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reviewer1494948 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager Analytic & Insights at a hospitality company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Jul 11, 2021
Flexible, easy to scale, good reporting, and good support
Pros and Cons
  • "The visualization and reporting are the most valuable features of this solution, and it is quite flexible for reporting purposes."
  • "This solution is resource-heavy. I would like to see it consume fewer resources."

What is most valuable?

The visualization and reporting are the most valuable features of this solution.

It is quite flexible for reporting purposes.

What needs improvement?

This solution is resource-heavy. I would like to see it consume fewer resources. When I use it on my laptop, it consumes a lot of resources.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used this solution within the last 12 months.

We are using the latest version.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It can scale easily.

We have more than 50 people who are using this solution in my company. Across the company, most are in marketing and finance.

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power BI
July 2026
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How are customer service and support?

I would rate the technical support an eight out of ten.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We use Oracle BI and Oracle OBIEE.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was pretty straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It would be better if the price was cheaper.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution and suggest they use it.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1620273 - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Warehouse Engineer at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Jul 10, 2021
Easy to use and flexible but can't handle big data
Pros and Cons
  • "The product is easy to use and simple to navigate."
  • "The solution is very stable, easy to use, simple to navigate, quite flexible, and scalable enough to do the work that we want it to."
  • "The product doesn't support unstructured data. It doesn't support video, streaming, and strings of files."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution primarily for making dashboards. We are also doing analytics on Microsoft BI.

What is most valuable?

The solution is very stable.

The product is easy to use and simple to navigate.

The product has proven to be quite flexible.

It is quite scalable and it is doing the work that we want it to. 

What needs improvement?

We'd like the solution to be more scalable. 

We'd like the ability to manage it on the cloud, as a cloud-based solution. It is running out of business as it is not able to keep pace with the big data. Big data is not something that BI can support. It cannot be scaled that much. 

The product doesn't support unstructured data. It doesn't support video, streaming, and strings of files. Microsoft is aware of this.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for seven to eight years at this point. It's been a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable and the performance is very good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is quite scalable, although, in our case, as we are not on the cloud, we are facing some issues.

We have more than ten people using the solution currently.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've never reached out to technical support in the past. I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are. 

How was the initial setup?

I wasn't a part of the initial setup. That was something that was handled by another team. I can't speak to how long it took to deploy.

My understanding is that you only need two people to deploy the solution. Admins usually handle it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't have any insights into the licensing and payments required. 

What other advice do I have?

We are using the latest version of the solution. I'm not sure of the exact version number. 

I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten. For us, it has met our expectations and we enjoy its capabilities.

I'd recommend this product to other users and organizations.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power BI
July 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power BI. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: July 2026.
908,877 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Operations Coordinator at CambriLearn
Real User
Jul 10, 2021
Useful Natural Language feature, reliable, and good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "I have found the most valuable feature of this solution is the Natural Language tool."
  • "The solution could benefit by allowing deeper data analytics."

What is most valuable?

I have found the most valuable feature of this solution is the Natural Language tool.

What needs improvement?

The solution could benefit by allowing deeper data analytics.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft BI for approximately four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

How are customer service and technical support?

I was satisfied with the technical support.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Microsoft BI an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Data Scientist at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Real User
Jul 9, 2021
Reports creation easy, useful dashboards, and good online community support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are the easy creation of reports, dashboards, and the ability to perform analysis. It is important for us to create reports because we have some operations during certain hours and we can use this tool to track the information."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using this solution to create dashboards and reports for business analytics. We are in the early stages of testing and we have yet to determine if we are going to continue using the solution. We have to fully evaluate the solution first.

    How has it helped my organization?

    The use of the dashboards with analytics has helped our organization.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable features are the easy creation of reports, dashboards, and the ability to perform analysis. It is important for us to create reports because we have some operations during certain hours and we can use this tool to track the information. Additionally, it is a benefit they are adding more features all the time, such as machine learning.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution within the past 12 months.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is stable.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I never needed to use technical support. However, they have a good online community where I found documentation, a lot of general information, and tutorial videos on YouTube and Google.

    How was the initial setup?

    The installation is simple.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price for this solution is reasonable. However, there is an additional cost if you want to publish the dashboard privately.

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate Microsoft BI a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Senior Manager at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User
    Jun 30, 2021
    User-friendly, stable, and integrates well with other data sources
    Pros and Cons
    • "The interface is very easy to use."
    • "The integration with other data sources is very easy and very handy."
    • "The on-premises version lacks some technical features that are available with the Cloud version."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this solution for our departmental reports, which are accessible from Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint.

    What is most valuable?

    Microsoft BI is very friendly.

    The interface is very easy to use.

    The integration with other data sources is very easy and very handy.

    What needs improvement?

    The on-premises version lacks some technical features that are available with the Cloud version.

    There is definitely room for improvement.

    The visualization is lacking, it needs improvement.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Microsoft BI for one year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Microsoft BI is a stable solution.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have not contacted technical support.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Previously, we did not use another solution.

