Many people find data analysis and visualization challenges, but with the right tools, it doesn’t have to be. Microsoft Power BI is a set of pre-built analytical tools that is simple to use and understand. It incorporates many features of other data visualization software such as Tableau and Google Data Studio, but has a user-friendly interface with an accessible learning curve that makes it easy for anyone to use.
Microsoft Power BI is a business intelligence (BI) solution that lets you visualize and analyze your data interactively. Power BI allows you to import data from cloud and on-premises sources and create dashboards that track the metrics most important to you. In some cases, you may even dive deep into your data. In addition to managing data, Power BI can prepare and manage high-quality data for use in other tools, including low-code apps.
Power BI stores and manages data in two key repositories: data provided by users is normally delivered to Azure Blob Storage, and all metadata and objects for the system itself are saved in Azure SQL Database.
You can use Power BI Desktop to:
There are many benefits to using Power BI over other visualization tools. Firstly, it is simple and easy to use. Unlike other visualization tools such as Tableau or QlikView, Power BI doesn’t require a detailed knowledge of statistics or programming to use. This implies that anyone with a basic understanding of Microsoft Excel can utilize Power BI to discover insights in their data. Power BI is simple to use and has an intuitive design. You can also quickly construct visuals that illustrate your data across time using Power BI. This makes it easy to track trends and discover patterns in your data over certain periods.
Here are some key features of Power Bi, that can give you a better understanding of the system.
Power BI Desktop is free software that you can download and install to create reports by conveniently accessing data. You do not require complex report design or query expertise to create a report using Power BI desktop.
The key benefit of Power BI is its capabilities for stream analytics. Power BI supports with real-time analytics to make fast choices, from manufacturing sensors to social media sources.
One of the most important aspects of Power BI is its support for many data sources; you can access data from Excel, CSV, SQL Server, Web files, and other sources to build interactive representations.
Power BI includes a large number of pre-built visuals as well as the ability to alter current ones or pick from an ever-expanding library of in-built visualizations. It is possible to build excellent dashboards or use prepared templates too. In Power BI, you can construct a dashboard by pinning visuals from BI reports created using the Power BI desktop. If you want to learn more about dashboards, read our latest post here.
Power BI Desktop is free for individuals who are not ready to invest in a premium Power BI subscription. This package includes programs that assist users in creating their own interactive visual analytics reports. Furthermore, Microsoft offers a free Power BI trial, which is a good alternative for anyone who wants to learn more about Power BI before purchasing the product.
For those, who are interested in purchasing Power Bi, there are three packages available:
Power BI is a useful tool for data analysis, visualization, and discovery. It is easy to use and has many useful features. It also is pre-built with many templates that are easy to customize to your data. Power BI is a great choice if you are looking for a tool that is easy to understand and a great way to discover insights in your data. If you feel like you need more in-depth knowledge of the Microsoft Power Bi tool, our services at Makeitfuture can help with that.
Cloud Integration, iPaaS, SaaS, BPA… Ough, hard to keep track of all these terms. They are currently used frequently (and increasingly) in the context of automation, and it is sometimes difficult to make a clear distinction and distinction. We have already written blog posts on the terms iPaaS, SaaS and BPA, but we’ll take them up again here to make the difference.
But let’s start with cloud integration, because that’s the central umbrella term in which we embed all the other technologies in this blog post.
Arrange a free cloud integration consultation now
Arrange a free cloud integration consultation now
To illustrate these advantages, an example is suitable that we know well from our everyday work as an automation agency:
The central data to be used here is the data of a major customer. This can be the simplest information, such as the address. This address is required in numerous but completely different processes in the company: on the one hand, for correct invoicing in accounting. On the other hand, in the CRM system, where all the data of the large customer is also stored. But the address is also important in sales, for example, when employees go to the sales meeting on site.
Now the customer announces that the address of the company has changed after a move. This information will reach you by e-mail. There are now two options:
01. The e-mail is forwarded to all affected departments, accounting, sales, customer service, marketing… All persons open their corresponding program, CRM, accounting software, marketing tools (such as newsletter marketing) and change the data already stored there of the customer. This means that in multiple applications, different people do exactly the same thing: change one address.
02. But there is also an alternative: By connecting your applications, thus by integrizing them, the customer’s e-mail, or rather the information it contains about the address change, is automatically passed on to all affected applications: CRM, accounting, marketing, ERP. This does not require any clicks, because the cloud integration detects a trigger, i.e. address change, and thus automatically starts the process.
What sounds unimpressive in a single process becomes more effective when such a process occurs several times a day or weekly. Because there is a lot of data that is available in different applications and should always be correct. If these applications are cloud applications they are suitable for cloud integration.
But cloud integration doesn’t just happen. There are now a variety of applications that enable and implement this. Such tools usually allow us to link the relevant cloud applications on a central platform and define clear rules on when, how, where, how much data should be passed on and what happens to them.
To realize cloud integration, there are various applications and technologies that are sometimes used interchangeably.
We have made a first distinction between iPaaS and BPA here.
We explain the term SaaS in more detail here.
Cloud integration is rather an umbrella term that includes numerous technologies, such as SaaS, iPaaS and BPA, and this is also absolutely necessary. Cloud integration is a concept that is made possible by appropriate technologies.
However, all terms share the commonality that they are cloud-based and thus offer enormous potential for growth and scaling. In addition, they are often cheaper to implement and maintain because changed requirements are easy to implement.
As an independent automation agency, we implement cloud integration according to your requirements. We use a variety of SaaS tools and iPaas (strictly speaking BPA) software. Together we find individual solutions that are flexible and scalable.