What is Power BI?

Power BI is a cloud-based service that allows you to connect to various data sources, transform and model the data, create interactive dashboards and reports, and share them with your colleagues or clients. Power BI can help you gain insights from your data, monitor key performance indicators, identify trends and patterns, and make informed decisions

 

What are the uses of Power BI?

Power BI can be used for a variety of purposes, depending on your business needs and goals. Some of the common uses of Power BI are:

  • Data analysis: You can use Power BI to explore and analyse your data, using various visualisations, filters, slicers, and drill-downs. You can also use natural language queries to ask questions and get answers from your data.

  • Data reporting: You can use Power BI to create and publish reports that showcase your data in a clear and engaging way. You can also customise the look and feel of your reports, add annotations and comments, and export them to different formats.

  • Data storytelling: You can use Power BI to tell compelling stories with your data, using features like bookmarks, buttons, and navigation. You can also create interactive and dynamic reports that allow your audience to interact with the data and discover their own insights.

  • Data collaboration: You can use Power BI to share your dashboards and reports with others, either within your organisation or externally. You can also use Power BI apps to distribute a collection of related reports to a large number of users. You can also control the access and permissions of your data, and track the usage and feedback of your reports.

 

What are the licensing options for Power BI?

Power BI offers different licensing options, depending on your needs and budget. The main options are:

  • Power BI Free: This is a free version of Power BI that allows you to connect to hundreds of data sources, create personal dashboards and reports, and share them with others. However, it has some limitations, such as 1 GB of data storage, 8 daily refreshes, and no access to premium features.

  • Power BI Pro: This is a paid version of Power BI that costs approx. $20 per user per month. It allows you to access all the features of Power BI Free, plus additional features, such as 10 GB of data storage, 48 daily refreshes, data collaboration and sharing, app publishing and consumption, and more. Power Bi Pro is included in M365 E5.

  • Power BI Premium: This is a premium version of Power BI that costs approx. $10,000 per capacity per month. It allows you to access all the features of Power BI Pro, plus additional features, such as unlimited data storage, unlimited refreshes, dedicated capacity, enhanced performance and scalability, AI and advanced analytics, and more.