Responsable Industrie 4.0 at a engineering company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Easy to use for a non-IT person and good for data modeling and working with a large amount of data
Pros and Cons
  • "I like data modeling. You can connect with your database, which is quite useful for me. It is a good tool if you have a large amount of data and you want to gather different data and interconnect it. The Power Query functionality is quite an interesting feature. If you have a query in Excel, you can also copy your query and run it in Power BI. Its dashboard is also very nice and not complicated. You don't need to be a developer to be able to use it. I am not an IT guy, and it is quite easy to use for somebody who is not an IT person."
  • "It is not the right tool to do deeper analysis or predictions. When you have some data and you want to do some deep analysis, there is no feature to help you with this."

What is most valuable?

I like data modeling. You can connect with your database, which is quite useful for me. It is a good tool if you have a large amount of data and you want to gather different data and interconnect it.

The Power Query functionality is quite an interesting feature. If you have a query in Excel, you can also copy your query and run it in Power BI. 

Its dashboard is also very nice and not complicated. You don't need to be a developer to be able to use it. I am not an IT guy, and it is quite easy to use for somebody who is not an IT person.

What needs improvement?

It is not the right tool to do deeper analysis or predictions. When you have some data and you want to do some deep analysis, there is no feature to help you with this. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for one year.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Microsoft BI an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Director Comercial at Grupo Consultores
Real User
A robust, scalable, and easy-to-deploy solution that helps in constant collaboration and has a lot of online resources
Pros and Cons
  • "Constant collaboration is the most valuable. I can build a dashboard, and several co-workers can access this dashboard. We can share information that is important for decision-making. It is a very easy-to-deploy solution. It is compatible with a lot of data sources. It is also very stable and scalable. There is also a very good forum and a lot of help and online training."
  • "I would like them to provide a license that just allows us to see dashboards. What I don't like about this solution is that in order to just watch a dashboard, you need a license. Currently, you need to purchase a full license of Power BI Pro just to see something, which is not attractive. If you have a license, you can see a shared dashboard, but you can also build a dashboard or you can collaborate with other people. However, if you only want to see a dashboard, there is no license for that. I only want to see the dashboard, and I don't want to do anything more than watching the information on the dashboard. There is no license that allows you to see a shared dashboard. This is one of the areas of opportunity because I would like a lot of people to be able to see a shared dashboard, not to interact with it or to collaborate online with it. I would like to see more compatibility with non-Microsoft data sources. Given the fact that everything is related to Microsoft Azure and all services available on Microsoft Azure, I see that they're building more connections to Microsoft Azure services instead of other non-Microsoft services. I understand the strategy, but it would be good to have more compatibility with non-Microsoft data sources."

What is our primary use case?

I use Microsoft Power BI for analytics. It is an online service for business intelligence. I use it to analyze every piece of data that I have. My key performance indicators are on Power BI. My sales indicators, such as number of clients, number of sales and region, type of client, type of solution, due to date comparison, and due to year comparison, are really based on the sales of the company. I am using Power BI Pro.

What is most valuable?

Constant collaboration is the most valuable. I can build a dashboard, and several co-workers can access this dashboard. We can share information that is important for decision-making.

It is a very easy-to-deploy solution. It is compatible with a lot of data sources. It is also very stable and scalable. There is also a very good forum and a lot of help and online training.

What needs improvement?

I would like them to provide a license that just allows us to see dashboards. What I don't like about this solution is that in order to just watch a dashboard, you need a license. Currently, you need to purchase a full license of Power BI Pro just to see something, which is not attractive. If you have a license, you can see a shared dashboard, but you can also build a dashboard or you can collaborate with other people. However, if you only want to see a dashboard, there is no license for that. I only want to see the dashboard, and I don't want to do anything more than watching the information on the dashboard. There is no license that allows you to see a shared dashboard. This is one of the areas of opportunity because I would like a lot of people to be able to see a shared dashboard, not to interact with it or to collaborate online with it. 

