What is Power BI Used for & How Does it Work?

Data is the new oil, they say. But what good is oil if you can’t refine it?

That’s where Power BI comes in.

What is Power BI used for?

With the help of this tool, you can turn raw data into valuable insights. You can finally make sense of all the numbers and charts that have been bothering you. Consequently, make wise decisions and gain a competitive edge.

Need proof?

Let me share the story of an online store in Arlington.

They were struggling to make sense of their sales data. Until they discovered the wonders of Power BI. It helped them increase their revenue by 25% in one year.

They are currently making wise business judgments faster than you can say “data visualization.” Consequently, boost their sales and improve their marketing strategy.

In this blog you will learn:

Table of Content:

1. What is Power BI Used for?
2. Advantages of Using Power BI
3. Disadvantages of Using Power BI
4. Visualizations in Power BI
5. How to Create Charts & Dashboards in Power BI?
6. Wrap Up

What is Power BI, and how does it work?

Let’s find out.

What is Power BI Used for?

What does Power BI do? It lets you connect to multiple data sources and transform and clean the data. Then create interactive visualizations and reports.

Here are some of the key uses of Power BI:

• Data Visualization

One of the primary uses of Power BI is data visualization. It allows you to create interactive visualizations that help you understand complex data sets quickly. Also, you can customize the visualizations to suit your needs that resonate with your brand identity.

• Data Analysis

Power BI offers robust data analysis capabilities, including modeling, visualization, and exploration. You can connect to various data sources and clean and transform data. Then perform complex calculations to glean valuable insights that inform decision-making.

• Business Intelligence Reporting

Power BI is a potent business intelligence reporting tool. You can create custom reports that offer insights into your operations. You can use these reports to track performance, monitor KPIs, and pinpoint improvement areas.

• Real-time Data Analysis

Power BI facilitates data analysis in real-time. It lets you connect to streaming data sources and create real-time dashboards and reports. You can monitor key metrics and make informed decisions using these real-time data analysis features.

• Data Integration

Power BI connects you to data sources like Excel spreadsheets, SQL databases, and cloud-based services. This empowers you to consolidate your data and create a unified view of your business operations.

Advantages of Using Power BI

Power BI has several advantages that make it a popular choice among businesses:

• Intuitive Interface

Power BI’s user-friendly interface makes importing data from various sources easy. Then create reports and perform data analysis without coding or technical expertise.

• Customizable Visualizations

Charts, graphs, and tables are among the many pre-built visualizations available in Power BI. You can customize these visuals to suit your requirements. It allows you to change elements like color, size, shape, and layout.

• Cloud-Based Service

Power BI is a cloud-based service, which means you can access your data and reports from anywhere. You can also collaborate with team members and share reports with stakeholders easily.

• Integration with Other Microsoft Products

Power BI integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products, including Excel, SharePoint, and Dynamics 365. This facilitates data consolidation, making analysis a breeze.

Disadvantages of Using Power BI

While Power BI has several advantages, it also has some disadvantages:

• Steep Learning Curve

Power BI has a steep learning curve, particularly for users new to data analytics. Learning how to use the tool efficiently can take some time.

• Limited Free Version

Power BI has a limited free version, which may not be suitable for businesses with complex data needs. This necessitates you to purchase a paid subscription to access all the features.

• Data Security Concerns

Power BI stores your data in the cloud, which may raise data security concerns for some businesses. Ensuring your data is secure and protected from unauthorized access is essential.

• Limited Customization Options

You can customize the appearance of the visualizations. However, you have less control over the layout and formatting of the reports.

Visualizations in Power BI

Power BI supports a wide range of visualizations that help you quickly understand your data. Here are some of the popular visualizations in Power BI:

• Area Charts

An Area Chart plots point on a graph and connect them with straight or curved lines to form an area. The area between the line and the x-axis is filled with color or shading. Area charts are useful for showing changes in data over time and comparing multiple data sets. See the example of profit data mapped on an Area Chart below.

• Doughnut Charts

A Doughnut Chart resembles a Pie Chart but differs in that it has a hole in the center. Doughnut Charts help illustrate how the parts and the whole relate. They present data in percentages.

• Treemaps

Treemaps represent hierarchical data in a rectangular form. Power BI offers Treemaps for displaying various levels of information in nested square shapes. A distinct color represents each level of the hierarchy.

• Sankey Diagram

A Sankey Diagram illustrates how information or resources flow between sources. It has a series of interconnected pathways symbolizing the flow. These diagrams show intricate systems or procedures, such as the movement of materials, energy, or money.

In the next section, we will teach how to create charts and dashboards in Power BI.

How to Create Charts & Dashboards in Power BI?

We’ll divide the process into 5 distinct stages:

Stage 1: Logging in to Power BI

• Log in to Power BI.
• Enter your email address and click the “Submit” button.

• You are redirected to your Microsoft account.
• Enter your password and click “Sign in“.

• You can choose whether to stay signed in.

• Once done, the Power BI home screen will open.

Stage 2: Creating a Data Set and Selecting the Data Set to Use in Your Sankey Chart

• • Go to the left-side menu and click the “Create” button.
• Select “Paste or manually enter data“.

• We’ll use the following cash flow data for this example.

