Applied microsoft power bi Bring your data to life

MicrosoftDataAnalytics


AppliedMicrosoftPowerBI
Bringyourdatatolife!
TeoLachev


PrologikaPress


AppliedMicrosoftPowerBI
Bringyourdatatolife!


Publishedby:
PrologikaPress



Copyright©2016TeoLachev
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproduced,stored,ortransmittedinanyformorbyany
means,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher.Requestsforpermissionshouldbesentto

Trademarknamesmayappearinthispublication.Ratherthanuseatrademarksymbolwitheveryoccurrenceof
atrademarkedname,thenamesareusedstrictlyinaneditorialmanner,withnointentionoftrademark
infringement.Theauthorhasmadeallendeavorstoadheretotrademarkconventionsforallcompaniesand
productsthatappearinthisbook,however,hedoesnotguaranteetheaccuracyofthisinformation.
Theauthorhasmadeeveryeffortduringthewritingofthisbooktoensureaccuracyofthematerial.However,
thisbookonlyexpressestheauthor’sviewsandopinions.Theinformationcontainedinthisbookisprovided

withoutwarranty,eitherexpressorimplied.Theauthor,resellersordistributors,shallnotbeheldliableforany
damagescausedorallegedtobecausedeitherdirectlyorindirectlybythisbook.

PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
ISBN13978-0-9766353-6-9
ISBN100-9766353-6-4
Author:TeoLachev
Editor:EdwardPrice
Reviewer:JenUnderwood
CoverDesigner:ZamirCreations


contents
CHAPTER1INTRODUCINGPOWERBI
PART1POWERBIFORBUSINESSUSERS
CHAPTER2THEPOWERBISERVICE
CHAPTER3VISUALIZINGDATA
CHAPTER4POWERBIMOBILE
PART2POWERBIFORDATAANALYSTS
CHAPTER5DATAMODELINGFUNDAMENTALS
CHAPTER6TRANSFORMINGDATA
CHAPTER7REFININGTHEMODEL
CHAPTER8IMPLEMENTINGCALCULATIONS
PART3POWERBIFORPROS
CHAPTER9ENABLINGTEAMBI
CHAPTER10ORGANIZATIONALBI
PART4POWERBIFORDEVELOPERS
CHAPTER11PROGRAMMINGFUNDAMENTALS
CHAPTER12EMBEDDINGREPORTS
CHAPTER13CREATINGCUSTOMVISUALS

GLOSSARYOFTERMS


foreword
Foreightconsecutiveyears,MicrosofthasbeenpositionedasaLeaderintheGartner
MagicQuadrantforBusinessIntelligenceandAnalyticsPlatforms.Whileeachyearhas
seenadvancesacrossourproductline,thispastyear’sprogressistrulyunprecedented.We
firmlybelieveMicrosoftnowofferstheindustry’smostcompleteandmodernbusiness
intelligenceproductfamily(withunmatchedbreadthanddepth)onpremisesorinthe
cloud.Althoughourteamsknewwherewewereheaded,ourcustomersdidnot.We
addressedthoseconcernsbyrevealingthefirstever,publicBusinessIntelligence
roadmap.NoweveryoneknowsthatourfutureisbrightwithPowerBIatourcore.
MicrosoftPowerBI2.0hasjustbeguntofundamentallydisruptthebusiness
intelligencemarket.ForMicrosoftbusinessintelligencefans,thejourneyuptothispoint
hasbeenunquestionablychallengingattimes.Todayourchallengeiskeepingupwithall
oftheexcitingmonthly,weeklyandevendailyreleases.PowerBIdevelopmentteamsare
movingatanastonishingpace.Thedatavisualizationframeworkwasopenlysharedvia
GitHubempoweringanyonetoextendtheofferings.UnlikePowerBI1.0thatwent
unnoticed,PowerBI2.0ismakingwavesinthemarket.SincetheDecember2014Power
BIpreview,therehasalreadybeenwidespreadadoptioninoveronemillionorganizations
across185countriesworldwide.
Lookingbackthereweremanyinvaluablelessonslearnedfromthepriorunsuccessful
launch.Mostimportantlytheengineeringteamslearnedtolistenmorecloselyto
customersandpartnersonadailybasis.Sincethecloudenvironmentenablesagile
developmentwithcontinuousreleasecycles,theteamsareabletorespondtomarket
changesfasterthantheyevercouldinthepast.Fromtechnicalarchitecturetoauthoring
toolsanduserexperiences,theentiresolutionwascompletelyreimaginedandredeployed
asapreviewinjustafewmonths.Thecloudisagamechanger.
OneofthemostsignificantandsensationalchangeswastheintroductionoffreePower
BIDesktop.PowerBIDesktopunifiestheformerExcelPowerTools(PowerPivot,Power

QueryandPowerView)intoonevastlyimproved,stand-alone,datadiscoverydesktop
applicationbuiltonamodernizedHTML5visualizationframework.UnliketheExcel
PowerToolspredecessors,PowerBIDesktophasabsolutelynodependenciesonExcelor
Office.PowerBIDesktopremovesadoptionfriction,improvestheanalyticsauthoring
userexperience,allowsforthird-partyextensionandultimatelyistheresultofMicrosoft
listeningtotheanalyticsmarket.ThemoveofPowerBIoutsideofExcelwasnoeasyfeat
politicallyandtechnically.
TheJuly2015GAreleaseofPowerBI2.0unveiledasleeknewdesignalongwiththe
newvisualizationframeworkandscalablehybridcloudarchitecturalfoundation.Italso
broughtnativemobileappsforiOS,AndroidandWindowstabletsandsmartphones.The
newarchitecturenowincludesaplethoraofin-memoryordirectconnectdatasourcesfor


largescaledeployments.Tofurthersupplementthethird-partyopensourcecustomdata
visualizationextensions,Rscriptintegrationwasaddedtoopenupaworldofunlimited
visualizationoptions.Pre-packagedSoftware-as-a-Service(SaaS)andorganizationallevel
datamodels,reportsanddashboardscanbesharedviacontentpacksmakingPowerBI
easierthaneverfornon-technicaluserstoenjoy.
NaturallanguagequeryhasimprovedandnowincludesvoicecommandsviaCortana.
IntelligentautomatedanalyticsisjuststartingtosurfacewiththelatestGetInsightsrelease
thathighlightskeyfindingsinadatasetfromidentifyingoutlierstonotingsignificant
changes.PowerBIEnterpriseGateway,DeveloperAPIsandtheseaofincrementalfeature
releasescontinuouslysurprisesanddelightsagrowingworldwidecommunity.Ithasnever
beenabettertimetobeaMicrosoftBIfan.Evenourskepticshavevoicedappreciationfor
thechangesinourdevelopmentapproachandourlatestofferings.
AsPowerBIswiftlyblossomsintothemarketleadingbusinessintelligencesolution,it
willbeaweaponthatalldataanalystswillwanttoincludeintheiranalyticsarsenal.The
truepowerinPowerBIcannotbeappreciatedwithoutunderstandingwhattheofferingcan
doandhowtobestuseit.Thatiswhyresourceslikethisfantasticbookwillbecome
instrumentalforyou.Thisbookstartsbyprovidinganoverviewofthefoundational

