Microsoft Power BI Reviews

“KPI tracking and integrations”

Pros

Lets me set clear goals, KPIs and measurements in one place. It also connects really well with all the data sources we already use and when a direct integration isn't available, exporting reports still gives us a reliable way to bring that data in.

Cons

Since Microsoft is still actively developing the software, not everything we need is available yet. On top of that some features we've come to rely on have been changed or removed over time.

“Broad data connectivity”

Pros

Bringing information together from multiple sources is one of the things I really love about it especially being able to view everything in a single dashboard.

Cons

I have nothing to complain about it.

“Easy to use”

Pros

Its simplicity makes it possible to gather the exact data we need.

Cons

Should offer more customization options for the user.

“familiar Excel style dashboards”

Pros

Coming from Excel this feels very approachable if you have average spreadsheet skills. It's essentially like taking pivot tables and Excel visualization features and leveling them up into something much more powerful.

Cons

It can be fairly rigid when it comes to managing relationships between tables. For instance, it tends to get a little messy when there's more than one relationship between the same two tables.

“My review”

Pros

The part I've appreciated most is being able to shape the information exactly the way my company needs to see it in a real time dashboard. It also helps a lot that I don't have to keep building separate reports since users can interact with the controls themselves and view the specific data they need.

Cons

One thing I don't like is the way data is imported from Excel.

“Very easy to customize”

Pros

Didn't take long to get comfortable with it and I was able to build my own indicators and reports pretty quickly.

Cons

The mobile access works well but it still feels more like a desktop focused tool.

“Simple to setup”

Pros

Getting started with it is quite simple and it offers a wide range of options for working with and customizing reports.

Cons

Does need a computer with mid-to-high specs for handling data properly because on a low-end machine the program becomes very slow.

“user friendly analytics”

Pros

Using it feels very user friendly and it gives a lot of flexibility in how you work with the product.

Cons

Something that takes extra effort is configuring the report background and there also aren't enough built in icons. Because of that, I often end up designing the report background in PowerPoint which is a bit frustrating.

“Easy to install”

Pros

It's easy to set up and feels very solid once it's up and running.

Cons

The visuals feel pretty outdated and could really use a more modern refresh.

“versatile visuals”

Pros

Can pull data from almost anywhere and build nearly any kind of visualization I need. The large open-source library makes it very helpful and adds a lot of flexibility.

Cons

Some of the more advanced features, such as incremental refresh and DirectQuery, are limited to certain data sources and those tend to be mostly Microsoft ones. I'd also like to see more customization options and better support for importing global settings from Excel and PowerPoint.

“Creating report feels effortless”

Pros

Putting together reports and dashboards is very easy which makes creating and organizing information much more convenient.

Cons

Integration between BI and BI Service for publicly sharing reports and dashboards could be better handled as part of the publication process.

“flexible sharing capabilities”

Pros

One thing I really appreciate is how quickly it connects to different data sources. It also offers a broad selection of visualization options and sharing reports with others is very convenient.

Cons

A few things could be better. The interface can feel confusing and difficult to figure out. It can also run a bit slow and use a lot of system resources and the pricing is sometimes too expensive.

“ELT versatility that delivers”

Pros

Working with ETL in Microsoft Power BI is something I really appreciate because it's very versatile and gives plenty of flexibility during the process.

Cons

The customization options for dashboards are quite complex to handle. It would be much better if they were more simple to use and maybe having a separate screen or menu just for that purpose would make things a lot easier.

“best option for making reports”

Pros

Creating reports and graphs for everyone is one of the best parts of using this platform.

Cons

Reports can take a while to load sometimes.

“interactive slicers”

Pros

Love the slicer feature which makes filtering both simple and interactive.

Cons

You need a Premium account to share information outside your organization.

“Good fit for Microsoft Office 365 users”

Pros

Being a Microsoft product, it feels more approachable for small and midsize businesses that are already used to working with Office tools.

Cons

Most of the training materials and tutorials are almost exclusively in English so it would be better to have more content available in Spanish.

“Very helpful for my daily workflow”

Pros

It's been really helpful with my daily tasks and supports my routine well.

Cons

Overall, I think it's a good tool and it does a solid job of meeting what I need.

“effortless Microsoft integration”

Pros

Working with Microsoft tools every day, having this connect so well with the rest of the Microsoft ecosystem is a big advantage for me and makes it especially valuable in my routine.

Cons

A few of the web based features feel limited in order to keep the platform more browser-friendly and because of that some genuinely useful capabilities are missing online.

“powerful data visibility tools”

Pros

An excellent platform for data analysis and visualization and its ability to import information from multiple sources is one of its biggest strengths. One thing I really appreciate is how the dashboard gives a broad view of the organization, including market analysis, the current status of active agreements, team member performance tracking, gross revenue and overall company finances. Being able to focus on the specific metrics that matter most is also a very valuable feature. Power BI lets you edit both the data and the visualizations and it also works well for transferring and viewing information from Excel. Microsoft's continuous updates help keep the software running reliably and the fact that it offers both free and paid versions is useful. Ideally, starting with a free account is a good way to test its features and if it fits your project well, then moving to a paid plan makes sense.

Cons

Sometimes this software can feel somewhat complex because it combines several different tools so you really need to understand what each part does and how it connects to the rest of the project structure. Working with a very large amount of information can also make it slow especially in the free version. The free plan is quite limited and does not really show the full potential of what the software can do although that issue can be addressed by upgrading to a paid version. Another downside is that the user interface includes a large number of icons which can make the dashboard feel cluttered and frustrate users who want a clearer view.

“engaging visuals”

Pros

Works well for non IT users and people in IT can probably get even more out of it.

Cons

The memory usage is huge. You really need at least 8 GB as a starting point. And if you can't get a business, work or education account, you're pretty limited in what you can do. It's also the kind of product that if you're not willing to study it in depth, you might be better off sticking with Excel. It's very trendy right now which helps its popularity but from what I understand Tableau may be better and other alternatives are not far behind either. On top of that OneDrive is constantly bothering you. You can't just have Office Online and keep the file in OneDrive however you want; the file has to be handled the way it expects or it becomes a problem. That happened to me and luckily I have Office 365 so I was able to stop dealing with OneDrive.