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Microsoft launched Power BI in 2014. Needless to say, it’s one of the most powerful data visualization and analytics tool that helps businesses extract data from multiple sources and derive meaningful insights out of it. There’s no second thought about the fact that it’s one of the most potent tools for organizations providing business intelligence services.

Here are 9 awesome facts about Power BI that make it one of the best data analysis tools.

1> Interactive visualizations and easy integration with MS tools

Power BI brings with it unique visualizations and interactive dashboards that provide a consolidated view of a business’s performance. It comes with a free canvas for drag and drop navigation, an extensive library of interactive visualizations and enables quick creation and publishing of reports in the Power BI service.

Additionally, it allows users to create custom and more advanced visualizations. And since it’s a part of Microsoft business product suite, it’s easy to integrate with other Microsoft business products and tools, such as Microsoft Excel, Azure and SQL server.

2> Unlimited access to local and cloud data

Power BI stores all local information and data in the cloud in one centralized location that can be seamlessly accessed anywhere and at any point in time. The best part is that users can quickly build pre-built links to improve data import from solutions, such as Marketo, Salesforce and Google Analytics.

Moreover, users will be able to connect to different types of on-premises data storage such as SQL Server, Oracle and Hardtop. Power BI also has pre-built connectors to cloud storage such as, Google BigQuery and Amazon Azure.

3> Provides instant access to reports and dashboards for its data analytics

Power BI lets its users share reports with people anywhere in the world. The system also works seamlessly with leading operating systems, like Windows, iOS and Android. The alerts notify users of any upcoming updates or changes to the data so that all important KPI’s can be easily and immediately analyzed.

4> Allows integration in all software ecosystem

Developers of Microsoft Power BI have assured that the system can be embedded in all software ecosystems. Numerous third-party software and Microsoft tools are seamlessly working with Power BI. Microsoft is now currently working to extend the system’s connectivity so that users can import more databases and data sources.

5> Enables secure sharing of reports and data analysis

Microsoft Power Bi service allows users to publish their reports and visualizations directly on the internet and send them via e-mails. The reports remain available to any all who wish to access them. Access to the reports can also be limited to a particular person. This means reports remain secured, and chances of these getting tampered by a third person are next to zero.

• Provides excellent data modeling capabilities in Power BI data modeling

Data modeling is a function that connects multiple data sources in a BI tool using data relationships. The relationship defines how data sources are connected to each other. With the data modeling function in Microsoft Power BI, users can create custom calculations on existing tables. The results of these calculations can be directly presented in Power BI visualizations.

7> More data sources

Microsoft Power BI can seamlessly connect with 60+ popular solutions. This includes, but is not limited to Spark, Hadoop and SAP. There’s no need for users to have model data in their source systems, as data can be integrated directly with the Power BI engine. The system is also compatible with Windows, iOS and Android.

8> Programming knowledge for ad-hoc analysis not needed

Analysts often need to perform ad-hoc analysis. Power BI makes this task easy for analysts. Tasks such as data analysis, dynamic calculations and data visualizations are very easy to perform with this tool, unlike other data analysis tools.

9> Provides Access to a Strong Knowledge Base

Microsoft has an intuitive interface that does not require a lot of time and effort to adopt. It also has a dedicated and robust knowledge base built for years. Tutorials, videos and presentations are available for new users so that they can make its best possible use and find quick solutions to problems themselves. Microsoft boasts of a community with more than 1 million users where users share their experiences and look for answers to their questions.

So, here were 9 reasons why Power BI is one of the best tools for data analysis. Let us know what you think in the comment section, and feel free to share if we’ve missed out any.