componentsofPowerBI.ItintroducesPowerBIDesktop,datamodelingconcepts,
buildingreports,publishinganddesigningdashboards.Readerswillbeupandrunningin
notime.
Itthenmovesontobringyouuptospeedondeeperdivetopicssuchasdatagateways,
datarefresh,streaminganalytics,embeddingandthePowerBIdatavisualizationAPI.Not
onlyisTeooneofthefirstpeopleintheworldtolearnandwriteaboutPowerBI2.0,he
alsobringsawealthofknowledgefromdeployingthefirstreal-worldimplementations.
MuchlikeTeo’spreviousbooksonAnalysisServicesandReportingServices,thisPower
BIbookwillbeamustreadforseriousMicrosoftprofessionals.Itwillalsoempowerdata
analystsandenthusiastseverywhere.
Onaclosingnote,pleaseshareyourfeedbackwithTeoandtheMicrosoftPowerBI
teamsasyouembarkonyourownPowerBIjourney.MicrosoftPowerBIteamsdo
activelymonitorsocialmediachannels,thePowerBIcommunitysite,externalblogs,
YouTubevideos,andUserVoicemorecloselythaneverbefore.Youcanbeheard.You
canmakeadifference.Thisisnotonlyanew,differentandbetterPowerBI2.0–itisa
new,differentandbetterMicrosoft.

JenUnderwood
PrincipalProgramManager
MicrosoftBusinessIntelligence


preface
Tome,PowerBIisthemostexcitingmilestoneintheMicrosoftBIjourneysincecirca
2005,whenMicrosoftgotseriousaboutBI.PowerBIchangesthewayyougaininsights
fromdata;itbringsyouacloud-hosted,businessintelligenceandanalyticsplatformthat
democratizesandopensBItoeveryone.Itdoessounderasimplepromise:“fiveseconds
tosignup,fiveminutestowow!”
PowerBIhasplentytooffertoalltypesofuserswho’reinterestedindataanalytics.If
youareaninformationworker,whodoesn’thavethetimeandpatiencetolearndata

modeling,PowerBIletsyouconnecttomanypopularcloudservices(Microsoftreleases
newoneseveryweek!)andgetinsightsfromprepackageddashboardsandreports.Ifyou
consideryourselfadataanalyst,youcanimplementsophisticatedself-servicemodels
whosefeaturesareonaparwithorganizationalmodelsbuiltbyBIpros.
SpeakingofBIpros,PowerBIdoesn’tleaveusout.Wecanarchitecthybrid
organizationalsolutionsthatdon’trequiremovingdatatothecloud.Andbesidesclassic
solutionsfordescriptiveanalytics,wecanimplementinnovativePowerBI-centric
solutionsforreal-timeandpredictiveanalytics.Ifyou’readeveloper,you’lllovethe
PowerBIopenarchitecturebecauseyoucanintegratecustomapplicationswithPowerBI
andvisualizedatayourwaybyextendingitsvisualizationframework.
Fromamanagementstandpoint,PowerBIisahugeshiftintherightdirectionfor
MicrosoftandforMicrosoftBIpractitioners.Notsolongago,MicrosoftBIrevolved
exclusivelyaroundExcelonthedesktopandSharePointServerforteamBI.Thisstrategy
provedtobeproblematicbecauseofitscost,maintenance,andadoptionchallenges.Power
BIovercomesthesechallenges.Becauseithasnodependenciestootherproducts,it
removesadoptionbarriers.PowerBIgetsbettereveryweekandthisshouldallowusto
stayattheforefrontoftheBImarket.AsaPowerBIuseryou’realwaysonthelatestand
greatestversion.AndPowerBIhasthebestbusinessmodel:mostofitit’sfree!
IworkedcloselywithMicrosoft’sproductgroupstoprovideanauthoritative(yet
independent)viewofthistechnologyandtohelpyouunderstandwhereandhowtouseit.
OvermorethanadecadeinBI,I’vegatheredplentyofreal-lifeexperienceinsolvingdata
challengesandhelpingclientsmakesenseofdata.Idecidedtowritethisbooktoshare
withyouthisknowledge,andtohelpyouusethetechnologyappropriatelyandefficiently.
Asitsnamesuggests,themainobjectiveofAppliedMicrosoftPowerBIitsototeachyou
thepracticalskillstotakethemostofPowerBIfromwhateverangleyou’dliketo
approachit.
Somepeoplediscouragedmetowritethisbook.Afterall,tryingtocoveraproductthat
changeseveryweekisliketryingtohitamovingtarget!However,Ibelievethatthe
product’sfundamentalswon’tchangeandonceyougraspthem,youcaneasilyaddon
knowledgeasPowerBIevolvesovertime.BecauseIhadtodrawalinesomewhere,

AppliedMicrosoftPowerBIcoversallfeaturesthatwereannouncedatthePASSSummit
2015andthatwerereleasedbyDecember2015.
AlthoughthisbookisdesignedasacomprehensiveguidetoPowerBI,it’slikelythat
youmighthavequestionsorcomments.Aswithmypreviousbooks,I’mcommittedto
helpmyreaderswithbook-relatedquestionsandwelcomeallfeedbackonthebook
discussionforumsonmycompany’swebsite( />Considerfollowingmyblogatandsubscribingtomy
newsletteratwww.prologika.comtostayonthePowerBIlatest.Happydataanalytics
withPowerBI!
TeoLachev
Atlanta,GA


acknowledgements
Writingbooksishard!Andwritingabookaboutacloudplatform,whichaddsfeatures
weekly,isevenharder.Ontheupside,Icanclaimthatthisbookhasnobugs.Afterall,if
somethingdoesn’tworknow,itusedtoworkbefore,right?Onthedownside,Ihadto
changethemanuscripteverytimeanewfeaturepoppedup.Fortunately,Ihadpeoplewho
supportedme.
Thebook(myseventh)wouldnothavebeenarealitywithoutthehelpofmanypeople
towhomI’mthankful.Asalways,I’dliketofirstthankmyfamilyfortheirongoing
support.

