PeerSpot user
MSBI Technology Architect/Developer at a pharma/biotech company with 51-200 employees
Vendor
Very stable tool with some improvements needed in SSIS

What is most valuable?

SSIS is the most valuable. Individually I would rate features out of 10 as SSIS: 9, SSAS: 8, and SSRS: 7.

How has it helped my organization?

Automation. With MSBI, we realized automation from data loading, transformation and reporting.

What needs improvement?

The aggregate functions in SSRS.

For how long have I used the solution?

5 years

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.
769,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Not much with appropriate configuration design.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

None encountered.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Data set is not big enough to tell.

How are customer service and support?

Customer Service:

Good. Also easy to find solution by Googling.

Technical Support:

Haven't been using it due to the ease of getting answers on the internet.

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

No previous solution used.

How was the initial setup?

I was able to figure out the setup by doing some research and it's not too complex for experienced user.

What about the implementation team?

In-house implementation.

What was our ROI?

The company spent less than $100k to switch from SSAS to MSBI, which saved the company at least one SAS programmer.

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

Not sure.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Not sure.

What other advice do I have?

It's a proven stable tool.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
BI Junior consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
Excel in BI mode provides an excellent approach to the BI world for end users

Valuable Features:

Power BI (except Power Query)

Improvements to My Organization:

Reduced time to develop and deployment projects.

Room for Improvement:

PowerQuery (so long) + smt exists in SSAS cube but cannot do the same in tabular.

Use of Solution:

2 years

Deployment Issues:

Yes. Language DAX

Stability Issues:

No

Scalability Issues:

No
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.
769,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Director of technology alliances at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Stable and scalable solution for data reporting
Pros and Cons
  • "I've seen no issues with BI's stability."
  • "BI is scalable, but there are some problems with limited online storage."

What is our primary use case?

My primary uses of this solution are BI reporting using SQL server reporting, Power BI online reports, and BI dashboards. We connect to SQL server databases plus other sources, including data warehouses in the cloud and on-premise.

What needs improvement?

There are areas where BI lags behind its competitors - for example, Qlik has an in-built data manipulation engine while BI does not. I also do not like transformation in BI, as we have to go back to the data for this process instead of being able to do things on the fly, as with Qlik. Other areas for improvement include the language that BI uses, the ability to do data manipulations, and the flexibility of the licensing models. In the next release, I would like to see manipulation and internal analytics, as well as some analytics features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I've seen no issues with BI's stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

BI is scalable, but there are some problems with limited online storage and always having to go back to the data warehouse.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution as eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Implementer
PeerSpot user
Associate Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Suitable for smaller businesses, scalable, but large data challenges
Pros and Cons
  • "In my experience the scalability is good. You are able to increase users and add more data."
  • "When there are large amounts of data being processed there are additional tools needed to handle it."

What is our primary use case?

Microsoft BI can be used for business data visualization.

What needs improvement?

When there are large amounts of data being processed there are additional tools needed to handle it.

In an upcoming release, there could be an associative experience, such as in Qlik.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for approximately four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good but as you add more data the stability decreases.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In my experience the scalability is good. You are able to increase users and add more data.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup can be easy if you have a small amount of data being used. I have found Qlik is better if you have large amounts of data.

What about the implementation team?

We have a team of approximately 20 people that handle BI operations.

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

The solution is priced well for what they offer. However, the premium version is very expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated Tableau and Qlik.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to those that have smaller businesses where they have lower user numbers and not a lot of data points. If they have a larger business I would choose an alternative, such as Qlik.

I rate Microsoft BI a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
PeerSpot user
CEO at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Can be easily integrated to any database and is flexible and user friendly
Pros and Cons
  • "It's quite flexible, and it's easy to create reports using this system. It is very graphic and very user friendly."
  • "The smart phone application could be improved, along with better graphics and faster updating."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for management reporting.

What is most valuable?

It's quite flexible, and it's easy to create reports using this system. It is very graphic and very user friendly.

One of the advantages of Microsoft BI is that it's easy to integrate it with any databases.

Another is that it doesn't need a lot of technical support because it's easy to use.

What needs improvement?

The smart phone application could be improved, along with better graphics and faster updating.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using it for 3 or 4 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable.

How was the initial setup?

