Power BI

Power BI is a set of tools for self-service and traditional business intelligence, which uses tabular analytical models, allows to build interactive reports and dashboards, and features mobile reports, collaboration and application embedding.

Power BI is a set of tools for self-service and traditional business intelligence, which uses tabular analytical models, allows to build interactive reports and dashboards, and features mobile reports, collaboration and application embedding.

Power BI is represented by following components:

  • Power BI Desktop application for personal use allowing to create tabular data models.
  • Power BI Service – SaaS solution represented by Free, Pro and Premium options.
  • Power BI Embedded – PaaS solution in Microsoft Azure.
  • Power BI Report Server – on-premises solution.

 

Most important Power BI components and features:

  1. Power BI Desktop: A free application for PCs that allows users to connect to, transform, and visualize their data. Features include:

    • Data Modeling: Create complex data models and relationships.
    • Data Transformation: Use Power Query to clean and transform data.
    • Visualization Tools: A wide range of visualization options, including custom visuals from the marketplace.
    • DAX (Data Analysis Expressions): A formula language for creating custom calculations.

  2. Power BI Service: An online SaaS service that supports collaboration and sharing of reports and dashboards. Features include:

    • Workspaces: Shared environments for collaboration.
    • Dashboards: Aggregated views of multiple reports.
    • Dataflows: ETL capabilities within Power BI Service.
    • Security: Role-level security and Microsoft Information Protection.

  3. Power BI Mobile: Mobile apps for Windows, iOS, and Android devices. Features include:

    • Push Notifications: Alerts for data changes and scheduled reports.
    • Mobile-Optimized Reports: Custom layouts for mobile devices.

  4. Power BI Report Server: An on-premises report server where users can publish Power BI reports, along with traditional paginated reports. Features include:

    • Hybrid Deployment: Seamless integration with cloud services.
    • Custom Authentication: Integration with existing security models.

  5. Power BI Embedded: A service in Azure that allows developers to embed Power BI reports and dashboards into custom applications. Features include:

    • APIs and SDKs: Tools for embedding and interacting with reports.
    • White-Labeling: Custom branding for embedded analytics.

 

 

Reference materials:

  1. Official Power BI Site: http://powerbi.microsoft.com
  2. Guy in a Cube Videos: Power BI for the DBA
  3. Whitepapers for Power BI: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/guidance/whitepapers

Power BI Performance Load Testing

Reference Materials: