PowerBI -Getting started with one of the most powerful Visualisation tool!
Tags: powerbi, excel, productivity, analytics
Published: 2023-01-02 19:57:47

Power BI is a powerful tool that allows users to quickly and easily visualize and analyze data from a variety of sources. It is designed for business users, so it is easy to use even if you don't have a lot of technical expertise. With Power BI, you can create beautiful and interactive reports and dashboards that help you gain insights into your data and make better business decisions.

One of the key benefits of Power BI is its ability to connect to a wide range of data sources, including Excel, SQL databases, and cloud-based platforms like Salesforce and Google Analytics. This means you can easily bring all of your data together in one place and analyze it in a consistent way, regardless of where it lives.

In addition to its visualization and reporting capabilities, Power BI also includes advanced data modelling and analysis features, such as the ability to create data models and perform complex data transformations. This makes it an ideal tool for data analysts and other business users who need to work with large and complex data sets.

Power BI is a valuable tool for anyone who needs to analyze and visualize data in their business. Whether you're a business analyst, a data scientist, or just someone who needs to make sense of data in your job, Power BI can help you get the insights you need to make better decisions.


## **Power BI Applications**


Some common applications of Power BI includes:

**Business intelligence:** Power BI can be used to analyze and report on business metrics such as sales, expenses, and customer data. For example, a company might use Power BI to create a dashboard showing monthly sales performance by region.

**Data reporting:** Power BI can be used to create reports and charts based on data from multiple sources, such as Excel sheets, databases, or web services. For example, a marketing team might use Power BI to create a report showing website traffic, leads, and conversions over time.

**Dashboard creation:** Power BI can be used to create interactive dashboards that display real-time data and allow users to drill down into specific data points. For example, a finance team might use Power BI to create a dashboard showing real-time sales data by product, region, and customer segment.

Here is an example of using Power BI to create a bar chart showing sales data over time:

1. Import the data into Power BI by connecting to the relevant data source.

2. In the "Fields" pane, select the relevant data fields (e.g. product and its Revenue over time).

3. In the "Visualizations" pane, select the "Bar chart" visualization.
 
4. Customize the chart title and axis labels as desired.
 
5. In the "Format" panel, customize the appearance of the graph by adjusting the colors, fonts, and other formatting options.

Sample code snippet in Power BI that creates a bar chart showing sales data by-product:

```
// Load data from a CSV file
let
Source = Csv.Document(File. Contents("SalesData. csv"), [Delimiter=" Columns-7, Encoding-1252, QuoteStyle-QuoteStyle.None]),
#"Promoted Headers" = Table. PromoteHeaders(Source,
[PromoteAlScalars-true]),
#"Changed Type" = Table. TransformColumnTypes (#"Promoted Headers"
{{"'Product", type text}, {'Sales", type number}}) in
#"Changed Type"


// Create a bar chart showing sales data by product
BarChart =
Chart. Custom(
data = #"Changed Type"
x = "Product"
y = "Sales",
title = "Sales by Product'
)
```

Here is an example of a bar chart created with Power BI, showing sales data by product:


![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/cfmk89gcjvja0ial42rx.png)


## **Benefits of PowerBI:**

- **Ease of use:** Power BI has a user-friendly interface, making it easy for users to create their own reports and dashboards.
- **Integrations:** Power BI integrates with a wide range of data sources, including Excel, SQL Server, and cloud-based services such as Azure and Google Analytics.
- **Collaboration:** Power BI allows users to share their reports and dashboards with others, enabling collaboration within an organization.
- **Customizability:** Power BI allows users to customize their reports and dashboards by choosing from a variety of visualization types and formatting options.
- **Data modeling:** Power BI allows users to build complex data models to better understand their data and relationships between different data points.
- **Real-time data:** Power BI can connect to real-time data sources, such as streaming data or data from Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and update dashboards and reports in real-time.
- **Mobile app:** Power BI has a mobile app that allows users to view their dashboards and reports on the go.
- **AI-powered insights:** Power BI includes features that use artificial intelligence to surface insights and patterns in the data.

Overall, Power BI is a powerful and versatile tool that is well-suited for organizations that need to analyze and visualize data to make informed decisions.