It's easy to install. It requires that you prepare some databases for installing this product, but it doesn't take too much time to do it.

What about the implementation team?

We used a consultant.

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

Microsoft BI is not expensive. Compared to the price of other BI products, the price is very fair.

What other advice do I have?

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate Microsoft BI at ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Senior Business Analyst, Big data at a manufacturing company
Real User
It has a nice integration with Office 365.
Pros and Cons
  • "My primary use is for view of the dashboard."
  • "It ingegrates nicely with Office 365."
  • "Powerpoints are not available in the report server."
  • "The report server feature is quite limited."

What is our primary use case?

My primary use case is for view of the dashboard. 

How has it helped my organization?

We did not previously have a BI platform before. This has helped us.

What is most valuable?

It has a nice integration with Office 365.

What needs improvement?

Once the report updated, we want the system to send a notification to user automatically. Especially if the email can imbed the dashboard data into the email, instead of a link. This does not necessarily happen.

In addition, importing the dashboard to a powerpoint is not available in the report server.  Even though we go to the public cloud service, the export is only the picture, or a snapshot of the dashboard. We cannot play the features or see the data we could change in a powerpoint. This is frustrating  because sometimes the finance manager needs to export the report to a powerpoint. Actually, we wanted to export because we wanted to do the presentation. We wanted to show the figures or something like that, but those figures are just static, and are only a picture.

Finally, an additional feature should be added to add a cost table.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Actually, it's a stable solution. But in some companies, based on my experience, my previous company, using the FAP solution for their IP solution. Then for our Powerband, the BI2, the data come from EIPCN, something like that, but actually it seems that the Powerband don't have very good integration with FAP interface. The integration from from FAP is not so convenient

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is quite good. 

How is customer service and technical support?

The technical support team is quite responsive and helpful. They are responsive to our questions in their forum.

How was the initial setup?

I was not involed with the initial setup of the solution.

What was our ROI?

We always review:

  • Scalability
  • Price

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

It is a cheap solution for our needs. 

What other advice do I have?

It is a solution that is easy for developers to be hands-on, even if they do not have prior experience with it. It is quite easy to learn.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user872265 - PeerSpot reviewer
Professor of Private International Law with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Flawless stability, integrates well with Access, Excel, but needs ETL functionality
Pros and Cons
  • "It is very well integrated with other Microsoft products, including PowerApps and Excel, as well as Access, so it fits well into our workflow."

    What is our primary use case?

    Visualization and minor analytics. It has performed quite well thus far.

    How has it helped my organization?

    We've not used it enough to be able to speak to organizational improvements.

    What is most valuable?

    • Low cost - it's a free application
    • Ease of use - excellent user interface

    What needs improvement?

    Perhaps the inclusion of ETL functionality would help.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    One to three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Flawless. Absolutely flawless. The stability is excellent.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Integrates really well.

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

    We did not have a previous solution. And we did not choose this solution. We actually inherited it. 

    How was the initial setup?

    There was no real set up, just install the application. No complications whatsoever.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    On our short list, for future consideration: Oracle.

    What other advice do I have?

    Our most important criteria when selecting a vendor are cost, cost, and cost.

    I rate Microsoft BI at seven out of 10 and that's because I have not utilized it as much as I would have liked to. However, it is very well integrated with other Microsoft products, including PowerApps and Excel, as well as Access, so it fits well into our workflow.

    Consider very carefully what your requirements are and plan your projects well. This is a wonderful tool but it will not get the work done for you.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Data Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
    Consultant
    Users with Excel experience can use this tool to work with larger than Excel data sets. It is not very intuitive to find any functionality.

    What is most valuable?

    Pivoting is the most valuable feature.

    How has it helped my organization?

    It is good for users who have experience with Excel but are looking to work with larger than Excel data sets. For experienced users, it is more of a hassle because of its lack of usability; it is not very intuitive to find a given functionality.

    What needs improvement?

    Its ease of use feature is not very intuitive and needs to improve.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have used this solution for six months.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    We often experience stability issues.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    There were scalability issues. It does half the work like any other product in the market.

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

    This product was used during tests.

    How was the initial setup?

    It is easy to set up.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We looked at Tableau and Qlik; we are using Qlik.

    What other advice do I have?

    It seems to be good for extending the capabilities of Excel but I wouldn't recommend it as a standalone setup.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    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.