Themainpersonasmentionedthroughoutthebook,asimaginedbymy12-yearoldson,
Martin,and15-yearolddaughter,Maya.
AsaMicrosoftMostValuableProfessional(MVP),I’vebeenprivilegedtoenjoyclose
relationshipswiththeMicrosoftproductgroups.It’sgreattoseethemworkingtogether!I
mustmentionafewnames.JenUnderwood(PrincipalProgramManageratthePowerBI
team)contributedthemosttothisbook!ShehelpedmeconnectthePowerBIdots(bars),

reviewedthebookmanuscript,andprovidedvaluablefeedback.ThankstoLukasz
Pawlowski(SeniorProgramManageratthePowerBIteam)forsheddinglightonreport
embedding.
Asalways,theAnalysisServicesteamhasbeenveryresponsive.Specialthanksto


AkshaiMirchandani,AshviniSharma,JeffreyWang,KasperdeJonge,andMarius
Dumitru.Thankstomyeditor,EdPrice,forhelpingmepolishmywritings.
Finally,thankyouforpurchasingthisbook!


aboutthebook
Thebookdoesn’tassumeanypriorexperiencewithdataanalytics.It’sdesignedasan
easy-to-followguidefornavigatingthepersonal-team-organizationalBIcontinuumwith
PowerBIandshowsyouhowthetechnologycanbenefitthefourtypesofusers:
informationworkers,dataanalysts,pros,anddevelopers.Itstartsbyintroducingyouto
theMicrosoftDataPlatformandtoPowerBI.Youneedtoknowthateachchapterbuilds
uponthepreviousones,tointroducenewconceptsandtopracticethemwithstep-by-step
exercises.Therefore,I’drecommendyoureadthechaptersanddotheexercisesinthe
ordertheyappearinthebook.
Part1,PowerBIforInformationWorks,teachesregularusersinterestedinbasicdata
analyticshowtoanalyzesimpledatasetswithoutmodelingandhowtoanalyzedatafrom
popularcloudserviceswithpredefineddashboardsandreports.Chapter2,ThePowerBI
Service,laysoutthefoundationofpersonalBI,andteachesyouhowtoconnecttoyour
data.InChapter3,VisualizingData,informationworkerswilllearnhowtocreatetheir
ownreportsanddashboards.Chapter4,PowerBIMobile,discussesthePowerBInative
mobileapplicationsthatallowyoutoviewandannotateBIcontentonthego.
Part2,PowerBIforDataAnalysts,educatespowerusershowtocreateself-service
datamodelswithPowerBIDesktop.Chapter5,DataModelingFundamentals,laysout
thegroundworktounderstandself-servicedatamodelingandshowsyouhowtoimport

datafromvirtuallyeverywhere.Becausesourcedataisalmostneverclean,Chapter6,
TransformingData,showsyouhowyoucanleveragetheuniquequerycapabilitiesof
PowerBIDesktoptotransformandshapethedata.Chapter7,RefiningtheModel,shows
youhowtomakeyourself-servicemodelmoreintuitiveandhowtojoindatafrom
differentdatasources.And,inChapter8,ImplementingCalculations,you’llfurther
extendthemodelwithusefulbusinesscalculations.
Part3,PowerBIforPros,teachesITproshowtosetupasecuredenvironmentfor
sharingandcollaboration,anditteachesBIproshowtoimplementPowerBI-centric
solutions.Chapter9,EnablingTeamBI,showsyouhowtousePowerBIworkspacesand
organizationalcontentpackstopromotesharingandcollaboration,wheremultiple
coworkersworkonthesameBIartifacts,andhowtocentralizeaccesstoon-premises
data.WrittenforBIpros,Chapter10,OrganizationalBI,walksyouthroughthestepsto
implementdescriptive,predictive,andreal-timesolutionsthatintegratewithPowerBI.
Part4,PowerBIforDevelopers,showsdevelopershowtointegrateandextendPower
BI.Chapter11,ProgrammingFundamentals,introducesyoutothePowerBIRESTAPIs
andteachesyouhowtouseOAuthtoauthenticatecustomapplicationswithPowerBI.In
Chapter12,EmbeddingReports,you’lllearnhowtoreport-enablecustomapplications
withembeddeddashboardsandreports.InChapter13,CreatingCustomVisuals,you’ll
learnhowtoextendthePowerBIvisualizationcapabilitiesbycreatingcustomvisualsto


presenteffectivelyanydata.

sourcecode
AppliedMicrosoftPowerBIcoverstheentirespectrumofPowerBIfeaturesformeeting
thedataanalyticsneedsofinformationworkers,dataanalysts,pros,anddevelopers.This
requiresinstallingandconfiguringvarioussoftwareproductsandtechnologies.Table1
liststhesoftwarethatyouneedforalltheexercisesinthebook.Dependingonyour
computersetup,youmightneedtodownloadandinstallothercomponents,asIexplain
throughoutthebook.

Table1Thecompletesoftwarerequirementsforpracticesandcodesamplesinthebook
Software

Setup

Purpose

Chapters

PowerBIDesktop

Required

Implementingself-servicedatamodels

5,6,7,8

VisualStudio2012(orhigher)Professional

Required

PowerBIprogramming

11,12,13

PowerBIMobilenativeapps
(iOS,Android,orWindowsdependingonyour
mobiledevice)

Recommended

PracticingPowerBImobilecapabilities

4

SQLServerDatabaseEngine
Developer,Standard,orEnterprise2012orlater
withthe
AdventureWorksDWdatabase

Recommended

Importingandprocessingdata

5

AnalysisServicesTabular
Developer,BusinessIntelligence,orEnterprise
2012orlateredition

Recommended

LiveconnectivitytoTabular

2,10

AnalysisServicesMultidimensional
Developer,Standard,BusinessIntelligence,or
Enterprise2012orlateredition

Optional

LiveconnectivitytoMultidimensional

5

ReportingServices
Developer,Standard,BusinessIntelligence,or
Enterprise2012orlater

Optional

ImportingfromSSRS

5

Althoughthelistislong,don’tdespair!Asyoucansee,mostofthesoftwareisnot
required.Inaddition,thebookprovidesthesourcedataastextfilesandithasalternative
stepstocompletetheexercisesifyoudon’tinstallsomeofthesoftware,suchasSQL
ServerorAnalysisServices.
Youcandownloadthebooksourcecodefromthebookpageat

Afterdownloadingthezipfile,extractittoanyfolderofyourharddrive.Oncethisis
done,you’llseeafolderforeachchapterthatcontainsthesourcecodeforthatchapter.
Thesourcecodeineachfolderincludesthechangesyouneedtomakeintheexercisesin
thecorrespondingchapter,plusanysupportingfilesrequiredfortheexercises.For
example,theAdventureWorks.pbixfileintheCh05folderincludesthechangesthat
you’llmakeduringtheChapter5practicesandincludesadditionalfilesforimporting
data.Saveyourfilesunderdifferentnamesorindifferentfoldersinordertoavoid
overwritingthefilesthatareincludedinthesourcecode.

