Microsoft Power BI is an application created by Microsoft to allow individuals or organisations to aggregate, analyse and visualise data that is easily understood. It is built for non-technical business users and has a simple user interface and easy to use tools. However, no matter how simple the interface is, it is a powerful and intuitive tool that can use data from multiple sources to create brilliant visuals and reports that can be shared to other stakeholders.Being made by Microsoft, it is easy to use for those who are familiar with Excel and offers integration with other products of Microsoft making it a versatile tool that requires little training. Even so, there are multiple Power BI courses that will enable users to utilize the software to its full potential.

There are different versions of Power BI including a free version meant for small to midsize businesses with a 1GB cap and a professional version called Power BI Plus available for a monthly subscription fee with unlimited access to all its functions. It is also available in multiple platforms which include Power BI Desktop meant for PCs as well as mobile apps for windows, android and iOS devices. There is also a Power BI report server which is meant for companies which require reports data to be maintained on servers for the sake of security, privacy or both and require a different version of the software, namely Power BI Desktop for Power BI Report Server, to be used.

Power BI was initially christened Project Crescent and was bundled with SQL Server, codename Denali and was based off Excel features like Power Query, Power Pivot and Power View. In September 2013, it was renamed Power BI for Office 365 and more features were added overtime including enterprise-level data connectivity and security options. And finally, owing to the popularity and extremely positive reception, it was released as a stand-alone product in 2015. Read On: