Every business today wants to enjoy an advanced tool for analyzing and visualizing data in a user-friendly way. There are multiple tools in the market claiming to streamline the various complex business operations. One of them is Power BI, which is used widely because of its plethora of functionalities.Power BI is Microsoft's super tool that enables businesses to turn their raw data into highly meaningful insights. This results in gigantic business growth. Today, more businesses such as Walmart and Apple are using Power BI. This has made their data journey easier. There has also been a rise in the demand for Power BI professionals.Tech professionals are picking Power BI training for better career opportunities. This blog provides a complete guide for anyone who wishes to learn Power BI.
What is Power BI?
Power BI is a suite of apps, connectors and software services that combine unrelated data sources. The goal is to produce visually immersive, coherent, and interactive insights. This data can easily be stored in an on-premises hybrid data warehouse. On the contrary, it can also be an Excel spreadsheet. This tool easily connects to the data sources, visualizes the data, pins the main information, and even shares it. Many features are provided that facilitate connecting to various data sources, transforming data, and visualizing data. This is done via interactive dashboards and reports.Explore igmGuru's Power BI course program to learn Power BI and its useful features.
Trends in Power BI
Microsoft boldly claims that Power BI is used by over 200,000 organizations worldwide. It is among the most liked products on the market with a market share of around 17.9% (in the BI sector). Here are a few key trends in Power BI-
Power BI has 10+ million subscribers globally.
Power BI is a leading name in the BI & analytics platform market.
Power BI has reportedly increased productivity by over 44% and reduced reporting time by around 47%.
Why Learn Power BI?
There are plenty of benefits of learning Power BI. Here is a list of some of the top ones.
Easy To Use- It is a super user-friendly tool. It does not need any extensive programming knowledge to get started.
Connect To Multiple Data Sources- It provides easy connectivity to a plenty of data sources easily. These include Excel spreadsheets, Azure and SQL Server databases, among others.
Transform Data- There are many different kinds of data transformation options. These include data filtering, creation of calculated columns and data merging.
Visualize Data- Some of the top visualization options offered by Power BI are tables, maps and charts.
Collaborate And Share Insights- It is easy to collaborate with others via dashboards and reports.
Top Power BI Features
Power BI offers plenty of features to enable companies to transform their data into highly meaningful insights. Some of the top features boasted by Power BI are-
1. Data Transformation: Power BI helps in transforming data by employing many tools. These include filtering data, creating calculated columns and merging data.2. Data Visualization: Power BI offers different visualization options. Some of the top ones are tables, maps and charts. These help in representing the data in a meaningful manner.3. Data Modeling: This tool offers data modeling capabilities that enable the creation of meaningful relationships between tables as well as define hierarchies.4. Dashboards: Power BI offers good dashboard capabilities allowing the creation of interactive dashboards. These help in monitoring the business performance.5. Mobile App: Power BI offers a mobile app. It enables users to access the reports and dashboards from their mobile device.6. Data Sharing: One can easily share their data insights with all others in the organization via reports and dashboards. These can also be published to the web or mobile devices.
A lot of companies rely heavily on Power BI for analyzing their data and driving business growth. It is a powerful tool used widely by many companies. All these organizations have a team of Power BI professionals having Power BI certification. Some of the top companies using Power BI are-
Microsoft
Accenture
Deloitte
KPMG
Coca-Cola
Siemens
Rolls-Royce
Heathrow Airport
Schneider Electric
Future Scope of Power BI
The upcoming years will likely witness an increase for BI products like Power BI. The size of the worldwide BI market is anticipated to touch USD 35.2 billion by 2025. Thus, rising at a predicted CAGR of 8.4% between 2019 to 2025. Those who wish to master Power BI and then pursue a career in BI will find many opportunities in this sector. It is among the top ten most in-demand skills internationally. Its future looks promising due to its new features and capabilities. Some of the top trends and developments in this tech are- 1. Artificial Intelligence- It is expected to integrate more AI and ML capabilities. This will enable users to gain better insights from unstructured data. 2. Natural Language Processing- Power BI is predicted to incorporate a lot more natural language processing (NLP) capabilities. This will make it easier for users to interact with the data at hand. 3. Data Governance- The data is being generated at a more rapid pace. This has led to data governance becoming more important. It will introduce more data governance features, which will make it easier for companies to manage their data.