    How was the initial setup?

    From a technical perspective, the installation is straightforward.

    It took one week to deploy.

    The deployment was done by the database team.

    You only need one person to maintain this solution.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We did not evaluate other solutions before choosing Microsoft BI.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend the cloud version of this solution.

    I would rate Microsoft BI an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Director at Decision Science
    Real User
    Jun 28, 2021
    Saves time in preprocessing stage, but it needs to be more user-friendly for non-technical users
    Pros and Cons
    • "I like the downloadable visualizations a lot. I think that they give the user a very nice starting point in creating awesome dashboards, with the right way to tell their data story."
    • "The biggest improvement comes from a do it once, refresh many concept, where users build their reports once and then simply refresh the data, giving them a lot more time to perform analysis, which is the real added value to the business."
    • "Some kind of expression wizard, where the user can build a complex expression without any knowledge of DAX, can be a good addition to the product."
    • "Solving things in DAX is not a nice approach to a user that has no knowledge of IT nor wants to get it."

    What is our primary use case?

    Since we are a consulting company, our cases vary from customer to customer and from department to department, but mainly we have found two "standard" cases: Business users connecting to a DWH, or trying to consolidate several Excel workbooks to create business dashboards.

    In the DWH cases, it is simpler since most of the data transformations and modeling are done by IT, but in the 'spreadsheet world', it becomes more complicated.

    Users try to move from a huge table filled with numbers and "color-coded" cells to data visualizations, sometimes not even knowing how to write a simple Excel expression.

    How has it helped my organization?

    The biggest improvement comes from a "do it once, refresh many" concept. The users used to perform a lot of massaging on the data itself prior to the analysis phase. Now, they build their reports and refresh the data, so they have a lot more time to perform analysis, which is the real added value to the business.

    Unlike other tools (like Tableau), getting to this point took a lot of resources in training, but when the users got there, it is a real time saver for them, allowing them to focus more on analysis, not on data manipulation.

    What is most valuable?

    I like the downloadable visualizations a lot. I think that they give the user a very nice starting point in creating awesome dashboards, with the right way to tell their data story.

    Data Modeling is very simple and powerful for an experienced user, but I think it needs some improvement for the non-technical people. Besides this, it allows us to save a lot of time in data "massaging" prior to the analysis phase.

    Reports are quite easy to build, even when some programming concepts are needed. Some users struggle with DAX a lot!

    What needs improvement?

    I think Power BI needs to focus more on the end-user (i.e. the business user). Solving things in DAX is not a nice approach to a user that has no knowledge of IT nor wants to get it.

    Some kind of expression wizard, where the user can build a complex expression without any knowledge of DAX, can be a good addition to the product.

    I see a lot of materials on how to go about doing things in Power BI, but Microsoft can add a "learning path". It would instruct users where to start, then what to learn next, etc, to sort out their learning journey.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Microsoft BI for ~four years.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1597356 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Certification Division at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees
    Real User
    Jun 13, 2021
    Feature-rich, scalable, and is easy to install
    Pros and Cons
    • "Microsoft BI is scalable."
    • "I would like to see better, undisturbed stability without any interruptions."

    What is our primary use case?

    I am using this solution for official purposes and for my personal needs. I use it to sort my documents.

    What is most valuable?

    I have yet to experience all of the useful applications. I need to experience a lot more.

    What needs improvement?

    I would like to see better, undisturbed stability without any interruptions.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with Microsoft products for three decades.

    I believe we are using Version 10.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Because our internet here is not constant, it fluctuates, which is why I don' use the cloud-based version.

    It is not stable. The stability could be improved.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Microsoft BI is scalable.

    We have more than 50 users in our organization. More of the users are technical people.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have an IT technical expert in our organization. If we have any issues, he is the person who resolves them.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is straightforward. It is very easy to install.

    What about the implementation team?

    I completed the installation myself. I did not need the help of an integrator or consultant.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I am considering personalization but I don't know what the possibilities and the advantages of it are.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to others who are considering it.

    I would rate Microsoft BI an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Data Science Intern at Clockworkx Gmbh
    Real User
    Jun 11, 2021
    A business analytics solution that handles a large amount of data, but the types of plots you can use are limited
    Pros and Cons
    • "I liked that Microsoft Power BI handles a large amount of data. I can handle hundreds of rows from Postgres in a few minutes. I also like how it detects the relationship between the tables without explicitly saying that. It just detects the relationship automatically. That made it easier to work with the data."
    • "It's not really complicated, but I didn't find the things I was looking for. The ones I used to work with within Dash are more open, and there are more choices. But with Power BI, there are only limited types of plots that I can use. For example, when I wanted to put the plots in Power BI, there was no extendable space. You have a limited page where you can place a maximum of three plots in that, and you can't do more than that on a single page. You have to create a new page, a different page for that. That made it a bit annoying, and the filtering part is limited, with basic functions. If you want to make custom filtering or custom functions, you can't do that."
    • "When I want to use my old code in Power BI, it doesn't handle it, and that was also annoying."

