Microsoft Power BI Reviews

“Depenable insights to help with decision making”

Pros

One thing that really stands out is how rich and customizable the dashboard features are. It's simple to refresh the data and instantly see an updated dashboard and the drag-and-drop option makes it convenient to build visuals directly from data fields. The level of information security is reassuring, the accuracy is excellent and the data is presented in a way that's very easy to understand. It also helps that it's available on both computer and mobile devices and sharing dashboards with others makes collaboration much more effective.

Cons

Getting started can be challenging because the interface feels complicated and not very user friendly at first. New users usually need guidance from someone with technical knowledge or at least an intermediate understanding of the tool before they can use it comfortably.

“Constantly improving”

Pros

Regular updates keep this relatively new product feeling current and constantly improving. Even though it's cloud based, it still lets you connect to on-premise data sources through the gateway software.

Cons

There's a free version to start with but if you want sharing and collaboration features, you'll need to move up to a paid plan.

“versatile exports”

Pros

Using this software is actually enjoyable and the features and functions are very user friendly. There are other good options out there but Microsoft PowerPoint still feels like the strongest choice. It makes creating presentations much simpler and being able to convert or save files as JPEG, PDF and other formats is really helpful. It also works well for presenters who are not especially tech savvy and need something they can manage without too much trouble.

Cons

Not many major downsides but the variety of presentation types feels limited and adding video can be quite difficult. It can also be a bit too technical for people who are not familiar with the software.

“user friendly dashboards”

Pros

Lets you create dashboards, charts and other data visualizations, while also handling data transformations and pulling data from a wide range of sources. There are still a few rough edges but Microsoft seems to address them steadily with each update. The auto refresh features and the ability to set up scripts that automatically pull and transform data from different sources are especially useful. Another plus is that, being a Microsoft product, it works well with other Microsoft tools.

Cons

Can be frustrating to configure because you need to know the exact filters and settings or the data will not display properly. There are also some technical quirks between desktop and the browser version that users need to watch out for. I'm also not thrilled with the way reports are shared with others. If someone wants to open a dashboard you created, they may need their own copy of the software unless it's published online and then you have to manage the security settings. That's an area where some other visualization platforms handle things better.

“Many great features available”

Pros

It really delivers good value for the price. Microsoft keeps adding updates regularly and the product keeps getting better over time. There's also a strong focus on collaboration which worked especially well for remote work.

Cons

The visuals and font styling still don't look as polished as Tableau. It can also run into performance problems when you're not using the native model and report server.

“budget friendly”

Pros

Keeps evolving constantly, with new features and content arriving every month. The software is backed by extensive documentation that answers almost any question and if that still isn't enough, the community forum is there to help you find solutions. From a user perspective, it feels very simple to work with, while the development side does require a bit more study. That said, there are plenty of online courses available so it's possible to learn quickly. Pricing is another strong point since it's very affordable.

Cons

At times some features are still missing but users can suggest new developments through a dedicated site and those requests are reviewed every month.

“Easy to use interface”

Pros

Coming from Excel, getting started with it felt very easy because the interface is easy to work with. It includes plenty of built in connectors for different data sources and combining those sources into a single table or dashboard is simple and convenient.

Cons

One limitation is that publishing dashboards requires a paid subscription. Without that, the alternative is exporting dashboards as PDF files for static sharing. It would be much better if there were an option to publish data dynamically for at least one client.

“versatile data presentation tools”

Pros

This software has a wide range of features and options for bringing together and presenting data from lots of different applications.

Cons

Like many other Microsoft products, a lot of the features are not immediately obvious when you first open it. I'd strongly recommend checking out online guides or videos to understand the many tools it offers.

“polished dashboards for Excel users”

Pros

If you already work in Excel and are starting to build out metrics, I'd definitely recommend it. The dashboards come out looking polished and professional which makes it a strong option for reporting.

Cons

Getting started can be frustrating because it sometimes throws error messages without clearly explaining what's wrong or how to fix the issue.

“powerful features”

Pros

Coming from a Windows and Office background makes it pretty easy to pick up. A lot of its features feels familiar especially if you've already worked with Power Query and Excel. It also offers a very wide range of features and Microsoft keeps improving it with regular updates and new additions.

