Overview
Power BI is Microsoft's business intelligence platform, deeply integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem. It offers excellent value with a generous free tier and competitive pricing, making it the default choice for Microsoft-centric organizations.
Key Features
- ✓ Desktop App: Rich authoring experience
- ✓ DAX: Powerful formula language
- ✓ DirectQuery: Real-time data connections
- ✓ Dataflows: Self-serve data prep
- ✓ Paginated Reports: Pixel-perfect reporting
- ✓ AI Insights: Built-in ML capabilities
Pros
- 👍 Excellent price/value ratio
- 👍 Deep Microsoft integration
- 👍 Strong DAX modeling capabilities
- 👍 Regular feature updates
- 👍 Large user community
Cons
- 👎 Best experience requires Windows
- 👎 Can struggle with large datasets
- 👎 Governance features need Premium
- 👎 Less intuitive than Tableau for some
Best For
Microsoft-centric organizations wanting BI that integrates with Excel, Teams, and Azure. Best value for money in enterprise BI.
Founded: 2015 HQ: Microsoft