NOTEThedatasourcesettingsofthesamplePowerBIDesktopmodelsinthisbookhaveconnectionstringsto
databasesandtextfiles.Ifyoudecidetotesttheprovidedsamplesandrefreshthedata,youhavetoupdatesomedata
sourcestoreflectyourspecificsetup.Todoso,openthePowerBIDesktopmodel,andthenclicktheEditQueries


buttonintheribbon’sHometab.SelectthequerythatfailstorefreshintheQueriespane,andthendouble-clickthe
SourcestepintheAppliedStepslist(QuerySettingspane).Changetheservernameorfilelocationasneeded.
InstallingtheAdventureWorksdatabases

SomeofthecodesamplesimportdatafromtheAdventureWorksDWdatabase.Thisisa
Microsoft-provideddatabasethatsimulatesadatawarehouse.
NOTEMicrosoftshipsAdventureWorksdatabaseswitheachversionofSQLServer.Morerecentversionsofthe
databaseshaveincrementalchangesandtheymighthavedifferentdata.Althoughthebookexercisesweretestedwith
theAdventureWorksDW2012database,youcanusealaterversionifyouwant.Dependingonthedatabaseversionyou
install,youmightfindthatreportsmightshowsomewhatdifferentdata.

FollowthesestepstodownloadtheAdventureWorksDW2012database:
1.OpentheMicrosoftSQLServerProductSamplesDatabasewebpageonCodeplex

().
2.ClicktheSQLServer2012DWtile.ThelinkURLasofthetimeofthiswritingis
Clickthe
AdventureWorksDW2012DataFilelink.
3.WhenInternetExplorerpromptsyou,clickRuntodownloadthefile.
4.OpenSQLServerManagementStudio(SSMS)andconnecttoyourSQLServerdatabase
instance.AttachtheAdventureWorksDW2012_Data.mdffile.Ifyou’renotsurehowto
attachadatabasefile,readtheinstructionsat />InstallingtheAdventureWorksAnalysisServicesmodels

Inchapter2and10,youconnecttotheAdventureWorksTabularmodel,andchapter5
hasanexerciseforimportingdatafromtheAdventureWorksMultidimensionalcube.If

youdecidetodotheseexercises,installtheAnalysisServicesmodelsasfollows:
1.OpentheMicrosoftSQLServerProductSamplesDatabasewebpageonCodeplex

().
2.ClicktheSQLServer2012DWtile.ThelinkURLasofthetimeofthiswritingis
/>3.Clickthe“AdventureWorksMultidimensionalModelsSQLServer2012”linkto
downloadthezipfile.
4.Followthestepsinthe“ReadmeforAnalysisServicesTutorialonMultidimensional
Modeling”sectionoftheofthe“SQLServerSamplesReadme”documentat
todeploytheAdventureWorkscube.
5.BacktotheSQLServer2012DWCodeplexpage,downloadandunzipthe
“AdventureWorksTabularModelSQLServer2012”file.
6.Followthestepsinthe“ReadmeforAdventureWorksDWTabularSQL2012”section
oftheofthe“SQLServerSamplesReadme”documentatto
deploytheAdventureWorksTabularmodel.
7.InSQLServerManagementStudio,connecttoyourAnalysisServicesinstance.
(MultidimensionalandTabularmustbeinstalledonseparateinstances.)
8.ExpandtheDatabasesfolder.YoushouldseetheSSASdatabase.


Reportingerrors

Pleasesubmitbugreportstothebookdiscussionliston />Confirmedbugsandinaccuracieswillbepublishedtothebookerratadocument.Alinkto
theerratadocumentisprovidedinthebookwebpage.Thebookincludeslinkstoweb
resourcesforfurtherstudy.DuetothetransientnatureoftheInternet,somelinksmightbe
nolongervalidormightbebroken.Searchingforthedocumenttitleisusuallysufficient
torecoverthenewlink.
YourpurchaseofAPPLIEDMICROSOFTPOWERBIincludesfreeaccesstoaweb
forumsponsoredbytheauthor,whereyoucanmakecommentsaboutthebook,ask
technicalquestions,andreceivehelpfromtheauthorandthecommunity.Theauthoris

notcommittedtoaspecificamountofparticipationorsuccessfulresolutionofthe
questionandhisparticipationremainsvoluntary.Youcansubscribetotheforumfromthe
author’spersonalwebsite />
abouttheauthor
TeoLachevisaconsultant,author,andmentor,withafocusonMicrosoftBusiness
Intelligence.ThroughhisAtlanta-basedcompany“Prologika”(aMicrosoftGoldPartner
inDataAnalytics)hedesignsandimplementsinnovativesolutionsthatbringtremendous
valuetohiscustomers.Teohasauthoredandco-authoredseveralSQLServerBIbooks,
andhehasbeenleadingtheAtlantaMicrosoftBusinessIntelligencegroupsincehe
foundeditin2010.MicrosofthasrecognizedTeo’sexpertiseandcontributionstothe
technicalcommunitybyawardinghimtheprestigiousMicrosoftMostValuable
Professional(MVP)statusfortwelveconsecutiveyears.



Chapter1

IntroducingPowerBI

Withoutsupportingdata,youarejustanotherpersonwithanopinion.Butdataisuselessif
youcan’tderiveknowledgefromit.And,thisiswhereMicrosoftdataanalyticsandPower
BIcanhelp!PowerBIchangesthewayyougaininsightsfromdata;itbringsyouacloudhosted,businessintelligenceandanalyticsplatformthatdemocratizesandopensBIto
everyone.PowerBImakesdataanalyticspervasiveandaccessibletoallusersundera
simplepromise“fivesecondstosignup,fiveminutestowow!”
ThisguidediscussesthecapabilitiesofPowerBI,andthischapterintroducesits
innovativefeatures.I’llstartbyexplaininghowPowerBIfitsintotheMicrosoftData
Platformandwhentouseit.You’lllearnwhatPowerBIcandofordifferenttypesof
users,includingbusinessusers,dataanalysts,professionals,anddevelopers.I’llalsotake
youonatourofthePowerBIfeaturesanditstoolset.

