What is Power BI? Definition, Components, and Features

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The digital acceleration is highlighting the importance of data analysis. Data appears in all operational processes of departments and businesses. However, managing and analyzing vast amounts of data can be challenging without the right tools. This is where Power BI comes into play. But what is Power BI, and why should businesses embrace it? Let’s explore these questions further in this article.

What is Power BI?

what is Power BI

For those who are not experts in data analysis, Power BI will certainly seem a bit strange. But actually, this is a product of Microsoft’s Office applications segment.

Power BI, short for Power Business Intelligence, is a data analytics tool whose primary goal is to provide interactive visualization and business intelligence capabilities with a simple interface for users to create reports and analyze data. Currently, the Power BI application is available on the 3 most popular platforms today: website, desktop, and smartphone, ensuring convenience for users.

As of 2024, more than 5 million people are using Microsoft Power BI for their business analytics needs. Thanks to Power BI’s powerful data analysis and visualization capabilities to improve understanding and make data-based decisions, many organizations and individuals from many different industries use it. Power BI’s market share is about 36.53%, making it the leading BI tool in the market.

These numbers are proof of Power BI’s popularity among companies looking to enhance their data analytics and business intelligence capabilities.

Launched in 2014, Power BI was originally called “Power Query”, as an add-on for Microsoft Excel. The success of Power Query and the growing demand for business intelligence tools prompted Microsoft to develop it as a standalone product. Since its development, Power BI has undergone continuous improvements and updates, with the ability to integrate many different data sources and expand cloud-based features, it is considered one of the leading tools in the field of business analysis.

Power BI Free Template for New Users

what is Power BI

Many of our customers shared that when they were new to Power BI and had never used it before, the vast number of online resources made them overwhelmed. Trying to quickly learn all of Power BI’s functionalities can leave them feeling lost and unsure where to begin. To solve these common problems for those new to Power BI, now we have a solution for you, our comprehensive Power BI templates offer a quick and practical way to understand what Power BI is all about. These templates allow you to learn Power BI’s functionalities in a hands-on manner, showing you how DAX formulas are applied to solve real-world problems. Instead of getting lost in theoretical learning, you’ll see practical examples of how to use Power BI effectively. 

We offer various Power BI Templates for business management needs, such as Sales, HR, Marketing, Project, Product, and Inventory management. By interacting with these templates, you can quickly grasp the functionalities of Power BI and begin leveraging its capabilities for their business analytics, making it easier for you to get started.

Free Power BI Template for Sales Management

These templates provide visualizations and reports on key sales metrics such as total sales, sales by region, sales trends over time, sales team performance, profit growth, etc,…

By using these templates, you can gain insights into your sales pipeline, identify high-performing products, and make data-driven decisions to boost sales.

Free Power BI Template for HR Management

These templates include visualizations and reports on employee demographics, hiring trends, performance metrics, historical exits, and more. 

By using these templates, HR professionals can track workforce analytics, understand employee engagement, and optimize talent management strategies.

Free Power BI Template for Inventory Management

These templates include visualizations and reports on inventory levels, stock movements, reorder points, inventory turnover rates, and more. 

By using these templates, you can optimize stock levels, and reduce carrying costs, ensuring efficient inventory management.

Free Power BI Template for Marketing Management

These templates provide insights into key marketing metrics such as campaign effectiveness, lead generation, bounce rates, conversion rates, social media engagement, etc,…

By using these templates, you can assess the impact of your marketing efforts, optimize campaigns, and improve overall marketing strategies.

Free Power BI Template for Product Management

These templates provide insights into key product metrics such as sales performance, product lifecycle, customer feedback, score by time, price and ratings, market trends, etc,..

By using these templates, product managers can make informed decisions about product development, pricing strategies, and product launches.

Free Power BI Template for Project Management

These templates include visualizations and reports on project timelines, task completion status, resource allocation, project acceptance status, budget tracking, and project performance metrics. 

By using these templates, Project managers can easily monitor project progress, identify potential issues, and ensure projects are completed on time and within budget.

Don’t let the complexity of Power BI overwhelm you. With our comprehensive templates, you’ll soon be able to harness the full potential of this powerful tool!