Earnings Source	Revenue	Expenses & Profit	Departments	Categories	Amount
Providing services	Revenue	Expenses	Managerial	Training Sessions	10,000
Providing services	Revenue	Expenses	Managerial	Office rental	16,000
Providing services	Revenue	Expenses	Managerial	Wages	9,400
Providing services	Revenue	Expenses	Commercial	Wages	11,300
Sales of products	Revenue	Expenses	Commercial	Travel allowance	10,000
Sales of products	Revenue	Expenses	Commercial	Advertising	12,000
Sales of products	Revenue	Expenses	Production	Material Payment	25,000
Sales of products	Revenue	Expenses	Production	Loan Payment	8,500
Sales of products	Revenue	Expenses	Production	Wages	19,500
Loans	Revenue	Gross Profit		Taxes	11,000
Loans	Revenue	Gross Profit		Net Profit	13,000

• Paste the above data table in the Power Query Window.

• Select the “Create a dataset only” option.

• On the left-side menu, click “Data Hub“.
• Power BI populates the data set list.

• Choose a data set for the Sankey chart.
• PBI populates the screen as shown below:

• Click on the “Create a report” dropdown.
• Select “Start from scratch“.

• A Report Canvas screen appears as below:

Stage 3: Adding the Power BI Sankey Diagram Extension by ChartExpo

• Creating the Sankey Diagram requires us to use an add-in or Power BI visual from AppSource.
• Navigate to the right side of the Power BI dashboard.
• Open the Power BI Visualizations panel.
• Click the ellipsis symbol (…) as highlighted in the diagram below. This will import the Power BI Sankey Diagram extension by ChartExpo.

• The following menu opens:
• Select the “Get more visuals” option.

• The following window opens.
• Enter “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” in the highlighted search box.
• You should see the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo”, as shown in the image below.

• Click the highlighted “Add” button.

• Power BI will add the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” in the visualization panel.

Stage 4: Drawing a Sankey Diagram with ChartExpo’s Power BI extension

• Select the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” icon in the visualization panel.
• The following window opens in the report section of your dashboard:

• You can resize the visual as needed.
• Navigate to the right side of your Power BI dashboard.
• You should see “Fields” next to “Visualizations“.

• You’ll select the fields to use in your Sankey chart here.
• The ChartExpo visual needs to be selected, though. Select the field in the following sequence:
  1. Earning Source
  2. Revenue
  3. Expenses & Profit
  4. Departments
  5. Categories
  6. Amount

• You’ll be asked for a ChartExpo license key or email address.

Stage 5: Activate your ChartExpo Trial or Apply a Subscription Key

• Select the ChartExpo visual.
• You should see three icons below “Build Visual” in the Visualizations panel.

• Select the middle icon, “Format visual“. The visual properties will be populated as shown below.

• To begin using ChartExpo as a new user;
  • Enter your email address in the textbox under the “Trial Mode” section. ChartExpo will send the License key to this email upon subscribing to the add-in.
  • Ensure you provide an accurate and up-to-date email address.
  • Toggle “Enable Trial” to activate your 7-day trial.

• • You should receive a welcome email from ChartExpo.
  • If you do not find the email in your inbox, kindly check your spam folder as well.
  • The Sankey Diagram you create under the 7-day trial contains the ChartExpo watermark.
• If you have obtained a license key:
  • Enter your license key in the “ChartExpo License Key” textbox in the “License Settings” section (see below).
  • Slide the toggle switch next to “Enable License” to “On“.

• Your Sankey Diagram will then appear without a watermark.
• Let’s add colors to each node. Expand the “Level Colors” properties and select the colors.

• All changes will be automatically saved.

• Let’s add the prefix (e.g., $ sign) with the numeric values in the chart.
• Expand the “Stats” properties.
• Add the prefix value (e.g., the $ sign).

• Your final chart will look like the one below.

Insights

• The company’s primary source of revenue is product sales, accounting for 50.48% of the total revenue.
• The total revenue is $179K.
• Of the total revenue, $146K (81.9%) were expenses, while the remaining $32.3K (18.1%) was the gross profit.
• The expenses include managerial, commercial, and production expenses, which amount to $44.4K, $39.8K, and $62.2K, respectively.
• The gross profit is divided into taxes and net profit, which are $16K and $16.3K, respectively.
• The managerial node is divided into training sessions, wages, and office rental. These amounted to $13.2K, $14.4K, and $16.8K, respectively.

FAQs:

What is Microsoft Power BI?

Microsoft Power BI is a business analytics tool that helps businesses make data-driven decisions. It lets you connect to multiple data sources and transform and clean the data. Then create interactive visualizations and reports for gleaning insights.

How much does Power BI cost?

Power BI has free and several paid versions, depending on your needs. The paid versions start at $9.99 to $4,995 per user per month. On the flip side, the free version has limited features.

What should I use Power BI for?

You can use Power BI to connect to different data sources and transform and model the data. Then create charts and graphs, and build reports and dashboards. Also, Power BI allows you to create real-time dashboards and perform real-time analytics.

Wrap Up

In a nutshell, Power BI’s primary function is to help you analyze and interpret your business’s data. Data visualizations you produce with this tool help you make better decisions and boost productivity.

Without a doubt, Power BI is the best business intelligence and data visualization tool on the market. It lets you easily create and customize visualizations. Moreover, you can connect to data sources like Excel spreadsheets, databases, and cloud-based services. Consequently, create a unified view of your business operations.

Power BI has potent modeling and visualization capabilities allowing for efficient data analysis. You can quickly make sense of large data sets and gain a competitive advantage.

Are you still on the fence about what Power BI is used for?

Hopefully, this discussion has provided a better understanding of Power BI and its uses.

Go ahead and start using this tool and ChartExpo to your benefit.