1.1WhatisMicrosoftPowerBI?
BeforeIshowyouwhatPowerBIis,I’llexplainbusinessintelligence(BI).You’ll
probablybesurprisedtolearnthatevenBIprofessionalsdisagreeaboutitsdefinition.In
fact,ForesterResearchofferstwodefinitions(see
/>DEFINITIONBroadlydefined,BIisasetofmethodologies,processes,architectures,andtechnologiesthat
transformrawdataintomeaningfulandusefulinformationthat’susedtoenablemoreeffectivestrategic,tactical,and
operationalinsightsanddecision-making.AnarrowerdefinitionofBImightrefertojustthetoplayersoftheBI
architecturalstack,suchasreporting,analytics,anddashboards.

Regardlessofwhichdefinitionyoufollow,PowerBIcanhelpyouwithyourdataanalytics
needs.

1.1.1UnderstandingBusinessIntelligence
ThedefinitionaboveisagoodastartingpointbuttounderstandBIbetter,youneedto
understanditsflavors.First,I’llcategorizewho’sproducingtheBIartifacts,andthenI’ll
showyouthedifferenttypesofanalyticaltasksthattheseproducersperform.
UnderstandingBIusagescenarios

I’llclassifyBIbyitsmainusersandproducedartifactsanddivideitintoself-service,
team,andorganizationalBI.
Self-serviceBI(orpersonalBI)–Self-serviceBIenablesdataanalyststooffloadeffort

fromITpros.Fromexample,MayaisabusinessuserandshewantstoanalyzeCRM
datafromSalesforce.MayacanconnecttoSalesforceandgetprepackageddashboards
andreportswithoutbuildingadatamodel.Inthemoreadvancedscenario,PowerBI
empowersanalyststobuilddatamodelsforself-servicedataexplorationandreporting.
SupposethatMartinfromthesalesdepartmentwantstoanalyzesomesalesdatathat’s
storedinaMicrosoftAccessdatabaseorinanExcelworkbook.Withafewclicks,
Martincanimportthedatafromvariousdatasourcesintoadatamodel(similartothe

oneshowninFigure1.1),buildreports,andgainvaluableinsights.Inotherwords,
PowerBIopensmakesdataanalyticsmorepervasivebecauseitenablesmoreemployees
toperformBItasks.


Figure1.1PowerBIallowsbusinessuserstobuilddatamodelswhosefeaturesareon
parwithprofessionalmodelsimplementedbyBIpros.
TeamBI–Businessuserscansharethereportsanddashboardsthey’veimplemented

withotherteammemberswithoutrequiringthemtoinstallmodelingorreportingtools.
SupposethatMartinwouldliketosharehissalesmodelwithhiscoworker,Maya.Once
MartinhasuploadedthemodeltoPowerBI,Mayacangoonlineandviewthereports
anddashboardsMartinhassharedwithher.Shecanevencreateherownreportsand
dashboardsthatconnecttoMartin’smodel.
OrganizationalBI(orcorporateBI)–BIprofessionalswhoimplementMicrosoftSQL

ServerAnalysisServicesMultidimensionalandTabularmodelswillfindthatPowerBI
allowsthemtoimplementhybridsolutionsthateliminatetheneedtomovedatatoPower
BI.Forexample,asaBIpro,ElenahasdevelopedaMultidimensionalorTabularmodel
layeredontopofthecompany’sdatawarehouse.Elenacaninstallconnectivitysoftware
onanon-premisescomputersothatPowerBIcanconnecttohermodel.Thisallows
businessuserstocreateinstantreportsanddashboardsinPowerBIbyleveragingthe
existinginvestmentinAnalysisServiceswithoutmovingdatatothecloud!
NOTETolearnmoreaboutAnalysisServices,IcoveredimplementingAnalysisServicesMultidimensionalmodels
inmybooks“AppliedMicrosoftAnalysisServices2005”andTabularmodelsin“AppliedMicrosoftSQLServer2012
AnalysisServices:TabularModeling”.


Understandingtypesofdataanalytics

ThemaingoalofBIistogetactionableinsightsthatleadtosmarterdecisionsandbetter
businessoutcomes.Therearethreetypesofdataanalytics(descriptive,predictive,and
prescriptive)thatcanhelpusersachievethisgoal.
Descriptiveanalyticsisretrospective.Itfocusesonwhathashappenedinthepastto
understandthecompany’sperformance.Thistypeofanalyticsisthemostcommonand
wellunderstood.Coupledwithagooddataexplorationtool,suchasPowerBIor
MicrosoftExcel,descriptiveanalyticshelpsyoudiscoverimporttrendsandunderstandthe
factorsthatledtothesetrends.Youdodescriptiveanalyticswhenyousliceanddicedata.
Forexample,abusinessanalystcancreateaPowerBIreporttodiscoversaletrendsby
year.Descriptiveanalyticscananswerquestions,suchas“Whoaremytop10
customers?”,“Whatisthecompany’ssalesbyyear,quarter,month,andsoon?”,“How
doesthecompany’sprofitcompareagainstthepredefinedgoalbybusinessunit,product,
time,andothersubjectareas?”
Predictiveanalyticsisconcernedwithwhatwillhappeninthefuture.Itusesdata
miningandmachinelearningalgorithmsdetermineprobablefutureoutcomesanddiscover
patternsthatmightnotbeeasilydiscerniblebasedonhistoricaldata.Thesehidden
patternscan’tbediscoveredwithtraditionaldataexplorationsincedatarelationships
mightbetoocomplexorbecausethere’stoomuchdataforahumantoanalyze.Typical
dataminingtasksincludeforecasting,customerprofiling,andbasketanalysis.Data
miningcananswerquestions,suchas,“Whataretheforecastedsalesnumbersforthenext
fewmonths?”,“Whatotherproductsisacustomerlikelytobuyalongwiththeproducthe
orshealreadychose?”,and,“Whattypeofcustomer(describedintermsofgender,age
group,income,andsoon)islikelytobuyagivenproduct?”AsitstandsPowerBIdoesn’t
havenativepredictivecapabilitiesbutitcanbeintegratedwithotherservicesand
products,suchasAzureMachineLearningandR.Forexample,ananalystcanbuilda
predictivemodelwiththeAzureMachineLearningserviceandthenvisualizetheresults
inPowerBI.Or,hecanimportforecasteddatafromanRscriptandthenpresentitona
PowerBIreport.
Finally,prescriptiveanalyticsgoesbeyondpredictiveanalyticstonotonlyattemptto
predictthefuturebutalsorecommendthebestcourseofactionandtheimplicationsof