I would like to see more compatibility with non-Microsoft data sources. Given the fact that everything is related to Microsoft Azure and all services available on Microsoft Azure, I see that they're building more connections to Microsoft Azure services instead of other non-Microsoft services. I understand the strategy, but it would be good to have more compatibility with non-Microsoft data sources.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a very robust and stable solution. We are a company that works with enterprise solutions from SAP and Microsoft. We have worked with companies that have 5,000 users and without a problem. So, it is very robust and stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Being a cloud solution, it is very scalable. You can easily scale it based on the usage. If you're using it, you pay for it, and if you're not using it, you stop paying for it.

In our company, Power BI being used by maybe 15 people out of 70. It is a growing solution. Three years ago, we had only five people who were working with Power BI. Now, we are building more and more dashboards for our service desk area, and its usage is growing.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't contacted them. We report everything to our own Service Desk, and they are the ones who scale the problem to the manufacturer. This means that every time that we have important issues, they have to be solved in a very decent period of time by the manufacturer. There is a very good response time, and every time we had problems, they were solved. We didn't have anything pending.

How was the initial setup?

Given the fact that it is on the cloud, it is really easy to deploy. It is only about connecting the engine to your data source and start building the dashboards. You can just connect your data. It doesn't matter if it is on-premises or as a service. You can just connect it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is based on the usage. If you're using it, you pay for it, and if you're not using it, you stop paying for it.

What other advice do I have?

If your data source is a Microsoft-based data source, this is the best choice. If you have a data source that is not Microsoft-based and is on a non-Microsoft platform, such as MongoDB or Unix, you should see some solutions like MicroStrategy or Qlik. If you have a pure 100% Microsoft-based data source, Microsoft Power BI is the answer. You can do wonders with Microsoft Power BI. It is a very cool solution.

I would rate Microsoft Power BI a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power BI
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power BI. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
769,630 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
Director Research and Development at Projects Factory
Real User
A comprehensive source for visualizations and analytics
Pros and Cons
  • "Because this solution is very easy, and very visual, you can have results in minutes."
  • "I would like to see a feature that connects with a Machine Learning platform like a RapidMiner or Azure Machine Learning Studio. It would be great to have a Machine Learning application link to connect."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use this for creating dashboards and reports for the oil and gas industry.

What is most valuable?

Power BI is always updating. I receive multi mail from Power BI with new visualizations, new analytics, new webinars and I'm going to Microsoft here locally in order to have a updated presentation about the new features of Power BI. For me it's very versatile. I can publish on my iPad. I have a Power BI application in order to manage the visualization of my report and my dashboard. Also I can speak to Power BI and ask about production and Q&A. But, I don't have compilation with other tools yet. For me, Power BI is the best.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see a feature that connects with a Machine Learning platform like a RapidMiner or Azure Machine Learning Studio. It would be great to have a Machine Learning application link to connect. 

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward. We had no problems with implementation.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is fine for our company. It is reasonably priced.

What other advice do I have?

Because this solution is very easy, and very visual, you can have results in minutes. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Principal at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Real User
Gives business power users the ability to do their own work, without help from IT
Pros and Cons
  • "In the early stage of an implementation, it not only helps decision making, but it allows people to have insight into problems with data so that they can go and get it corrected."
  • "Allows business users with a mission to solve their own problems, without an IT person."
  • "One thing I would like to have is the scripting language, as they already have within Excel. It's already within a Microsoft business product, because Excel is the number one business product out there. So it would be nice to have the scripting capability in order to automate certain processes."

What is our primary use case?

I have started a consulting business. So my use case is typically what my clients are doing. I've used it for healthcare analysis, headcount analysis, financial and performance analysis.

How has it helped my organization?

One thing it's doing in the early stage of an implementation is, it not only helps decision making, but it allows people to have insight into problems with data so that they can go and get it corrected.

What is most valuable?

The ability for business users with a mission to solve their own problems, without an IT person.

What needs improvement?

One thing I would like to have is the scripting language, as they already have within Excel. It's already within a Microsoft business product, because Excel is the number one business product out there. So it would be nice to have the scripting capability in order to automate certain processes.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's not only stable but it's constantly improving. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scaling is dependent on the data source itself, so it's not dependent on the solution. SQL Server, which is one of the strongest enterprise databases, makes that a good thing.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were previously using Excel, and Excel did not have the ability to deploy nor did it have the ability to easily do some of the things that people were asking for. The switch was driven by being overwhelmed in the Excel world.

