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Thoughts on MS BI
Updated November 13, 2014

Thoughts on MS BI

Stephanie Grice | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

2005 and 2008 R2

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft BI

  • Overall it is a robust BI platform that is not difficult for a technically-oriented person to learn and use.
  • I am a huge fan of Analysis Services and actively try to find ways to get data into cubes for reporting. While learning MDX may be one of the more difficult aspects of MS BI, it is powerful and anyone who has prior experience using T-SQL alone to build complex reports can appreciate its power.
  • I have been disappointed in how all the front-end delivery tools have been centered around Excel and SharePoint. I understand it from a business sense but I much preferred the ProClarity interface as a stand-alone ad-hoc reporting tool. Many end-users are intimidated by merely mentioning pivot tables and therefore do not even try to create their own queries.
As Microsoft Gold partners, we had access to the software already and have enjoyed success with a very small implementation. As this grows we may look toward additional delivery options but not the base data warehouse system.

Using Microsoft BI

  • We use Microsoft BI products to publish accounting reports and automatically generate general ledger journal entries to distribute departmental expenses.

Microsoft BI Implementation

Microsoft BI Training

  • In-person training
  • Self-taught
This training was more directed toward what the product was capable of rather than actual programming.
Yes, the product was fairly easy to learn without training. There are some professionals that could use this approach as well depending on their learning styles. With all the information available, I generally recommend this approach.

Microsoft BI Support

My past experience with Microsoft technical support was not really favorable. While they were friendly and somewhat responsive, they were not helpful with the types of issues we faced.