POWER BI

Power BI is Business Intelligence and data visualization

software developed by Microsoft. Power BI offers cloud-
based services for interactive visualizations with a simple
interface for end-users to create their reports and
dashboards.

To better understand Power BI we’ll first understand what

Data Visualization is and its importance.
Data visualization means the representation of
quantitative data information in a graphical format. It makes
use of visual elements like charts, graphs, and maps and
data visualization tools provide an easy way to see and
understand trends, outliers, and patterns in data.

In the world of Big Data, data visualization tools and

technologies are essential for analyzing massive amounts of
information and making data-driven decisions. The charts
used in the process of data visualization help to show the
relationship between data and its other variables.
But how did Data visualization come into the picture and
why did it gain importance?

Before the seventeenth century, data visualization was

primarily used to represent landmarks, towns, highways,
and resources on maps. Better representations were
required as the demand for more precise mapping and
physical measurement expanded. An astronomer named
Michael Florent Van Langren is thought to have created the
first visual depiction of statistical data in 1644. The one-
dimensional line graph below depicts the twelve known
estimates of the difference in longitude between Toledo and
Rome at the time of the assessment, as well as the names
of the astronomers who made the estimate. While Van
Langren might have supplied this information in a table, the
usage of the graph truly highlights the vast range of
estimations.

Benefits of Data Visualization:-

1. Pattern Identification
When we view large volumes of complex data, we may get
a lot of new insights. Business users may utilize
visualization to detect relationships between data, giving it
more significance. Exploring these patterns allows the user
to focus on specific parts of the data that demand attention,
allowing them to determine the importance of those areas
in moving their business forward.

2. Advanced analysis
Business stakeholders can make use of data visualization to
analyze reports concerning sales, marketing, strategies, and
product interest. The reports/ findings from this analysis can
then be used to give attention to areas that will increase
profits and aid in business growth and development.
3. Immediate Action
Our Human brain is programmed to understand visual data
and graphs quicker as compared to tabular or statistical
data. Data visualization allows the decision-makers to gain
faster insights into data and take the appropriate decisions
for the business.

4. Error-identification
Visualizing your data allows you to instantly spot any
mistakes. If the data tends to recommend the wrong
actions, visualizations can assist in identifying erroneous
data earlier in the process,allowing it to be eliminated from
the analysis.

5. Storytelling
Graphs and charts are easier to understand and depict a
storyline when looked at carefully. These visuals grab the
attention of the stakeholders and convey the data in the
simplest of forms.
6. Gaining business insights
Finding data connections via visual representations is
critical in today's competitive corporate climate for
uncovering business insights. Exploring these insights is
critical for business users or executives to choose the best
course for accomplishing the company's objectives.

7. Trend Analysis
Data visualization can help to decipher the latest trends to
provide quality insights and problem identification of
products and services even before they arise. Trend
analysis can directly help in improving the business
activities and thus increasing profitability.
Various Power BI tools -
 Power BI Desktop
Power BI Desktop is a free application you install on the
local computer that lets you connect to, transform, and
visualize your data. With Power BI Desktop, you can
connect to multiple different sources of data, and
combine them (often called modelling) into a data
model.

 Power BI service
Power BI is a collection of software services, apps, and
connectors that work together to help you create,
share, and consume business insights in the way that
serves you and your business most effectively.

 Power BI Data Gateway

Power BI Gateway is software that is required to access
data situated in a secure on-premise network. The
gateway acts as a gatekeeper for such data. The
request goes through the gateway if anyone needs to
access on-premises data from a cloud or web-based
app.
  Power BI Report Server
Power BI Report Server is an on-premises report server
with a web portal in which you display and manage
reports and KPIs. Along with it come the tools to create
Power BI reports, paginated reports, mobile reports,
and KPIs.

 Power BI Mobile Apps

Power BI mobile apps are applications for your mobile
and tablet devices that enable you to quickly view your
Power BI reports and dashboards. They allow you to
connect to your data, make insights, collaborate on the
go, and get notified whenever your data changes.