My most important criteria when selecting a vendor are

  • usability
  • the ability to develop solutions in an agile fashion
  • the ability to have power users on the business side able to do their own work.

How was the initial setup?

It's very, very easy to get started. The complexity is the typical complexity in deployment, in that you have to have people make decisions on who has rights to what data. As far as the implementation, it's quite easy.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing, that's where Microsoft beats Tableau. It is priced much cheaper.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

The short list was really only Tableau and Microsoft, and frequently clients have Microsoft products already installed so they have the security, the Active Directory, as well as the use of Excel, and the use of the collaboration tools like O365.

What other advice do I have?

I'd say that Microsoft and Tableau are both nine and a half out of 10, and it's per the requirements I already mentioned. They both are very high-quality, easy to use, stable, they both allow business users to do a level of development, and they're both highly deployable.

My advice to a colleague would be that they actually do short trials with each of the products they're considering and the check the vendors' support.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user7626 - PeerSpot reviewer
BI Expert at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Popular
Comparing BO Webi vs SSRS

Webi from BO and SSRS from Microsoft are always in competition with each other. Both of them are good products catering to similar business needs in different styles. I have been using Webi and SSRS for my projects and i always think first which one should i use before starting a new one. Here i would be doing this comparison that may help others to opt between the two.

  1. Formatting - SSRS provides you good flexibility in formatting your reports but Webi does it better. In webi you can align your components charts with better look and feel than SSRS. Also formatting is easier in webi as its all gui based while in SSRS its all visual studio like environment so bit of complexity. Hence i would give webi 5 and SSRS 4
  2. Rendering - SSRS rendering is really bad when it comes to PDF, they don't give bookmarks for tabs in report. Also quality of formatting in Webi generated PDF is better. Here SSRS looses and webi wins. Hence Webi gets 5 and SSRS 3
  3. Ease of use - Again webi takes advantage here. SSRS is too complex for a new beginner. Like tablix concept, conditional formatting and all, everything is expression based which makes it too much to code. i will give webi 4 and SSRS 3
  4. Flexibility - Here SSRS is champ. you have got every thing to be modified as per your requirement. You can use custom functions, custom codes, colors, borders, text, and any property can be made dynamic using expressions. While in Webi only limited things are there to be modified. so Webi gets 2 and SSRS gets 5
  5. Error reporting - When you schedule webi and if it gets failed, Webi gives you error details specifically. While, in SSRS error details is mostly generic. Webi gets 5 and SSRS gets 3
  6. Managing History Instances - SSRS have tried to do a lot but less when comparing to Webi. Webi is better. Webi 5 and SSRS 4
  7. Error prone - While working with webi, there have been many instances where you just cant explain the erroneous behavior of Webi reports. Some times your report tabs goes away, some times you formatting your webi formatting is corrupted. And most of all java creates a lot of problem while working with webi. In case of SSRS its completely free of such errors. So SSRS 5 and webi 2

Finally total scores : Webi - 28 and SSRS - 27

Over all if you are looking for better formatting and easy to use gui Webi is for you. But if you want better flexibility and less rework then SSRS can be the choice.

Please Note: these are my views based on my experience. Some people may have different opinions.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user3876 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user3876Database Manager at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Vendor

Hi Sambhav Jain. I am using Microsoft BI products since many years. But now I also want to try webi. Can you please tell me that what is the license cost and installation requirement of webi?

Fabio Xavier - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Systems of the TCESP at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Useful drag and drop function, straightforward implementation, and high availability
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features in Microsoft BI are the analysis using the feature drag and drop function. It's very easy to load and use different data sources."
  • "Microsoft BI could improve by allowing large-size data sources. We have large data sources, and we have problems loading them in Microsoft BI."

What is our primary use case?

We use Microsoft BI to construct panels and analysis for the final users by themselves. We have all the units outside and analyses made by the final users. They can share their work with other colleagues and other teammates easily.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features in Microsoft BI are the analysis using the feature drag and drop function. It's very easy to load and use different data sources.