Advanced Techniques in Power BI
There are several advanced techniques to enhance data visualization and analysis capabilities. Here is a list of some of the top techniques one should know about - 1. Data Modeling Data modeling refers to the process of where relationships between various data sources are created in Power BI. This helps in creating more complex dashboards and reports that include data from many sources. 2. DAX Formulas DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) refers to a formula language that is used in Power BI for creating custom aggregations and calculations. One can create powerful calculations with DAX, which cannot be achieved with standard Excel formulas. 3. Power Query Power Query is a powerful and popular data transformation and cleansing tool. It enables users to connect easily with many data sources, transform & clean data, and then consequently load it into Power BI. 4. Custom Visuals Power BI offers many built-in visualizations. However, one can also create their own custom visuals with Power BI developer tools. This helps in creating unique visualizations tailored to a person's specific needs. 5. R Integration Power BI enables integration of R scripts into dashboards and reports. R is an extremely powerful statistical programming language used for creating complex data models and visualizations.
Top Power BI Certifications
Becoming a certified Power BI professional means passing any of the available Power BI credential exams. Such examinations are crafted to test skills & knowledge in different Power BI areas. These are data visualization, data analysis and data modeling. The top three key Power BI certification exams are- Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate with Power BI Microsoft Certified: Power BI Certification Each of these examinations have their own prerequisites. Acing them needs practical experience, technical skills and theoretical knowledge.
Job Roles for Power BI Professionals
Getting trained and certified in Power BI opens up many different job opportunities for experts. Some of the key job roles out there for Power BI professionals are - 1. Power BI Developer Power BI Developers create and build Power BI solutions for enterprises. They are responsible for designing and producing reports and dashboards, making sure the data is reliable, and creating and maintaining data models. They work closely with different professionals like data scientists, data analysts and business analysts. 2. Business Intelligence Analyst BI analysts collect and analyze data through Power BI for assisting businesses in making data-driven decisions. They are responsible for designing and constructing data models, offering insights & suggestions as per data, and generating and maintaining reports and dashboards. 3. Data Analyst Data analysts use Power BI for collecting and analyzing spot trends, patterns and data. The goal is to offer insights for assisting companies in making decisions. They closely collaborate with other team members to make sure that the data is always correct and up-to-date. They aim to manage and produce reports and dashboards. 4. Data Scientist Data scientists analyze gigantic data quantities for finding insights and patterns using Power BI. They craft and construct dashboards and reports, offer analysis as per the data, and create and maintain data models. 5. Business Analyst Power BI is used by business analysts to spot trends, patterns and analyze data. The goal is to offer insights to enable businesses to make better decisions. They collaborate with other teams to guarantee that the data is reliable. These professionals include business intelligence analysts, data scientists and data analysts.
Conclusion
Learning Power BI provides various benefits. These include visualization, collaboration capabilities and easy data transformation. It's a user-friendly tool that's easy to learn through dedication and practice. The demand for Power BI professionals is growing and is expected to keep on growing in the coming years. Thus, making it a highly valuable skill to learn. Pursuing a Power BI course can help aspirants in validating their skills and standing out in the crowd. Following these steps, continuing practice and exploring the tool will enable learners to become proficient in Power BI. Consequently, unlock its full potential for processes like data analysis and visualization.
Power BI Tutorial FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Q1. What are the prerequisites for learning Power BI?
There are no strict prerequisites for learning Power BI, but having a basic understanding of data analysis and visualization can be helpful.
Q2. Can I learn Power BI on my own?
Yes, you can learn Power BI on your own by taking online courses, watching tutorials, and practicing with sample data.
Q3. How long does it take to learn Power BI?
The time it takes to learn Power BI depends on your existing skills and the amount of time you can dedicate to learning. With consistent effort, you can learn the basics of Power BI in a few weeks.
Q4. Do I need programming knowledge to learn Power BI?
No, you don't need programming knowledge to learn Power BI. However, having some knowledge of data manipulation and analysis can be helpful.
Q5. How can I get certified in Power BI?
You can get certified in Power BI by taking a certification exam offered by Microsoft. You can also prepare for the exam by taking online courses and practicing with sample data. Course Schedule
