) Easy Data Connectivity

When it comes to BI and Data Analytics, you should have a robust Data Visualization tool at your disposal that allows you to connect to a wide range of data sources. With MS Power BI, you can connect to SQL Server and other popular databases such as SAP HANA, Oracle, IBM DB2, Teradata. Besides this, Power BI can also read data from text files like XML and JSON and online sources like Facebook, Google Analytics, Salesforce, and Microsoft products including Azure, Dynamics 365, Office 365, and other applications. In other words, Power BI allows users to pull data from multiple sources and bring it to a centralized location for analysis and preparing reports and dashboards. 

3) Easy to Learn and Use

Another key benefit of using Power BI is that it is designed in such a manner that anyone can use this Data Visualization tool even if they don't have any prior knowledge about BI tools. At first glance, Power BI looks similar to Excel, and in fact, it allows users to view their data in Excel. This simply means that if you know your way around spreadsheets, making tables, charts, and graphs in Power BI can become a breeze for you. However, if you are not an Excel wizard, you can still find plenty of resources online in the form of videos, blogs, guides, ebooks, etc. that are helpful in learning Power BI. If you use this Data Visualization tool regularly, you will become a pro user in a small period of six months and start using advanced functions, features, and add-ons that use Machine learning and AI algorithms. 

Cons of Using Power BI

• Data handling capacity is very limited in a free version
• Requires knowledge of Excel to make the most of this tool 
• The user interface is bulky and a little cluttered
• A limited number of options to modify the visualizations
• Performance issues when it comes to handling large data sets
• Doesn't support Mac devices since it is a windows-only application

Summing Up

Power BI has come a long way since its initial release in 2015. Today, this Data Visualization tool has become a coveted choice among businesses both large and small alike. If you are also looking for a robust BI and Data Analytics tool, you should consider investing in it. By embracing this tool in your business, you can empower your workforce to discover hidden insights and make confident decisions.