Adventure Works model analysis in Power BI. Pivot charts

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The course aims to provide the tools to start using Microsoft Power BI. We will illustrate the steps to connect a data source that we already have (for example in Excel, Access, Share Point) to this environment so that we can model the data from a variety of visual angles with extreme simplicity (for example, it will create the pivots automatically to achieve which in Excel would take hours and hours of work).

1. WHAT IS POWER BI AND MAIN FEATURES

Power BI is a business intelligence solution developed by Microsoft that allows companies to visualize data and share insights across the organization, or embed them in an app or website. This platform allows users to connect to a variety of data sources, turn this information into data models, and create interactive reports and dashboards. Power BI offers several services, including Power BI Desktop, a desktop application; Power BI Pro, a subscription-based version with advanced features; and Power BI Premium, which provides additional deployment and performance capabilities for organizations. With Power BI, users can easily manipulate data with natural queries, use AI capabilities to find patterns in data, and receive automated insights. The platform is integrated with other Microsoft solutions such as Azure and Office 365, and supports a wide range of connectors for cloud services and third-party data sources.

Power BI enables users to transform data into visually engaging, insights. Users can take advantage of Power BI’s self-service capability to create data visualizations without the need for advanced technical skills, making data analysis accessible to a wider audience within an organization. In addition, Power BI facilitates collaboration and insight sharing through its integration with other Microsoft applications such as Azure and Teams, allowing users to work together efficiently.

Data security is a priority in Power BI, which offers features like row-level security and data protection to ensure that sensitive information is handled securely. For developers, Power BI allows you to create custom visualizations and integrate data analytics into existing applications, providing a flexible and scalable solution that scales with your business needs. With the addition of Copilot in Power BI, users can now leverage AI to automatically generate report pages and data models, further simplifying the reporting process.

2. INTERACTIVE DASHBOARDS AND REPORTS FOR INFORMED AND INFORMED BUSINESS DECISIONS

Power BI is a powerful tool for visualizing data and creating interactive reports and dashboards. With Power BI, users can turn raw data into meaningful insights, visualizing and analyzing the data in ways that can help drive business decisions. Power BI dashboards allow you to have an overview and immediate view of the most important metrics, with the ability to monitor the progress of the company in real time. These dashboards consist of tiles that can be customized and combined to tell a story through data. Each tile can be linked to more detailed reports, giving you a higher level of insight when needed.

Creating an effective dashboard requires a clear understanding of your business goals and the ability to select and organize the most relevant visualizations. Power BI reports, on the other hand, are more detailed and can include a variety of visualizations, such as charts, tables, and maps, that provide in-depth analysis. Designing a report in Power BI can be highly customized, allowing users to explore and interact with data in different ways. For example, users can use drillthrough to examine the underlying data of a particular visualization, or use the Q&A feature to query data using natural language.