Data is the backbone of every business, big or small, and successful businesses are deeply anchored in data-driven decision making. Data and analytics are fundamental in understanding and predicting consumer behaviour and market trends, improving decision making, and ultimately determining the ROI of marketing efforts. Essentially data has a profound impact on the bottom line of any business. With all its excellent benefits, the wonders of data are wasted if it cannot be transformed into useful information…cue Power BI.
A smarter and more cost-effective solution
Power BI is a business analytics service containing a collection of software services, apps, and connectors. This Microsoft tool effectively combines advanced interactive visualisations with cutting-edge data queries, effortless enough for end-users to create reports and dashboards. This cloud-based tool is also cost-effective as it does not need capital expenditure or infrastructure support regardless of the size of a business. Users do not require any specialised training to use Power BI and generate business intelligence insights successfully. Similar to most cloud services, Power BI is easily compatible and trouble-free.
Get rid of tedious manual tasks
Excel has been used as one of the leading platforms where users can organise, evaluate and present quantitative data to all staff so they have the information they need to make the right decisions that can impact the company’s bottom line. As businesses continue to grow and evolve; fast-paced industries such as sales organisations develop thousands of lines of data across multiple databases. Manually collating this data can prove to be quite a challenge as Excel has its limitations, especially for large quantities of data spread out across various databases. Also, the limitations of manually updating reports can be quite a tedious task which can result in multiple mistakes. Power BI simplifies the process of collating and presenting data accurately and timeously through an easy drag-and-drop functionality.
Save time
Harnessing Power BI is about moving away from multiple Excel worksheets that continuously need to be updated daily/weekly, to dashboard reports that will show all of the data in one place and be split across multiple department needs. This also allows staff members to reduce the number of hours spent on doing routine administrative tasks so they can focus on activities that will add greater value to the business.
Streamline data across multiple devices for easy accessibility
Power BI optimises content so that you can access reports on your mobile phone or laptop – regardless of its software (iOS, Android, and Windows). It comes in handy whether you are frequently on the road, working from home, or on vacation and in need of real-time updates. You will be able to track sales performance or the activity/movement of logistics in your company. As long as you have sufficient internet cover, you can view updated reports as and when you need to.
Access a range of data sources
More significant organisations usually have different forms of data spread out across various sources and platforms. Trying to get these sources to speak to each other is often the tricky part that ends in multiple confusing documents. Power BI has a rich set of data connectors that continue to grow as Microsoft adds more and more updates. These connectors are the magic that breaks down silo sources like .csv and .xls files into one source that can easily be manipulated to explain data and explain why numbers look the way they do. Power BI breaks down these barriers to allow for data to exist in a central repository that can be seamlessly accessed throughout the company.
Rich personalised dashboards and better collaboration
One of the key characteristics of Power BI is its ability to transform complex data into visually appealing and engaging information. This includes information dashboards that can be customised according to each department’s/team’s needs. This facilitates easy collaboration as all team members can better understand the data, ultimately leading towards a more cohesive user experience.
As working from home continues to become the new norm, personalised reports can be shared on Microsoft Teams to allow for more seamless ways of collaborating with co-workers without having to switch between platforms. Power BI allows for clear visualisation of data and enhanced collaboration so co-workers can effectively share feedback on actionable tasks and ultimately delegate tasks, accordingly, based on the predictive trends found in the data.
Power BI has multiple benefits for any business looking to elevate themselves to the next level. Whether you’re in the sales or construction industry, Power BI is not only limited to organising data but can also help organisations keep track of their logistics in real-time. Get in touch with us for a comprehensive case study on your business and how you can get the best out of Power BI.