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Microsoft BI (MSBI)

Microsoft BI (MSBI)

Overview

What is Microsoft BI (MSBI)?

Microsoft BI is a business intelligence product used for data analysis and generating reports on server-based data. It features unlimited data analysis capacity with its reporting engine, SQL Server Reporting Services alongside ETL, master data management, and data cleansing.

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Recent Reviews

Casual User’s POC

8 out of 10
February 08, 2020
Incentivized
Microsoft BI is being used for report generation to monitor ongoing technology projects and business initiatives. We have two users who …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 30 features
  • Report sharing and collaboration (49)
    8.9
    89%
  • Report Formatting Templates (47)
    8.9
    89%
  • Formatting capabilities (49)
    8.0
    80%
  • Customizable dashboards (49)
    8.0
    80%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

View all pros & cons
Verified User
Administrator in Sales
Information Technology & Services Company, 201-500 employees
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Pricing

View all pricing

Power BI Pro

$9.99

Cloud
per user/per month

Power BI Premium

4,995

Cloud
per month

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://powerbi.microsoft.com/pricing

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Features

BI Standard Reporting

Standard reporting means pre-built or canned reports available to users without having to create them.

8.6
Avg 8.2

Ad-hoc Reporting

Ad-Hoc Reports are reports built by the user to meet highly specific requirements.

8.7
Avg 8.1

Report Output and Scheduling

Ability to schedule and manager report output.

8.9
Avg 8.4

Data Discovery and Visualization

Data Discovery and Visualization is the analysis of multiple data sources in a search for patterns and outliers and the ability to represent the data visually.

9
Avg 8.1

Access Control and Security

Access control means being able to determine who has access to which data.

9
Avg 8.6

Mobile Capabilities

Support for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

8.5
Avg 8.0

Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding

APIs are a set of routines, protocols, and tools for used for embedding one application in another

8.8
Avg 7.9
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Product Details

What is Microsoft BI (MSBI)?

Microsoft BI (MSBI) benefits from the ubiquity of SQL server and the set of tools built around the database, including an ETL layer, master data management, data cleansing, report and reporting.

The reporting engine is SQL Server Reporting Services which does not have the visualization capabilities of visualization tools like Tableau or Qlik. Excel has historically been the platform visualization tool. Power BI for Office 365 has done much to improve the discovery and visualization capabilities of Excel.

Microsoft now offers Power BI cloud as the visualization platform with geospatial 3D, natural-language query generation, and self-service ETL along with charting and other data visualizations that can be uploaded and shared through the Power BI service.

The Power BI platform also provides live access to on-premises Microsoft SQL Server instances, and self-service access to third-party cloud sources including Salesforce, Marketo, Zendesk, and GitHub. Mobility is supported through a native iPad app, an iPhone app.

This new platform is viewed by Microsoft as a visualization layer sitting on top of their earlier generation of installed SQL-based technology.

Microsoft BI (MSBI) Competitors

Microsoft BI (MSBI) Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft BI is a business intelligence product used for data analysis and generating reports on server-based data. It features unlimited data analysis capacity with its reporting engine, SQL Server Reporting Services alongside ETL, master data management, and data cleansing.

Oracle Analytics Server and Spoom are common alternatives for Microsoft BI (MSBI).

Reviewers rate Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile highest, with a score of 9.9.

The most common users of Microsoft BI (MSBI) are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(937)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 73)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
January 04, 2024

MSBI : a new boom in the digital world!

Verified User
Administrator in Sales
Information Technology & Services Company, 201-500 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft BI is well suited for Stream analytics, easy data integration, report creation and UI/UX designs (limited but what all available are great ones)

Microsoft BI may be less appropriate for handling huge number of datasets and difficult queries. It may also be difficult for a company with heavy data.
December 06, 2021

"Microsoft BI is a powerful analytic tool for large data sets."

Al Mubassir Muin | TrustRadius Reviewer
Al Mubassir Muin
Software Engineer
Prime Tech Solutions Ltd. (Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft BI works well with Microsoft's ecosystems, especially SharePoint and SQL Server. Even large, complex datasets can be manipulated and turned into useful information. The platform's lists feature can fill any relevant data gaps when used with SharePoint. Its user-friendly graphical user interface makes it simple to quickly and efficiently display data. Aside from that, the reporting tools are first-rate.
November 13, 2021

In the world of data visualization, this is one of the best virtualization tools

Aononna Tazin | TrustRadius Reviewer
Aononna Tazin
Customer Relationship Management Specialist
Green Light Ltd (Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft BI excels at presenting complex and large data sets in a manageable and informative manner. This program's user-friendly graphical interface makes it simple to view data. Other than that, the reporting features are above average for this type of software. It's widely used with Microsoft products, but it doesn't work well with other programs. With limited physical resources, the free version is recommended for minor data work.
November 01, 2021

"Easy To Use BI Platform With Effective Reporting"

Nilufa Hossain | TrustRadius Reviewer
Nilufa Hossain
IT Specialist
Lamda I-TECH (Information Technology & Services, 11-50 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
The Microsoft BI suite of tools, which comprises tools from the SQL Server suite, provides end-to-end features and functionality for businesses of any size. Users who need dashboards and reports fast will benefit from this tool. It’s simple to connect to databases, cloud storage systems, and CSV files of any type. This makes the dashboards suitable for a more rapid presentation workflow because we can easily incorporate them into PowerPoint presentations. Enterprise and standard editions are both available for some tools.
April 26, 2021

MSBI - Bang for the Buck

Verified User
Employee in Information Technology
Architecture & Planning Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
The Microsoft BI suite of tools, largely composed of tools within the SQL Server suite, provide a full range of end-to-end feature/functionality for businesses of any size. Some flavor of the tool features is available whether using standard or enterprise editions, making the tools accessible for even smaller businesses. Scalability has become excellent over the years, particularly for SSIS and SSRS.
April 24, 2021