eachdecisionoption.Typicalprescriptivetasksareoptimization,simulation,andgoal
seek.Whiletoolsfordescriptiveandpredictiveneedshavematured,prescriptiveanalytics
isanewcomerandcurrentlyisintherealmofstartupcompanies.Thegoodnewsisthat
youcangetprepackagedadvancedanalyticsandprescriptivesolutionswithCortana
AnalyticsSuite,suchassolutionsforproductrecommendationsandcustomerchurn.In
July2015,MicrosoftunveiledCortanaAnalyticsSuiteas“afullymanagedbigdataand
advancedanalyticssuitethatenablesyoutotransformyourdataintointelligentaction”.
Thesuiteincludesvariouscloud-basedservices,suchasAzureMachineLearningfor
predictiveanalytics,StreamAnalyticsforreal-timeBI,andPowerBIfordashboardsand
reporting.I’llshowyousomeofthesecapabilities,includingtheCortanadigitalassistant
inChapter3,andAzureMachineLearningandStreamAnalyticsinChapter10.


1.1.2IntroducingthePowerBIProducts
NowthatyouunderstandBIbetter,let’sdiscusswhatPowerBIis.PowerBIisasetof
productsandservicesthatenablesyoutoconnecttoyourdata,visualizeit,andshare
insightswithotherusers.Atahighlevel.PowerBIconsistsofthreeproducts:
PowerBIService–Acloud-basedbusinessanalyticsservice(powerbi.com)thatallows

youtohostyourdata,reportsanddashboardsonlineandsharethemwithyour
coworkers.BecausePowerBIishostedinthecloudandmaintainedbyMicrosoft,your
organizationdoesn’thavetopurchase,install,andmaintainanon-premises
infrastructure.MicrosoftdeliversweeklyupdatestothePowerBIServicesothepaceof
innovationandimprovementwillcontinueunabated.Tostayuptodatewiththelatest
features,followthePowerBIblog( />PowerBIMobile–AsetofnativeapplicationsforiOS,Android,andWindowsthat

allowuserstousemobiledevices,suchastabletsandsmartphones,togetdatainsights
onthego.Forexample,amobileusercanviewandinteractwithreportsanddashboards
deployedtoPowerBI.
PowerBIDesktop–AfreelyavailableWindowsdesktopapplicationthatallows

analyststodesigndatamodelsandreports.ForreadersfamiliarwithPowerPivotfor
Excel,PowerBIDesktopofferssimilarself-serviceBIfeaturesinastandalone
applicationoutsideExcel.
DEFINITIONMicrosoftPowerBIisadataanalyticsplatformforself-service,team,andorganizationalBIthat
consistsofPowerBIService,PowerBIMobileandPowerBIDesktopproducts.SometimesreferredtoasPowerBI2.0,
itreplacesPowerBIforOffice365,anditdoesn’trequireanOffice365subscription.

Asyoucouldimagine,PowerBIisaversatileplatformthatenablesdifferentgroupsof
userstoimplementawiderangeofBIsolutionsdependingonthetaskathand.

1.1.3HowDidWeGetHere?
BeforeIdelveintothePowerBIcapabilities,let’sstepbackforamomentandreview
whateventsledtoitsexistence.Figure1.2showsthemajormilestonesinthePowerBI
journey.

Figure1.2ImportantmilestonesrelatedtoPowerBI.


PowerPivot

Realizingthegrowingimportanceofself-serviceBI,in2010Microsoftintroducedanew
technologyforpersonalandteamBIcalledPowerPivot(renamedtoPowerPivotin2013
asaresultofPowerBIrebranding).PowerPivotwasinitiallyimplementedasafreely
availableadd-intoExcel2010thathadtobemanuallydownloadedandinstalled.Office
2013delivereddeeperintegrationwithPowerPivot,includingdistributingitwithExcel
2013andallowinguserstoimportdatadirectlyintothePowerPivotdatamodel.
NOTEIcoveredExcelandPowerPivotdatamodellinginmybook“AppliedMicrosoftSQLServer2012Analysis
Services:TabularModeling”.AlthoughthebooktargetsExcel2010,itshouldgiveyouthenecessaryfoundationto
understandPowerPivotandlearnhowtouseittoimplementself-servicedatamodelsandhowtointegratethemwith

SharePointServer.

ThePowerPivotinnovativeengine,calledxVelocity,transcendedthelimitationsofthe
Excelnativepivotreports.Itallowsuserstoloadmultipledatasetsandimportmorethan
onemillionrows(themaximumnumberofrowsthatcanfitinanExcelspreadsheet).
xVelocitycompressesthedataefficientlyandstoresitinthecomputer’smainmemory.
Forexample,usingPowerPivot,abusinessusercanimportdatafromavarietyofdata
sources,relatethedata,andcreateadatamodel.Thentheusercancreatepivotreportsor
PowerViewreportstogaininsightsfromthedatamodel.
DEFINITIONxVelocityisadataenginethatcompressesandstoreddatainmemory.OriginallyintroducedinPower
Pivot,thexVelocitydataenginehasaveryimportantroleinMicrosoftBI.xVelocityisnowincludedinotherMicrosoft
offerings,includingSQLServercolumn​storeindexes,TabularmodelsinAnalysisServices,PowerBIDesktop,and
PowerBI.
SQLServer

Originallydevelopedasarelationaldatabasemanagementsystem(RDBMS),Microsoft
SQLServerisnowamulti-productoffering.InthecontextoforganizationalBI,SQL
ServerincludesAnalysisServiceswhichhastraditionallyallowedBIprofessionalsto
implementmultidimensionalcubes.SQLServer2012introducedanotherpathfor
implementingorganizationalmodelscalledTabular.ThinkofAnalysisServicesTabularas
PowerPivotonsteroids.JustlikePowerPivot,Tabularallowsyoutocreatein-memory
datamodelsbutitalsoaddssecurityandperformancefeaturestoallowBIprostoscale
thesemodelsandimplementdatasecuritythatismoregranular.
SQLServerincludesalsoReportingServiceswhichhasbeentraditionallyusedto
implementpaper-orientedstandardreports.However,SQLServer2012introduceda
SharePoint2010-integratedreportingtool,namedPowerView,forauthoringadhoc
interactivereports.PowerViewtargetsbusinessuserswithoutrequiringqueryknowledge
andreportauthoringexperience.SupposethatMartinhasuploadedhisPowerPivotmodel
toSharePointServer.NowMaya(oranyoneelsewhohasaccesstothemodel)can
quicklybuildagreat-lookingtabularorchartreportinafewminutestovisualizethedata

fromthePowerPivotmodel.Or,MayacanusePowerViewtoexploredatain
MultidimensionalorTabularorganizationalmodel.
InOffice2013,MicrosoftintegratedPowerViewwithExcel2013toallowbusiness
userstocreateinteractivereportsfromPowerPivotmodelsandorganizationalTabular
models.AndExcel2016extendedPowerViewtoconnecttomultidimensionalcubes.


