BI platformSample
Power BI
Microsoft
Microsoft’s BI platform: model data in Power BI Desktop, publish interactive reports to the Power BI service and share them across Microsoft 365.
Licence
Freemium
Built by
Analysts
Languages
DAX, Power Query M
Runs on
Windows desktop, Cloud service, On-premises report server
Scores
Out of 5. The tick marks the average for BI platforms in the library.
- Ease of use
- 4
- Visual control
- 3
- Interactivity
- 4
- Sharing
- 4
- Governance
- 5
- Low cost
- 4
- Data scale
- 4
Strengths
- Deep integration with Excel, Teams and Microsoft 365
- A strong semantic model with reusable DAX measures
- Low entry cost where Microsoft licences are already in place
- Row-level security and certified datasets
Limitations
- Desktop authoring runs on Windows only
- DAX has a steep learning curve for complex measures
- Fine visual control often needs custom visuals
Best for
- Organisations standardised on Microsoft
- Governed self-service reporting
- Finance and operations dashboards
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