A new development has been causing a stir in both the Microsoft and business intelligence worlds. Everyone’s talking about Power Automate Visual for Power BI. But why? And what exactly is Power Automate Visual? If you’re asking yourself those questions, you’ve come to the right place.

The power to create Flows in Power BI

“Actionable insights” is a phrase you hear a lot in the business intelligence space. The ability to take learnings from the data you analyze and put them to direct use. In essence, that’s at the core of Power Automate Visual for Power BI. It’s a new feature that enables users to action the insights Power BI delivers more easily and effectively than ever.

Okay, so that’s the “what” – time for the “how”. Another element of the Power Platform, alongside Power BI, is Power Automate. It allows you to create automated workflows between apps and services, so users can take action in one place and trigger events to take place elsewhere. Power Automate Visual brings Power Automate functionality into Power BI, so now its “Flows” can be created and activated directly within Power BI.

More integration, more efficiency

Power BI learnings can now be acted upon, and data can be harnessed, in only a matter of clicks – and without leaving Power BI itself. It’s Microsoft’s latest step in an even more joined-up Power Platform, where the individual elements work more seamlessly with others in the ecosystem, as well as third-party tools outside it.

In business benefit terms, greater integration between your organization’s tools means employees can use them with greater efficiency and effectiveness. The more integrated your technology investment is in this way, the more value it offers to your business. More efficient processes also mean an organization can be more agile and cost-effective, and streamlined access to information means more informed decisions can be made.

However, let’s go beyond relatively abstract, high-level benefits and look at the nuts and bolts. What does the ability to create Flows in Power BI mean in practice?

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Just some of the possibilities

There are many possibilities when you create Flows in Power BI. A few of the most basic things you can now do include the following:

  • Update Excel tables using Power BI data
  • Send a Teams message from Power BI
  • Create a task or SharePoint Item

Think about what just these three simple functions would allow you to do. The latest information can now be brought into Excel easily or even automatically. Teams messages with data-driven alerts and insights can be delivered to all relevant team members. And Power BI data can be used to kick off entire business processes and tasks. All without leaving a Power BI report.

Simple to use but powerful

From the low-code development capabilities of Power Apps to Power BI’s user-friendly business intelligence, Microsoft’s Power Platform is designed for ease of use. And it’s simple to use Power Automate Visual, too. Here’s a brief overview of what you need to do to start using it:

  1. Drag and drop the data fields you need into the “field well”
  2. Set up your Flow by following the instructions given
  3. Connect it to a button that will appear in your Power BI report.

Next, you can add any data fields that you want to use as dynamic inputs to the Flow, share the Flow with report readers, and specify which users or groups should be allowed to run it. That’s basically all you need to know to begin with, but Microsoft have also provided in-depth instructions for beginners in their Power Automate Visual announcement blog – check it out.

Making the most of Power Automate Visual for Power BI

We’re excited about the new possibilities provided by Power Automate Visual for Power BI. And we hope this article has opened your eyes to some of the powerful abilities this new functionality offers.

At the Bauen Group, we want to help organizations everywhere to harness new developments like Power Automate Visual and find new, smarter, and better ways to work, seize business opportunities, and move forward. And, as Microsoft experts who are fluent in the Power Platform and all parts of the Microsoft stack, we believe we’re the perfect people to do that. Ready to get started?

Want to discuss how the Bauen Group can help you make the most of Power Automate Visual for Power BI? Need some help to create Flows in Power BI and make your business intelligence start working harder for your business? Let’s talk.