What needs improvement?

Microsoft BI could improve by allowing large-size data sources. We have large data sources, and we have problems loading them in Microsoft BI.

I would like to see in a future release the ability to create rules with no code. Similar to drag-and-drop solutions, or some other way with no code.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft BI for approximately two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is reliable, we do not have a problem with the availability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Microsoft BI is a scalable solution.

We have approximately 500 users using this solution in my organization. We have plans to increase the use of the solution. Our employees are getting better with the ability to use the solution.

How are customer service and support?

The support from Microsoft is satisfactory.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Microsoft BI was straightforward.

What other advice do I have?

I would encourage others to use Microsoft BI, it is a good solution.

I rate Microsoft BI a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Information Technology Architect at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Real User
A good solution that supports the Microsoft ecosystem and is easy to install
Pros and Cons
  • "It is very good, and it supports the Microsoft ecosystem, including Excel, etc."
  • "The handling of the workspaces can be made more granular for user access rights. It can be managed a little bit better in terms of the connection to Active Directory so that we have more granular access rights. I am not sure if this is really possible or if we can solve it differently, but we need a lot of workspaces, and we are not sure how we can deal with it from the access rights perspective."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Power BI for reporting.

What is most valuable?

It is very good, and it supports the Microsoft ecosystem, including Excel, etc.

What needs improvement?

We have been using it only for a couple of months, and we are at the beginning of our learning. The area of improvement is difficult to say. The handling of the workspaces can be made more granular for user access rights. It can be managed a little bit better in terms of the connection to Active Directory so that we have more granular access rights. I am not sure if this is really possible or if we can solve it differently, but we need a lot of workspaces, and we are not sure how we can deal with it from the access rights perspective.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for a couple of months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We are not sure because we currently have a simple installation on the PC, but the idea is to scale it via Office 365 cloud implementation.

It seems suitable for small, medium, and large enterprises. It should be able to scale up. Based on the marketing slides, it should be able to handle all kinds of enterprises.

How are customer service and support?

We have not had any problems, so we had no requirement to use technical support. 

How was the initial setup?

It is quite easy. You just need to install a program and use the connectors and drivers, and that's it. 

What about the implementation team?

I did it myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are end-users, and we don't take care of the prices and accounting. We get a product and pay the fee to our internal service provider, but its price should be reasonable. Otherwise, they wouldn't have bought it.

What other advice do I have?

We are not very experienced in it. So, I don't know if I can recommend it, but we are using it because it is very good.

I would rate it an eight out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Gurkan ONAY - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Director BI-EPM at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Affordably priced, user-friendly, and simple to install
Pros and Cons
  • "There is also a chart store where we can download charts, which is extremely useful."
  • "The default parameters of the prompt could be improved by including a dynamic option."

What is our primary use case?

We get our reports from, NetSuite, and we prepare resource forecast and finance dashboard reports in Microsoft BI.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the ease of use. It is very easy to use.

It is very user-friendly.

There is also a chart store where we can download charts, which is extremely useful.

I don't believe it needs additional features. It appears to be adequate for the reporting tool. It appears to be fine.

What needs improvement?

The default parameters of the prompt could be improved by including a dynamic option. We are unable to select any default parameters or it is not dynamic, so we must manually select that prompt value. For instance, there is a year prompt, and if it needs to be changed, someone will have to open Microsoft BI in edit mode to update it. If you have a dynamic option, it makes things a lot easier.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft BI for three years.

I work with the most recent update.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft BI is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not tried to scale this solution.

In our company, we have ten users.

We use this solution on a daily basis.

How are customer service and support?

We have not contacted technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very simple. It only takes five minutes to deploy.

Other than refreshing the dataset, it does not require any maintenance.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Microsoft BI is not expensive. It is affordable.

There are no additional costs.

What other advice do I have?

If they are looking for a reporting tool that is easy to use and expandable in terms of charts, or new charts, they should use Microsoft BI, because there are many charts on the market that they can download and use very easily.

I would Microsft BI a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Power BI Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: April 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Power BI Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.