Plugs into existing tech works well
October 22, 2025

Plugs into existing tech works well

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Power BI Pro

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Power BI

I work at an architecture firm, and we use Microsoft Power BI for a range of uses, both internal-facing and external-facing. We have typical accounting data, project management data and marketing data - these get visualized for consumption using standardized dashboards. But we also have standard dashboards for staff skill metrics and analytics for our large (BIM) building models. Our final use case is for design studies, showing clients how different design options compare in terms of performance and cost.

Pros

  • Drag and drop widgets that cross-interact
  • Data ETL allows loading and cleaning of data from a variety of sources
  • Keeping complex processes and large quantities of data tidy

Cons

  • Text string length is capped during import, but it isn't well documented
  • The UI can be very complex for new users
  • Sharing content with people outside of your organization can be very difficult
  • Real-time reporting of BIM metrics helps teams make smarter, cleaner models and reduces time spent debugging or cleaning the models later
  • Being able to do complex data visualization and analysis for clients has directly translated into new kinds of work and new projects. Tasks like spatial inventories and audits are now part of our service offerings.
  • We've been able to see the information that was already stored in our systems in one place, visually. This has helped us de-silo and use that data to inform firm operations. Hiring and staffing in particular have benefitted from dashboards that show gaps in staff members' skills.
Overall, Microsoft Power BI is a great tool, its just a little complex to learn (for those who are building reports). However, its very usable for those consuming the reports, and gives them access to data in a visual and intuitive way. Additionally, Microsoft Power BI integrates well with the Microsoft 365 tools we already use.

Do you think Microsoft Power BI delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Microsoft Power BI's feature set?

Yes

Did Microsoft Power BI live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Microsoft Power BI go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Microsoft Power BI again?

Yes

Microsoft Power BI is great for both data visualization and subsequent exploration. Microsoft Power BI does well in situations where data needs to be smarter and more responsive than what can be done in Excel. Microsoft Power BI understand relationships between different types of tables, allowing complex data models to be built out. The simple GUI presented to the end user makes the tool accessible for leadership or clients. Microsoft Power BI does less well on messy data. Because dashboards take time and expertise to build, Microsoft Power BI is less compelling for one-off dashboards.

Microsoft Power BI Feature Ratings

BI Platform ()
Not Rated
Supported Data Sources ()
Not Rated
7.0
Pixel Perfect reports
6
Customizable dashboards
9
Report Formatting Templates
6
6.5
Drill-down analysis
8
Formatting capabilities
8
Integration with R or other statistical packages
6
Report sharing and collaboration
4
5.6
Publish to Web
6
Publish to PDF
5
Report Versioning
7
Report Delivery Scheduling
5
Delivery to Remote Servers
5
5.8
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)
8
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization
7
Predictive Analytics
5
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining
3
7.2
Multi-User Support (named login)
9
Role-Based Security Model
7
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
7
Report-Level Access Control
6
Single Sign-On (SSO)
7
7.3
Responsive Design for Web Access
7
Mobile Application
7
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile
8
6.3
REST API
5
Javascript API
6
Themeable User Interface (UI)
8

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