What is Microsoft’s Power BI?
Microsoft Power BI is a business analytics solution that allows you to create and share data across your organization. These same data visualizations can be used withing apps or websites to get a single version of the truth.
Connect to hundreds of data sources and allows you to mash data up on the fly when required or connect to a traditional data warehouse. As a leader on the Gartner Magic Quadrant this software is cutting edge with releases on a monthly basis. Power BI Desktop is priced at a user per month cost. There are other pricing options as well. However, for the price point there is no alternative that provides a greater Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). How much does Power BI Cost? Currently, it is $10 per user per month. For a small team to get started it is very affordable. For larger installations, upgrade to an enterprise level, there are other pricing options available such as Power BI Premium.
Power BI is made up of a set of software and services. These programs together enable a modern data analytics architecture that enables you to get more value from your data. These services include:
- Power BI Service (www.powerbi.com)
- Power BI Desktop
- Power BI Premium
- Power BI Mobile
- Power BI Embedded
- Power BI Report Server
I often get asked “is Power BI free”. Yes, Power BI has a free pricing model that gives you full features with limited sharing. You can test the product and see how it looks on your data with the free license. To get the most from Power BI you need to upgrade to Power BI Pro.
What is Power BI Desktop?
Also high on the list of question is specifically about Power BI desktop. Developers use Power BI Desktop to design reports, import or model data, and create calculations to enable business decisions. First, start by connecting to any number of data sources to access data in your business. You can also connect to cloud or web data sources to combine data that is required to deliver actionable results. Common data sources are Salesforce, Azure, SharePoint, and the always popular Excel.
Once connected to data, prepare and model the data. Join multiple data sets and create relationships. If you need to do more complex modeling, you can leverage Power Query to manipulate the data as required.
Build reports that have fully interactive visualizations that let you easily spot trends and outliers in your data. Access the Marketplace to get even more visualizations to make your data stand out and enable self-service reporting for your end users.
Finally, once your reports are developed. Publish the report to the Power BI service to share the reporting with other team members.
Clients want to know is Power BI desktop free? Power BI Desktop is free for users. If you want to share your content, upgrading to Power BI Pro is a minimum requirement.
Stay up to date on Power BI updates by following Microsoft on the Power BI Blog.
How do I get a Power BI Download?
Download Power BI Desktop for free directly from Microsoft Power BI Download
What kind of Power BI Training is Available?
There is a large ecosystem for Power BI that includes not only Microsoft’s training courses but third party partners like CDO Advisors.
We focus on training your developers as well as your end users offering training in hours and not days. Our clients get more value from their Power BI investment without having to send lots of employees to an offsite course for 2 or 3 days.
Microsoft Power BI Training Course for Developers and End Users(Opens in a new browser tab)
Data Analysis with Power BI Training Classes(Opens in a new browser tab)
To review Microsoft’s Training courses – Guided Courses
Power BI Consulting
Not sure where to get started with Power BI? Leverage our consulting engagements to get you up and running on Power BI or enhance your existing implementation. Get mobile reporting, operational analytics and dashboards to get more value from your data.
Microsoft Power BI Consulting to Transform Your Data
Get Dashboards and Analytics with our BI As A Service
We offer the most affordable options to implement Power BI Dashboards for your business. Our Pay by Month service lets you get custom dashboards and reports with a low monthly fee and regular updates.
Learn more about this service – Data & Analytics Pay By Month
Free Power BI Project Proof of Concept(Opens in a new browser tab)
CDO Advisors Microsoft Power BI Solutions:
BI as a Service – Low Monthly Fees, Pay Per Month Per User
Executive Dashboards – Get Dashboards in 4 Weeks
Healthcare Dashboard Proof of Concept – SEE your data visualized
Microsoft Power BI Demo – Compare your current reporting to Power BI
Power BI Quick Start Solutions – Ready to start or enhance your Power BI?
Train Your Team – Remote Power BI Developer and End User Training
Use Power BI for Finance Teams – Learn how Power BI can improve operations
Virtual Chief Data Officer – Confused by all your data? We can help