    What is our primary use case?

    We have some monitoring data from turbines, and we want to plot the data to monitor the health state of turbines in different time stamps. I tried to download some data from the Postgres database and then do some plotting with that. I also tried to link different plots with each other to filter them and things like that.

    What is most valuable?

    I liked that Microsoft Power BI handles a large amount of data. I can handle hundreds of rows from Postgres in a few minutes. I also like how it detects the relationship between the tables without explicitly saying that. It just detects the relationship automatically. That made it easier to work with the data.

    What needs improvement?

    It's not really complicated, but I didn't find the things I was looking for. The ones I used to work with within Dash are more open, and there are more choices. But with Power BI, there are only limited types of plots that I can use.

    For example, when I wanted to put the plots in Power BI, there was no extendable space. You have a limited page where you can place a maximum of three plots in that, and you can't do more than that on a single page. You have to create a new page, a different page for that. That made it a bit annoying, and the filtering part is limited, with basic functions. If you want to make custom filtering or custom functions, you can't do that.

    Suppose you want to code a plot, Python available. You can code the plot you want, and you don't have to use a predefined one. But when you want to plot it and you want to import like five or ten packages in Python, there are limitations. It doesn't support all the libraries that Python has. Microsoft BI only supports a few, like three or four libraries at most. When I want to use my old code in Power BI, it doesn't handle it, and that was also annoying.

    In the next release, it'll help if they added a coding area where you are more open to make custom things. Especially for a developer, it needs to be improved. For a Power BI person, it's fine, I think, because it doesn't require much technical knowledge, but a developer will need it. Maybe they should create a space for that.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Microsoft BI for the last three months. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It's stable, but it's so slow. Sometimes it takes some time to respond, especially when you put two or three plots with big data. It becomes very slow.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I didn't contact technical support as I used the support on the internet. I'm satisfied with the documentation, but I didn't find what I was looking for.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I was using Dash Open Source, but when I discovered that it would take a lot of time, I wanted to define a platform for that. So, Power BI was the solution. Now I want to try Tableau, but I haven't had a chance to do that yet.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I used a two months free trial to see if it had what I needed. I can pay later for a full license, but I don't think I will do that.

    What other advice do I have?

    On a scale from one to ten, I would give Microsoft BI a six.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1586415 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Associate Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Top 5
    Jun 7, 2021
    Suitable for smaller businesses, scalable, but large data challenges
    Pros and Cons
    • "In my experience the scalability is good. You are able to increase users and add more data."
    • "When there are large amounts of data being processed there are additional tools needed to handle it."

    What is our primary use case?

    Microsoft BI can be used for business data visualization.

    What needs improvement?

    When there are large amounts of data being processed there are additional tools needed to handle it.

    In an upcoming release, there could be an associative experience, such as in Qlik.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for approximately four years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is good but as you add more data the stability decreases.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    In my experience the scalability is good. You are able to increase users and add more data.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup can be easy if you have a small amount of data being used. I have found Qlik is better if you have large amounts of data.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have a team of approximately 20 people that handle BI operations.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The solution is priced well for what they offer. However, the premium version is very expensive.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I have evaluated Tableau and Qlik.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to those that have smaller businesses where they have lower user numbers and not a lot of data points. If they have a larger business I would choose an alternative, such as Qlik.

    I rate Microsoft BI a seven out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Hybrid Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
    PeerSpot user
    it_user1590450 - PeerSpot reviewer
    BI technical analyst at a government with 11-50 employees
    Real User
    Jun 1, 2021
    Priced well, responsive technical support, but needs to be simplified
    Pros and Cons
    • "The scalability is good. We have 20 people in my organization using this solution and plan to increase usage."
    • "Power BI is cheaper for smaller groups when comparing to competitors."
    • "In an upcoming release, the solution could be simplified and have a more complete product package rather than a suite of products that we have to put together."

    What is our primary use case?

    This solution can be used for enterprise reporting, ad hoc visualization, and statistical analysis.

    What needs improvement?

    In an upcoming release, the solution could be simplified and have a more complete product package rather than a suite of products that we have to put together.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for approximately one year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    In my experience, I have found this solution scalable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability is good. We have 20 people in my organization using this solution and plan to increase usage.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support has been good and the responses have been fast.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I have used other business intelligence solutions previously and I switched because this solution was cheaper and is on a Microsft platform.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is more complicated than other solutions. Microsoft typically has more involved installations. 

    What about the implementation team?

    I did the implementation myself. We have three administrators doing the deployment and maintains of the solution.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Power BI is cheaper for smaller groups when comparing to competitors. It requires a monthly per-user subscription.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I have evaluated Tableau.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to others.

    I rate Microsoft BI a seven out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Microsoft Power BI Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: July 2026
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Microsoft Power BI Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.