Cons

At times, the interface can look a bit rough and the charts and visualizations don't always feel as polished or professional as what some competitors offer. Its similarity to other Office products also means it shares some of the same weaknesses. Just like Excel can use a lot of memory when loading data into PivotTables through Power Query, it seems to struggle in a similar way when querying very large datasets especially around the 1-2 GB range. It doesn't really feel built for big data workloads and setting up reports or dashboards with RLS is also difficult and frustrating because there's still too much manual work involved.

“Creating reports made simple”

Pros

Creating reports with the self-service BI tools is simple because the visual elements are always up to date and simple to configure and it's also user friendly for the end user.

Cons

Using drill down and drill up to expand objects based on the hierarchy feels a bit frustrating.

“There are better options on the market”

Pros

Backed by Microsoft, this platform comes with a wide range of features. It works as a full enterprise-grade tool, supports multiple integrations and can connect to a large number of data sources.

Cons

Compared with competing products, it doesn't feel as solid. The access management and query handling also aren't the best fit when you need to work in a fast-paced environment.

“endless customizations possible for data visualization”

Pros

Coming from Excel, getting started feels very natural if you already know how to build dashboards there. It has a much more polished and powerful feel than Excel and the data visualization options seem almost unlimited.

Cons

Things can slow down quite a bit when I'm working with several CSV files at once and bigger datasets definitely make that more noticeable. I also think the sharing options could be better. It would be ideal to send someone a link to a dashboard without needing to make the whole thing public. That said, being able to embed the dashboard into a SharePoint site is something I really value.

“solid dashboards and connectors”

Pros

Offers a huge range of data source connectors. The platform feels very powerful overall and it's also quite user friendly to work with. On top of that the data visualization features are outstanding and honestly among the best available.

Cons

A downside is that the data preparation tools are split between the desktop and mobile versions which can be inconvenient. Another limitation is that the free edition puts a cap on the refresh period.

“insightful dashboards”

Pros

The dashboards you can build are really valuable for showing meaningful user data. That's been especially important when putting together data for QBRs and EBRs.

Cons

Getting started can take a bit of time because there's definitely a learning curve. That said if you already know how to use Excel, a lot of it will feel familiar.

“useful visuals”

Pros

One thing that really helped with this was that it already came with my organization's O365 subscription. That made it simple to start using it right away and show others across the company the kind of powerful visualizations you can build with a proper BI platform.

Cons

At the same time, the interface feels pretty slow and setting up the data model is not very easy to do. It also runs slowly especially when compared with other tools and the lack of a built in box and whisker plot was a major drawback.

“Modern dashboards for metrics”

Pros

Does a really solid job of presenting data for managers and highlighting high-level metrics. It feels like a more modern version of Excel, with many useful features built in so there's less need to struggle with pivot tables. It works especially well for tracking metrics, statistics and other important numerical data.

Cons

Getting everything set up on the front end can take some effort especially when it comes to connecting databases. That process can be time-consuming and cross-platform compatibility adds another layer of work. Many existing databases and cloud systems also need quite a bit of setup before everything works properly.

“dynamic reports with stunning visuals”

Pros

At our company, it is the tool we rely on for sharing performance reports with management. One of its biggest advantages is how closely it resembles Microsoft Excel and Access. If you already have experience with either of those programs, it's pretty easy to understand how to work in Power BI. It also does a really good job of helping users build reports that look highly professional, while keeping them dynamic and visually impressive.

Cons

Can be very slow at times. Refreshing complex queries and importing very large datasets takes a long time. Since we work in the telecommunications industry, handling massive volumes of data is just part of the job so those slow refresh speeds become a real issue for us.

“powerful KPI visibility”

Pros

This platform does an excellent job of putting KPIs front and center. It gives my team quick access to the key information that matters most and makes it much easier to monitor performance at a glance.

Cons

It's an extremely capable platform but there is definitely a learning curve. Getting comfortable with navigating it efficiently and using it effectively takes a bit of time.

“Stunning visuals”

Pros

Everything comes together in one place with its range of built in solutions making it possible to display the trends of a business, project or even a social topic on a single dashboard. The interactive charts and visuals are especially useful because they make those patterns much easier to understand at a glance.

Cons

As someone still new to the platform, my only concern so far is that it seems to require a bit more technical knowledge and training than what a regular office user would usually have.