Unlock Data Value With Power BI
Leading Business Intelligence and Analytics Platform Power BI helps organisations unlock data value and create a data-driven culture. Below we explore just some key ways in which Power BI can help business leaders achieve this.
Microsoft Power BI is a leading business intelligence platform that empowers organisations to unlock the business value hidden within their data through the power of interactive visualisation dashboards and AI. Power BI is embraced by many businesses across many industries and has been recognised continually as a leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Analytics and BI Platforms report.
But why is it that Power BI is recognised as a critical business tool? Every day, every business and internet user is producing large amounts of data. However, this data can exist across multiple business systems which can lead to data existing in silos. The fragmented nature of data storage means that it can be a challenge to extract any value from business data without the right business intelligence tools.
With more data than ever before at their fingertips, organisations must ensure they are tapping into the opportunities of one of their most valuable assets, data. According to a McKinsey report ‘data-driven organisations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, six times as likely to retain customers and 10 times as likely to be profitable as a result'. Further adding to this point, Forbes research noted that 79% of enterprise executives say that not embracing big data will cause them to risk their competitive position.
One tool that can help your organisation in creating a data-driven culture and discover the untapped value within your business data is Power BI. Below we explore some key ways in which Power BI can help your organisation achieve this.
Providing Business Intelligence for Everyone
The Power BI platform empowers organisations to create a data-driven culture, whereby business leaders have the data insights required to make informed and data-driven decisions to lead the business forward. Power BI can be rolled out across your entire business so every department can base decisions on real-time data. If users want to trial Power BI, Power BI Desktop is free to use and allows anyone to start running reports instantly. While there are limitations to this free version, it is a great way to try out the solution before making the investment.
Bringing Your Data to Life
This is something that Power BI does extremely well. Users can bring together data from a number of different sources including file sources like Excel, database sources and online data sources. Users can then analyse data through powerful data dashboards and a variety of visualisations such as pie charts, heat maps, column charts and more to help bring their data to life and derive insights more easily. Further, these data visualisations are interactive allowing users to filter reports and watch their visualisations change to reveal deeper data insights. Power BI also makes it easy to set up these data visualisations with an intuitive and user-friendly interface.
Harness Artificial Intelligence Capabilities
Along with powerful data visualisations, Power BI also has a number of artificial intelligence capabilities that allow users to get more value from business data. AI capabilities can help users dive deeper into their data and reveal smart insights that might have taken a while to discover. AI functionality within Power BI includes machine learning capabilities, anomaly detection, natural language, and conversational to name a few.
Value for Money
One of the top considerations for any organisation when implementing a new technology solution is cost. Fortunately, Power BI has a number of different options when it comes to getting a license. Users can purchase it as an integral part of Microsoft 365, this is available in several different plans. There is also the option to get Power BI as a standalone, users can choose between Power BI Pro and Power BI Premium which have several complementary features to make reports and dashboards even more refined, secure, and with greater performance.
Data Security Prioritised
Power BI has a range of security features that enable users to protect sensitive data while also meeting security and compliance requirements. Power BI is backed by enterprise-grade Microsoft security protocols. Further due to it being a cloud solution, updates are automatically rolled out meaning users are constantly being protected against the newest cyber threats with new security patches. Power BI also has sensitivity label features to help alert users to sensitive data so they can ensure they handle it correctly. Encryption options are also available.
Power BI is a widely used platform and is highly praised by many leading researchers in this space. Microsoft is constantly working on Power BI adding new updates and features to ensure it maintains its status as one of the leading data analytics platforms. If your organisation is already using other Microsoft business applications such as Business Central (ERP), Dynamics 365 (CRM), or collaboration solutions such as SharePoint and MS Teams, Power BI offers seamless integration with these, so getting set up is quick and easy.
At Storm, we have helped many clients harness the power of their data with Power BI. If you would like to learn more, get in touch today to speak to one of our specialists.