ThisenhancedversionofPowerViewenablesreportsanddashboardsinPowerBI.
SharePointServer

UptothereleaseofPowerBI,MicrosoftBIhasbeenintertwinedwithSharePoint.
SharePointServerisaMicrosofton-premisesproductfordocumentstorage,collaboration,
andbusinessintelligence.InSharePointServer2010,Microsoftaddednewservices,
collectivelyreferredtoasPowerPivotforSharePoint,whichalloweduserstodeploy
PowerPivotdatamodelstoSharePointandthensharereportsthatconnecttothesedata
models.Forexample,abusinessusercanuploadtheExcelfilecontainingadatamodel
andreportstoSharePoint.Authorizeduserscanviewtheembeddedreportsandcreate
theirownreports.
SharePointServer2013broughtbetterintegrationwithPowerPivotandsupportfor
datamodelsandreportscreatedinExcel2013.WhenintegratedwithSQLServer2012,
SharePointServer2013offersothercompellingBIfeatures,includingdeployingand
managingSQLServerReportingServices(SSRS)reports,teamBIpoweredbyPower
PivotforSharePoint,andPerformancePointServicesdashboards.
MicrosoftExcel

WhileSharePointServerhasbeentheMicrosoftpremiumserver-basedplatformforBI,
MicrosoftExcelhasbeentheirpremiumBItoolonthedesktop.BesidesPowerPivotand
PowerView,whichIalreadyintroduced,MicrosoftaddedotherBI-relatedadd-insto
extendtheExceldataanalyticsfeatures.Tohelpendusersperformpredictivetasksin
Excel,MicrosoftreleasedaDataMiningadd-inforMicrosoftExcel2007,whichisalso

availablewithnewerExcelversions.Forexample,usingthisadd-inananalystcan
performamarketbasketanalysis,suchastofindwhichproductscustomerstendtobuy
together.
NOTEIn2014,Microsoftintroducedacloud-basedAzureMachineLearningService(toallowuserstocreatepredictivemodelsinthecloud,suchasamodelthatpredictsthe
customerchurnprobability.AzureMachineLearningsupersedestheDataMiningadd-inforself-servicepredictive
analytics.

InJanuary2013,MicrosoftintroducedafreelyavailableDataExploreradd-in,whichwas
laterrenamedtoPowerQuery.Uniqueintheself-serviceBItoolsmarket,PowerQuery
allowsbusinessuserstotransformandcleansedatabeforeit’simported.Forexample,
MartincanusePowerQuerytoreplacewrongvaluesinthesourcedataortoun-pivota
crosstabreport.InExcel,PowerQueryisanoptionalpathforimportingdata.Ifdata
doesn’trequiretransformation,abusinessusercandirectlyimportthedatausingtheExcel
orPowerPivotdataimportcapabilities.However,PowerBIalwaysusesPowerQuery
whenyouimportdatasothatitsdatatransformationcapabilitiesarethereifyouneed
them.
Anotherdataanalyticsadd-inthatdeservesattentionisPowerMap.Originallynamed
Geoflow,PowerMapisanotherfreelyavailableExceladd-inthat’sspecificallydesigned
forgeospatialreporting.UsingPowerMap,abusinessusercancreateinteractive3D
maps,suchastheoneshowninFigure1.3.Inthiscase,PowerMapisusedtoanalyzethe
correlationofpowerconsumptionandtheageofthebuildingsinaparticulargeographic


region.YoucangetsomeofthePowerMapcapabilitiesinPowerBIwhenyouimportthe
GlobeMapcustomvisualfromthePowerBIvisualgallery().

Figure1.3AfreeExceladd-in,PowerMapenablesyoutoanalyzegeospatialdataby
creating3DvisualizationswithBingmaps.
PowerBIforOffice365

Unlessyouliveunderarock,youknowthatoneofthemostprominentITtrends
nowadaysistowardcloudcomputing.Chancesarethatyourorganizationisalreadyusing
theMicrosoftAzureServicesPlatform-aMicrosoftcloudofferingforhostingandscaling
applicationsanddatabasesthroughMicrosoftdatacenters.MicrosoftAzuregivesyouthe
abilitytofocusonyourbusinessandtooutsourceinfrastructuremaintenancetoMicrosoft.
In2011,MicrosoftunveileditsOffice365cloudservicetoalloworganizationsto
subscribetoanduseavarietyofMicrosoftproductsonline,includingMicrosoftExchange
andSharePoint.Forexample,atPrologikaweuseOffice365foremail,asubscriptionbased(click-to-run)versionofMicrosoftOffice,OneDriveforBusiness,Skypefor
Business,andotherproducts.FromaBIstandpoint,Office365allowsbusinessusersto
deployExcelworkbooksandPowerPivotdatamodelstothecloud.Thentheycanview
theembeddedreportsonline,createnewreports,andshareBIartifactswithotherusers.
Inearly2014,MicrosoftfurtherextendedSharePointforOffice365withadditionalBI
features,includingnaturalqueries(Q&A),searchinganddiscoveringorganizational
datasets,andmobilesupportforPowerViewreports.Togetherwiththe“power”desktop
add-ins(PowerPivot,PowerView,PowerQuery,andPowerMap),theservicewas
marketedandsoldunderthename“PowerBIforOffice365”.Whilethedesktopadd-ins
werefreelyavailable,PowerBIforOffice365requiredasubscription.Microsoftsold
PowerBIforOffice365independentlyorasanadd-ontoOffice365businessplans.