If you don’t have a Power BI Desktop, try to Download Power BI desktop.

Who needs to use Power BI?

Power BI provides valuable information to businesses through data visualization images and charts. From developers, analysts, directors, or managers, to everyone involved with data, salespeople who analyze their business data every day can take advantage of Power BI in their way. Here are some popular positions that often interact with Power BI:

  1. PMO – Project and Portfolio Manager (Project and portfolio management)
  2. Business & Data Analyst (Data and business analyst)
  3. Developer & Database Administrator (Database and development specialist)
  4. IT Team, IT Professional
  5. Consumer for End User Report (Create reports for End Users)
  6. Data Scientist

The Components of Power BI

  1. Power BI Desktop: is a free application that you download and install on your local computer that serves as a hub for creating and designing visualizations, reports, and dashboards.
  2. Power BI Service: As a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, Power BI service enables users to publish, share, and collaborate online on reports and dashboards. You can also connect to data sources in the Power BI service, but modeling is limited.
  3. Power BI Mobile Apps: Available for Windows, iOS, and Android devices, these mobile apps allow users to access and interact with Power BI content on the go.
  4. Power BI Report Server: An on-premises report server where users can publish and manage Power BI reports created in Power BI Desktop.

Outstanding Features of Power BI

Big Data Processing

Power BI is a powerful tool, capable of handling big data efficiently without performance issues. Power BI’s data processing ability is extremely powerful, being able to work with 8-10 million lines of data at a time.

Collect data and integrate data effectively 

Power BI allows users to process data from many different sources and transform it into a unified data model while still ensuring data accuracy.

Advanced data visualization

Excel is a tool that can visualize data. However, in terms of advanced data visualization, Power BI still proves its superior capabilities compared to Excel. Power BI lets you create rich, intuitive dynamic charts, graphs, and interactive reports that turn data into easy-to-understand insights.

Use DAX (data analysis expression)

DAX is a powerful analytical expression language in Power BI, with fast and efficient data processing speed. DAX will help you create new data information from data that is already in your model. Learn how to create effective DAX formulas that will help you make the most of your data, generating the new data insights your organization needs.

Build data models to integrate data 

Power BI allows users to build data models, integrating data from multiple sources seamlessly. Data models are built based on the actual needs of the business, there is no final data model, it may change depending on fluctuations in business needs and operational management.

Security

Data is protected through Microsoft’s robust security protocols, ensuring business metrics are safe. In Power BI, there is a Row Level Security (RLS) function, which is used to assign access rights to Power BI reports to certain users.

With these built-in features and continuously updated features from Power BI, using this tool can be the right decision for businesses looking for enhanced data visualization and analysis capabilities. High. Power BI combines the depth of advanced analytics with the simplicity of user-friendly design, making it an invaluable tool for businesses of all sizes.

Power BI Integration Solution with Saas Integration Platform

In modern business management, to avoid errors in data analysis over time, managers need to equip their companies with optimal tools and continuously update business data to make informed decisions.

Power BI can be easily connected to eCommerce, CRM, POS, Accouting, and Marketplace using our HexaSync. We offer fully integrated Power BI, allowing merchants and companies to create a complete report.

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  • Save a lot of time: Power BI integrations will synchronize into categories according to their common characteristics, pricing, etc.
  • Improve business efficiency: Increase sales and revenue by modifying your sales strategy more successfully, preventing expired inventory or a shortage of products.
  • Enhance customer experience: eCommerce integration is essential since it completes all tasks faster.

HexaSync, developed by Beehexa, is one of the iPaaS integration platforms in the global market. Working as a middleware platform, HexaSync has developed Power BI integration with other systems like e-commerce websites, ERP, POS, etc to meet the high-level analytics needs of businesses, providing real-time data updates, and helping managers have a comprehensive, objective overview, and accurate over time to make wise decisions and effectively support business, through APIs.

Conclusion

This article has helped you understand “what is Power BI?”, what components and features it includes, who can use it, and why it is an effective analytical tool for businesses in digital business. 

Start leveraging Power BI capabilities to unlock the full potential of your data to drive business growth.