Traditionalists will tell you the various benefits of using Excel as compared to other data visualization tools. Quite a few companies are still hanging on to Excel because Its formulas and pivot tables are the go-to programming language around for anything from simple to complicated data organization.
Excel is a robust platform no doubt, but let’s say in order to create a data model for analysis, the tools used for the task aren’t available in Excel itself. And in such scenarios, you will land up opening half a dozen applications to complete the activity. Or it could a simple reason as being familiar and comfortable with the application.
Power BI is a shiny new addition to the Microsoft family and is gaining huge momentum. You might have read several articles, blogs, newsletters talking how different is Power BI and the changes it is bringing in. So how exactly is it different? And why are most enterprises veering towards Power BI than Excel? Let’s discuss.
- Power BI can handle a massive amount of raw data as well as multiple tables of data. This analytical tool has a huge ability to load and process an enormous amount of data into a single .PBIX file. You can even adjust and shape the data to fit your needs by renaming columns, tables, changing text to numbers and editing rows once you have imported the data.
- Once the data is imported, in Power BI, it gets automatically refreshed. Auto Refresh is an amazing option in Power BI so that the data remains in sync with the source. Hitting the Refresh button will refresh the data in the file’s model with updated data from the original data source. Users of excel will agree, it definitely doesn’t have that feature.
- Power BI helps you connect with on-premises data and through cloud services. And did you know that the subscription version of Power BI allows for an unlimited amount of storage and adds connections to your data? In Excel this would involve sending an email with a large file, putting it in a shared drive or SharePoint portal, and letting the team know it has been updated.
- One can go on and on about the visual appeal of the Power BI dashboards. Just seeing colors isn’t enough. Organized data in colorful rows and graphs following a certain sequence or a filter is something else. Power BI hits all the marks when it comes to presenting data in an appealing manner.
- When we talk about the UX, Excel isn’t quite mobile-friendly, however with the Power BI mobile app for iOS, Android or Windows, users can have easy access to dashboards and reports on the go. Users can access the dashboards from anywhere and not just remain chained to their desks for information.
- In Power BI, the powerful software run by intelligence and algorithms in the backend can develop interactive insights with just a click or a tap of a button. Imagine the amount of time you’ll land up saving!
Microsoft is coming up with something new every other day. And it will be interesting to see how Microsoft moves forward with features for the Power BI, as it deepens its roots to become one of the most sought-after business analysis tools. It won’t be unfair if we say, that with great technology comes a greater Power BI.
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Author’s bio:
Mohona is a Content Writer for the Marketing team in AhaApps since 2019. When she is not busy attending to her creative, technical side, she likes to binge on sitcoms on Netflix. She loves writing poems and reading short stories when she wants to break away from the humdrum of life.