Power BI Dashboard

Power BI desktop can be used for connecting data,

transforming, and cleaning the data to create data models.
It can be used to create visuals, such as charts or graphs
that provide visual representations of the data. Power BI
Desktop can be used to create reports that contain
collections of visuals. These reports can then be shared via
Power BI Service.
Power BI Desktop offers 3 views: -
 Report view which can be used to create reports and
visuals.

 Data view wherein users can see the tables,

measures, and other data that can be used in a data
model associated with the report.
 Model view wherein user can see and manage the
relationship amongst tables in a data model.

To start with the process of visualization firstly we need

data to carry out the visualization. This data can be
added to Power BI via the Get Data function of Power
BI. Using the Get Data function files from various
formats like Excel, Text/CSV, Power BI datasets, Power
BI dataflow, SQL Server, MySQL database, Analysis
Services, Azure, Text/CSV, Oracle, PDF, Access, XML,
and JSON among others can be imported to Power BI.

The next step is Transforming and cleaning the data to

create models.

Before starting with the process of visualization, the

data needs to be filtered of any errors or changes. For
this, we’ll be usingPower Query Editor.

Power BI Desktop offers Power Query Editor which

helps in connecting 1 or more data sources, shaping
and transforming the data to meet the needs of the
users before loading the models in Power BI Desktop.
To start the Power Query Editor user needs to
select Transform Data in the Home tab of the Power
BI desktop.

The Query ribbon consists of four tabs Home,

Transform, Add Column, and View.

The Home tab contains the tasks in a common query.

Data can then be connected using New Source and

selecting amongst the common data sources. Image -
New Sources image of Query editor Power BI

The Transform tab provides access to common data

transformation tasks, such as: Adding or removing
columns, changing data types, Splitting columns, and
other data-driven tasks

The Add Column tab provides additional tasks

associated with adding a column, formatting column
data, and adding custom columns.
 The View tab on the ribbon is used to toggle whether
certain panes or windows are displayed. It's also used
to display the Advanced Editor.

Now we’ll look at the Queries pane: The number of

active queries and the query name is displayed in the
left pane of the Queries pane. When you choose a
query from the left pane, the data from that query
appears in the centre pane, where you may shape and
change it to match your needs.

Secondly, in the data pane view, the data of the

selected query is displayed thus completing much of
the Query view. When you select a right-click menu
item (or a ribbon button), the query applies the step to
the data. It also saves steps as part of the query itself.

After all these steps are done the user can successfully
save his file by clicking on the Close & Apply from the
Power Query Editor’s File menu.

Power BI Desktop saves a user's work in the form of

a .pbix file format. This can be done using File > Save
(or File > Save As)

Building Reports -
Power BI reports offer 6 main areas:
 The ribbon at the top displays common tasks
associated with reports and visualizations.
 The canvas area is in the middle, where visualizations
are created and arranged.
 The pages tab area at the bottom, lets you select or
add report pages.
 The Filters pane, where you can filter data
visualizations.
  The Fields pane shows the available fields in your
queries. You can drag these fields onto the canvas, the
Filters pane, or the Visualizations pane to create or
modify visualizations.
 The Visualization pane, where you can add, change, or
customize visualizations, and apply drill through.
Visuals: - Power BI offers different types of visuals like
column charts, bar charts, funnel, pie charts, treemap,
matrix, and tables among others. In addition to this, it also
offers R script and Python visuals.
Users can select from the data visualization pane. The
format option lets you apply formatting and other controls
to visualizations. Power BI even lets you merge charts which
makes these visualizations even more interesting.
Additionally, Dax functions can be used to carry out many
other functions like multiplications, additions, and
subtractions among others. Dax functions are similar to
functions we enter in the Formula bar in Excel and are
mainly used to calculate stuff.
Once these reports are created, these files can be shared
with others in the .pbix format. You can even upload a .pbix
file from the Power BI service or it can be directly published
from the Power BI Desktop to the Power BI service. The
publish option is available in the Home Tab. To complete the
process users may be required to sign in.