Microsoft Power BI Reviews

“stunning and easy to build dashboards”

Pros

There are countless ways to present and work with data, the look and feel can be customized and because it is part of the Office ecosystem, it is practically everywhere in Brazilian offices which has made it almost a standard tool.

Cons

Flexibility comes at a cost. Every dashboard starts as a blank canvas and requires some prior knowledge to turn data into charts. On top of that with so many customization options, you need to set aside time to organize everything and improve the visual appearance.

“Solid data visibility”

Pros

Ever since we started using this software to make data more visible to our product teams, performance has gone up and we've seen savings of as much as $100k per month.

Cons

Rolling it out across other production units was challenging because the dashboards and datasets had to be customized for each one.

“quick visuals available without coding”

Pros

Creating visuals takes only minutes and I can do it without dealing with complicated coding or formulas.

Cons

I'd prefer a larger canvas so I could fit more visuals on the page and make everything easier to read.

“strong features for business teams”

Pros

Our team recently started using this and it's clear that it offers a lot for different types of users. It covers budgeting, long term financial planning, records consolidation, project management and plenty of other features that are useful for the business side of the company.

Cons

At the same time, the learning curve has been pretty steep. Even after using it for a few months, I still don't feel like I know how to use the software effectively and others on my team have run into similar integration problems.

“Short learning curve”

Pros

As a beginner, I'm still getting familiar with the application and it's been quite easy to pick up. I'm planning to learn more about the data visualization features as I continue using it.

Cons

Up to this point, I haven't run into anything that feels like a problem with this software.

“very reliable”

Pros

Everything feels very user friendly and convenient to work with and it's useful in just about any way you need it.

Cons

I don't really have any complaints from my side; overall, it's been very good and I'd highly recommend it.

“powerful system connectivity”

Pros

The ability to connect it directly to the system we already use makes it really convenient and helps me get the results I need without extra hassle.

Cons

One thing that could make it even better would be having more real time data available instead of relying on the previous day's information.

“quick access to my stats”

Pros

Being able to check my stats whenever I need to has been really useful.

Cons

At first, it was a bit hard to read but once I understood how everything was being measured, it became much easier to follow.

“solid charts for analysis”

Pros

Building graphs for data analysis and visualization is very simple which makes working with the software really convenient.

Cons

The spatial graphics still need a lot of improvement and feel quite limited compared to the rest of the platform.

“Love the self service feature”

Pros

The self service features, along with the different ways to import and visualize data, are about the best you can get.

Cons

Missing real time data which makes it impractical for a lot of our use cases. Being limited to six refreshes per day also makes it harder to rely on it for actionable KPIs.

“fast connectivity”

Pros

Right away, the connectivity options stand out. It's pretty simple to connect different data sources and the platform lets me build highly complex dashboards and formulas without feeling limited. It's also very customizable and performance is generally quite fast which makes working in it much more efficient.

Cons

One issue I've run into is that it can demand a lot of memory and sometimes overload my laptop. Another limitation is the access control since I can't choose to grant users permission to only certain pages or specific charts created in the tool.

“stunning visuals for forecasting”

Pros

Helps us turn a large amount of data into visual reports that are really useful for forecasting.

Cons

When there's an issue in the data, it can be difficult to track down exactly where things went wrong.

“Helps with organizing company data”

Pros

Transferring data into Power BI is easy and it helps a lot with organizing it alongside other files so you can clearly see how the company is performing.

Cons

Changing the base files isn't very convenient especially when switching to another computer.

“powerful dashboards in one place”

Pros

Makes reporting feel very approachable even if you are not an expert. Analyzing and presenting data is simple and I really appreciate being able to manage everything through real time dashboards. It is a very capable platform for bringing all our data together in one place which makes analysis quicker and a lot more effective.

Cons

Getting around the Power BI platform could be more user friendly because at times it is hard to locate the features you need especially when someone is new to the system.

“data anaylsis for smarter decision making”

Pros

One of the things I value most about it is the way it presents data. It offers a very broad range of integration options, whether the information comes from an Excel file or directly from SQL. On top of that it feels very easy to use. Creating reports becomes much more practical and that makes decision making much simpler.

Cons

Up to this point, I really haven't come across any negatives. If anything, I've consistently been encouraged to incorporate it into my reports because of how useful it is.

“flexible reporting feature”

Pros

Creating and sharing reports has been much easier than I expected. It's a really useful tool for data visualization and it connects with several sources such as Excel, SQL and Access. Reports can be shared through a link and you can decide the type of access that fits best, whether anyone with the link can open it or only selected people. Those with access are able to view and interact with the report without being able to edit it. Another feature I've found especially practical is the mobile layout view since it lets you design report versions tailored for phones. I was even able to teach myself how to build dashboards so there wasn't any need for extensive training before getting started.

Cons

One thing that caused some frustration is that the data source needs to be very clean and simple, otherwise execution problems can come up. It also tends to run into processing issues with certain queries.

“Very good at what it does”

Pros

It really impressed me with how capable it is especially when working with business data. It supports importing data from a wide range of formats, stays well maintained with ongoing updates and scales very well for business use as needs grow.

Cons

That same power can also be a drawback. If your computer doesn't have strong enough hardware it can be very demanding and may overwhelm your system.

“impactful business insights”

Pros

Does a really good job of helping analyze business data and present business growth in a clear way. It offers useful insights and suggestions that make the data easier to understand and showcase better.

Cons

At times, I run into issues when trying to connect certain data sources.

“dynamic reporting and sharing”

Pros

Has been really useful for presenting data clearly and supporting decision making, mainly because it's simple to use. The datagrid is one of the parts I enjoy most since it lets you interact with the tool and display data in a dynamic way. Another big plus is being able to share reports with other people through Power BI Report Server which makes collaboration much better.

Cons

I don't have any negatives to mention. It continues to be a very solid tool for modeling and visualizing data.

“stunning free visualizations”

Pros

Pretty much anything can be turned into a visualization on your own, for free and without depending on online websites.

Cons

If you want to share those visualizations with someone like your boss, the company needs to have a paid account.