A smart tool for data analysts to generate awesome reports

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology & Services Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Likelihood to Recommend
I think Microsoft Business Intelligence tools are really suitable for data analysts and managers who aim to generate dashboards and reports quickly. It easily integrates with data sources of any type such as databases , cloud storage systems , csv files or json file. The dashboards can be easily put into PowerPoint presentations which makes it suitable for faster presentation workflow , especially for managers.
April 22, 2021

Excellent BI Stack for an all-in-one solution architecture, however may need specialized platforms for non-traditional datasets

Verified User
Contributor in Professional Services
Computer Software Company, 51-200 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
If the client you are dealing with already has existing Microsoft licensing agreements, selecting the Microsoft Stack may be a no-brainer. However, truly understanding the client's needs is the most important place to start versus selecting the technology stack. B2C clients that need a visualization tool may need to look elsewhere if you are looking for a data visualization tool, as costs for licensing are high at the time of writing.
March 05, 2021

Powerful tool for data visualization

AS
Aniket Sawant
Product Manager
Massey Services Inc (Environmental Services, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Most suited when you have multiple data sources that need to be collected to build one single landing dashboard and you want insights with graphs and visual representations. It's easy to manage and learn, and the transition from Excel is not too difficult.

Less appropriate when you have data in various different formats and it not 100% clean. The licensing can be a pain if you are thinking of sharing the dashboards with external members.
April 26, 2020

Best when used by larger companies in a predominantly Microsoft environment

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Maritime Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft BI will fit seamlessly into Microsoft ecosystems, especially when used with SharePoint and SQL Server. Larger companies with big data sets will be able to justify the high cost of ownership. The platform works well when used to drive strategic decision making and can compensate for gaps in relevant data when used with the lists feature in SharePoint.
April 22, 2020

Microsoft PowerBI unleashes the power of your data

BG
Bradley Geppert
Director of IT Services
CompuType IT Solutions (Information Technology & Services, 11-50 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
It works great for our purposes. I highly recommend hiring a consultant to set it up for you though. I don't think we would have gotten very far had we tried to setup the reports and views ourselves. We're very happy with the results we've seen so far. We've been using it for about 3-4 months.
March 19, 2019

Good for visualisations and reporting!

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employees
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
If your primary use case requires the use of several visualisation options and graphical representations, then Microsoft BI might be a good option to use. However, if your data management needs do not revolve around reporting, then it is better to go with other standard business intelligence tools available in the market like Oracle BI or Tableau.
February 18, 2019

Microsoft BI is great if you're looking for a BI product that feels like the other Microsoft products you use

Thomas Young | TrustRadius Reviewer
Thomas Young
Owner, previous CEO
Econometric Studios (Financial Services, 10,001+ employees)
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft BI is great if you and your team have used Microsoft products for a long time. Connecting Microsoft BI to your current processes will be a breeze. The software also makes it easy to create executive dashboards and automated data reporting. For simple financial reporting, Microsoft BI is as easy as they come.
February 05, 2019

Great BI tool

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Computer Networking Company, 51-200 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
It's a great tool that offers full benefits of self-service BI with very little need for interaction with the IT department. The Power BI Desktop and Mobile application, in particular, has added a lot of value for our business objectives.
January 24, 2019

For the IT professional on the go

Verified User
Consultant in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 51-200 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft BI is a terrific tool to use when you need to pull data from various sources, and especially powerful in its ability to display the actionable information on a single dashboard. It is the "go-to" solution for the company that wants to move to the next level of pivot tables, dynamic charting and business intelligence reporting.
January 23, 2019

Microsoft BI - Putting the power into your reporting

Shelby Bowden | TrustRadius Reviewer
Shelby Bowden
Graduate Research Assistant
Western Kentucky University (Higher Education, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
For large and complex datasets, Microsoft BI excels in presenting the data in a manageable and informative way. Its graphical interface does a great job of quickly and easily displaying data, and the reporting tools are well above average for analytical software. It is also great when used in conjunction with other Microsoft products, but does not do well when paired with alternate programs.
January 23, 2019

Microsoft BI is the program you've been waiting for!

Verified User
Employee in Professional Services
Environmental Services Company, 1-10 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
It is extremely well suited for companies (of any size) dealing with large data quantities who have to compile and analyze the data in a short amount of time. I have found it very efficient for my company, as it allows a lot of flexibility for data display and is so user-friendly.
January 17, 2019

Outstanding Report Creator

Michael Timms | TrustRadius Reviewer
Michael Timms
Information Technology Supervisor
iQor (Telecommunications, 10,001+ employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
If you are part of an enterprise that is running daily reports to many users, and you want to up your game by making visually stunning, easy to follow reports, PowerBI is the tool for you and well worth the cost. If you are in an environment that runs one report a month, the cost might not be worth it just for some bells and whistles.
January 16, 2019

Microsoft BI - A diamond in the rough

IL
Ivan Leung
Data Analytics
Oxy (Oil & Energy, 10,001+ employees)
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Dashboarding with simple data relationship.

In the oil and gas industry, it's common to be analyzing geospatial items along with cross-sectional data, and this can easily go over the row limit that Microsoft BI has for its map visualization; this is a shortfall.

For high-level dashboarding, say, aggregated data for management reporting, Microsoft BI is perfectly suited due to its professional layout and ease of deployment. The data modeling aspect in Microsoft BI leaves much to be desired as it doesn't allow for many relationships which are rather common in the data used in our industry; this forces users to create a unique key by having to concatenate columns of interest, which tend to result in untidy data and make maintenance difficult.
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