PowerBIforOffice365eliminatedtheneedtohostSharePointServeronpremises.
Forexample,ifMartin’sorganizationdidn’twanttoinstallandmaintainSharePointon
premises,theycouldpurchaseaPowerBIforOffice365subscriptionplan.Thisallows
MartintodeployandsharePowerPivotdatamodels,justlikehecandobydeploying
themtoSharePointServeronpremises.SurpassingtheSharePointServerBIcapabilities,
PowerBIforOffice365alsoallowsbusinessuserstotypeinnaturalqueriestogain
insightsfromMartin’sdatamodel,suchas“showmesalesbyyear”.Behindthescenes,
PowerBIforOffice365wouldinterpretthequestionanduseasuitablePowerView
visualizationtodisplaytheresults.
Datadiscoveryisabigissuewithlargerorganizations.AnotherfeatureofPowerBIfor

Office365issharinganddiscoveringPowerQuery-baseddatasets.Itallowsadata
stewardtopublishcuratedqueries,suchasaquerythatreturnsalistofthecompany’s
products(onlythequeryispublished,notthedata).Then,otheruserscansearchand
discoverthisquery,andthenuseittoimportthelistofproductsintheirself-servicedata
model.
NOTEInJuly2015,MicrosoftintroducedanewcloudserviceoutsideOffice365,calledAzureData
Catalog(​/en-us/​ser​vices/data-catalog).ThisserviceextendsPowerQuerydatasetsharingand
discovery.
PowerBIService(PowerBI2.0)

Finally,thewindingroadbringsustoPowerBIwhichisthesubjectofthisbook.InJuly
2015,afterseveralmonthsofpublicpreview,Microsoftofficiallylaunchedastandalone
versionofPowerBI(initiallyreferredtoasPowerBI2.0)thathadnodependencieson
Office365,SharePointandMicrosoftOffice.Whatcausedthischange?Theshortanswer
isremovingadoptionbarriersforbothMicrosoftandconsumers.ForMicrosoftitbecame
clearthattobecompetitiveintoday’sfast-pacedmarketplace,itsBIofferingscan’t
dependonotherproductgroupsandreleasecycles.Waitingfornewproductreleaseson
twoandthree-yearcadencescouldn’tintroducethenewfeaturesMicrosoftneededto
competeeffectivelywith“pure”BIvendors(competitorswhofocusonlyonBItools)who
haveenteredtheBImarketinthepastfewyears.
AftermorethanadecadeworkingwithdifferentBItechnologiesandmanycustomers,
IdobelievethatMicrosoftBIisthebestandmostcomprehensiveBIplatformonthe
market!Butit’snotperfect.OneongoingchallengeiscoordinatingBIfeaturesacross
productgroups.TakeforexampleSharePoint,whichMicrosoftpromotedasaplatformfor
sharingBIartifacts.MajoreffortunderwenttoextendSharePointwithSSRSin
SharePointintegrationmode,PerformancePoint,PowerPivot,andsoon.Butthese
productsareownedbydifferentproductgroupsandapparentlycoordinationhasbeen
problematic.Forexample,afteryearsofpromisesformobilerendering,PowerViewin
SharePointServerstillrequiresMicrosoftSilverlightforrendering,thusbarringaccess
fromnon-Windowsdevices.

Seekingastrongermotivationforcustomerstoupgrade,Exceladdedthe“power”addinsandwaspromotedastheMicrosoftpremiumBItoolonthedesktop.However,the
Exceldependencyturnedouttobeadouble-edgesword.Whiletherecouldbeabillion
Excelusersworldwide,addinganewfeaturehastobethoroughlytestedtoensurethat


therearenobackwardcompatibilityissuesorbreakingchanges,andthattakesalotof
time.Caseinpoint:wehadtowaitalmostthreeyearsuntilExcel2016toconnectPower
Viewreportstomultidimensionalcubes(onlyTabularwassupportedbefore),although
AnalysisServicesMultidimensionalhasmuchbroaderadoptionthanTabular.
Forconsumers,rollingoutaMicrosoftBIsolutionhasbeenproblematic.MicrosoftBI
hasbeentraditionallycriticizedforitsdeploymentcomplexityandsteeppricetag.
AlthoughSharePointServeroffersmuchmorethanjustdataanalytics,havinga
SharePointserverintegratedwithSQLServerhasbeenacost-prohibitivepropositionfor
smallerorganizations.Asmanyofyouwouldprobablyagree,SharePointServeradds
complexityandtroubleshootingitisn’tforthefaintofheart.PowerBIforOffice365
alleviatedsomeoftheseconcernsbyshiftingmaintenancetobecomeMicrosoft’s
responsibilitybutmanycustomersstillfindits“everythingbutthekitchensink”approach
toooverwhelmingandcost-prohibitiveifalltheywantistheabilitytodeployandshareBI
artifacts.
Onthedesktop,Excelwasn’toriginallydesignedasaBItool,leavingtheenduserwith
theimpressionthatBIwassomethingMicrosoftboltedontopofExcel.Forexample,
navigatingadd-insandlearninghowtonavigatethecornucopiaoffeatureshasbeentoo
muchtoaskfromnovicebusinessusers.
HowdoesthenewPowerBIaddressthesechallenges?

PowerBIembracesthefollowingdesigntenetstoaddressthepreviouspainpoints:
Simplicity–PowerBIwasdesignedforBIfromthegroundup.Asyou’llsee,Microsoft

streamlinedandsimplifiedtheuserinterfacetoensurethatyourexperienceisintuitive
andyouaren’tdistractedbyothernon-BIfeaturesandmenus.

NodependenciestoSharePointandOffice–Becauseitdoesn’tdependonSharePoint

andExcel,PowerBIcanevolveindependently.Thisdoesn’tmeanthatbusinessusersare
nowaskedtoforgoExcel.Tothecontrary,ifyoulikeExcelandprefertocreatedata
modelsinExcel,you’llfindthatyoucanstilldeploythemtoPowerBI.
Frequentupdates–MicrosoftpromisesweeklyupdatesforPowerBIServiceand

monthlyupdatesforPowerBIDesktop.ThisshouldallowMicrosofttostayatthe
forefrontoftheBImarket.
Alwaysuptodate–Becauseofitsservice-basednature,asaPowerBIsubscriberyou’re

alwaysonthelatestandgreatestversion.
Free–Asyou’llseein“1.2.4PowerBIEditionsandPricing”(laterinthischapter),

PowerBIhasthebestbusinessmodel:mostofitit’sfree!PowerBIDesktopandPower
BIMobilearefree.PowerBIServiceisfreeandhasaPowerBIProsubscriptionoption
thatyoucouldpayfor,followingafreemiummodel.Costwasthebiggesthindranceof
PowerBI,andit’snowbeenturnedaroundcompletely.Youcan’tbeatfree!

1.1.4PowerBIandtheMicrosoftDataPlatform
PowerBIisn’ttheonlyBIproductthatMicrosoftprovides.It’sanintegralpartofthe