According to both vendors, most business analysts find it simpler and faster to use a desktop tool when most of the data they're working with is local. The folks at Microsoft tell me that, at least for now, most users prefer the desktop software over the web tool anyway. If you opt to use Microsoft Power BI, then go ahead and set up both the desktop and the web service. This might be good for data scientists who want to work with truly humongous data sets directly on the Microsoft Power BI service, but business analysts and everyday users are going to want to do all of the data prep work in the desktop tool. Microsoft does a good job of making such queries easy to do even for general users.Įven with this focus on ease of use, I felt it was a bit weird that I needed to use the desktop tool for data prep and then move to the web user UI to publish.

Enabling both of those means you would be able to form singular queries aimed at each app or more complex queries that would source data from both apps simultaneously. So, for example, Microsoft Power BI includes a connector for MailChimp ($10.00 at Mail Chimp), which is an email marketing app, as well as a connector for Salesforce. Data connectors let you point your BI tool at a particular app or data set and incorporate that data into your queries. Today, Microsoft Power BI has 74 data connectors and it's adding more at a regular clip, which is a standout number even when compared to the more mature competition. It's one of the best BI tools on the market and is one of our three Editors' Choice recipients, along with IBM Watson Analytics and Tableau Desktop. Enterprises will want to go with the Professional version, which has more data storage (10 GB), faster data fresh cycles (hourly), streaming data consumption (1 million rows per hour compared to the 10,000 rows per hour offered in the free tier), and collaboration features.

The free service is designed for individual users and offers just 1 gigabyte (GB) of storage along with daily refresh cycles. Customers have the choice between a limited free version or the Professional version (which begins at $9.99 per user per month). Microsoft Power BI does a fantastic job of combining power analytics with a user-friendly user interface (UI) and remarkable data visualization capabilities.

When a platform is this strong, however, the product must match expectations, and Microsoft Power BI does exactly that. Microsoft Power BI is a prime example of Redmond's stellar offerings in the self-service business intelligence (BI) space.

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