Power BI has seen viral growth. It is one of the industry leaders in BI and Analytics Platform. One of the reasons for such growth is its integration with existing Microsoft investments. We would say, it’s easier and cost-effective to get started with Power BI.
Naturally, everyone would want to migrate to Power BI. Be it from Tableau, Google Data Studio, or Excel or SSRS or Telerik/HTML/Javascript charting libraries. There are few patterns that have emerged as we help customers migrate to Power BI.
Following points are a must read if you are looking to migrate to Power BI
Mindset
First and foremost, migration to Power BI needs a change in your mindset. You have been using your old tool for quite some time now. You expect Power BI to mimic its functionality and behavior? No, it may not. Power BI is a Modern Enterprise BI tool. With modern approaches to data modelling, data consumption, sharing and governance, Power BI pushes you to think beyond traditional tools.
Don’t Mimic Excel
For laymen, Power BI is Excel++. They expect to modify a “cell” in Power BI and hope to see changes reflected in Power BI. Wait, wait, wait! Power BI is not Excel nor a replacement for Excel. Power BI gives much more power to data extraction, modelling, and data storage. Don’t expect Power BI to work like Excel. Excel is best suited for calculations, manipulations, and tabular/visual reporting. Power BI is a modern BI tool with storage, compute, data flows, AI, governance – well integrated within the platform. Don’t worry, you can still use Excel with Power BI with “Analyze in Excel” feature. For enhanced functionality, you have Power Apps, Power Automate, etc.
Model driven tool
“Can I fire a dynamic SQL query based on filter selections and user login in Power BI”? Charting libraries use this concept quite often. Please note: Power BI is a model driven tool. There is a model behind which powers the visualization and analytics. You need to start thinking about models and relationships when working with Power BI. You can import the data in Power BI or connect directly/live with supported data sources. Once done, you can slice and dice they way you want.
In Active development
Power BI is a tool that is in active development and growth. There can be some features that are not yet available, but that doesn’t mean you will stop leveraging the power of this modern tool. Power BI has a monthly release cadence and they also publish a roadmap so you know what’s coming in future releases.
They just announced some fantastic updates in MBAS 2020.
A Product for all size needs
Power BI is a suite of products.
- Power BI Desktop for authoring and creating reports,
- Power BI Online for data distribution, consumption, governance, and management,
- Power BI Embedded for embedding in your website,
- Power BI Premium for enterprise needs,
- Power BI Report Server for on-premise needs,
- Power BI Report Builder for paginated/tabular reports (SSRS types reports) and
- Power BI Mobile for on the go needs.
- Plus, integrations with Excel, SharePoint, Teams, Power Apps, Power Automate, AI, Azure Analysis Services, and many more etc.
We can pickup one or more tools depending on your needs. Power BI has definitely come a long way. Many organizations are taking advantage of this modern BI tool. Why not you?
How to get started?
Here are simple steps you can take to get started on your journey to migrate to Power BI.
- Get your current data estate and BI systems audited
- Prepare a high level modern BI architecture, roadmap, and transition plan
- Implement and rollout in phases
- Train and educate your staff/audience
- Administrative Support
FAQs
What Licensing options does Power BI provide? Check out our latest blog on Power BI Licensing Guide.
What Features does Power BI provide? Check out our latest blog on Power BI Features – End to End.
Can I do real time reporting with Power BI? Yes, why not. Check this blog: Real time reporting with Power BI.
Can I connect directly to my data sources?
Are there any cases where customers have moved away from Power BI? Yes, sometimes, we will blog this soon. Do subscribe to know when that is released.
Contact us, if you want to get your BI and data estate audited. Or signup for one of our services to migrate to Power BI.
Or, use this form below to get started.