It might seem obvious that better insights lead to better outcomes. But in a business landscape increasingly shaped by data, how we use technology to gain these insights makes all the difference. In fact, optimizing how you use data should be seen as a key competitive differentiator. When you use the right business intelligence technology in the right way, you can transform how your organization operates and elevate outcomes to the next level.
As part of its Power Platform, Microsoft’s Power BI is the business intelligence platform of choice for many of the world’s leading organizations. In this blog, we will look at some of the questions we get asked by customers when they are deciding whether to invest in business intelligence to help decision making. These include:
- How does business intelligence help decision-making?
- What is the difference between business intelligence and data science?
- How difficult is it to learn Power BI?
- What data sources/types can I import into Power BI?
- How must does business intelligence cost?
This will also provide a comprehensive introduction to business intelligence in general, as well an outline of the many benefits of Microsoft’s Power BI. We’ll also consider how you can get more from business intelligence by working with the Bauen Group.
FAQs about business intelligence
Let’s dive straight into the most common questions we get asked about business intelligence by our customers.
How does business intelligence help in decision making?
Business intelligence helps organizations take extensive unorganized data and gain insights about how their business operates. It will give your business actionable information to help you make better decisions across every area of the business, including sales, security, accounting, IT usage, and much more. And likewise, it will help to boost outcomes in areas as wide-ranging as productivity, profitability, employee well-being, and customer satisfaction.
What is the difference between business intelligence and data science?
Although they both involve analyzing your business data to provide invaluable insights, there is one key difference between business intelligence and data science. Business intelligence uses past data to make more informed decisions about current situations, whereas data science allows you to make more accurate predictions about the future.
What is Power BI?
Part of Microsoft’s Power Platform, Power BI is a business intelligence tool built to help your organization get more value from data. The key to this is making data—and, crucially, the insights gained from this data—accessible to everyone at your organization through easy-to-use interfaces and data visualization. Integrated with all of your other Microsoft applications, Power BI brings all of your business data into one place.
What are the main advantages of business intelligence tools like Power BI?
Because business intelligence can impact all areas of your business, the advantages are many and wide-ranging. The most commonly cited benefits are:
- Increased financial advantage
- Improved business outcomes
- Empowered users
What data sources can I import into Power BI?
With Power BI, users can import Excel files (.xlsx, .xlsm) and Comma Separated Value (.csv) files. Users can also bring in data from Google Analytics and Salesforce. You can even connect other databases and datasets. This ensures that every area of your business can benefit from better insights, regardless of the format of their data or where it is stored.
How much time will it take to learn Power BI?
As mentioned above, the Power BI platform is designed to be user-friendly, so that it can be used across your entire organization. Microsoft offers training resources, including a guided learning tour, to walk you through everyday functionality.
What’s more, if you team up with a Microsoft partner, you can enjoy a range of tailored services including training customized to how your organization works. At the Bauen Group, our experts can guide you in every aspect of Power BI, so that you feel comfortable and confident in using business intelligence. We can also help you get up and running as soon as possible.
How much does Power BI cost?
Microsoft provides a free desktop version of Power BI, but this comes with limited capabilities. For organizations looking to use business intelligence to power substantive changes, there are Pro and Premium pricing options. These range from a reasonable price per user per month to a monthly rate per computing system. At the Bauen Group, we can help you find the right pricing option for your business.
Business intelligence for all? Yes, please!
“Clarity and intelligence for all”, Microsoft says of its Power BI solution. We certainly agree. It is through establishing a data-driven culture in which everyone has the ability to gain insights from business data that organizations can truly thrive. By leaving business intelligence to a select few data analysts or to the C-level, organizations are failing to empower their workforce and failing to unlock the full potential of data.
Democratizing business intelligence by giving all employees the tools to gain better insights is key to success. Power BI has been designed to integrate seamlessly with the Microsoft apps and interfaces that employees already use to bring business intelligence to every level of your organization.
Unlock business intelligence with the Bauen Group
Maximize the gains of business intelligence with the Bauen Group and our competent team of IT specialists and experts. Power BI is designed to help your business make light work of heavy data analysis. At the Bauen Group, we can help that go even further.
If you’re looking for business intelligence to help decision making, Microsoft Power BI should be your first choice. To learn more about the incredible advantages of Power BI and the wider Microsoft Power Platform, get in contact with the team at the Bauen Group today.
