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30 Reasons You Should Be Considering Power BI – Part 1

A lot of people out there think that the story of Power BI is too good to be true.
Here is a list of the reasons that we think you should consider Power BI as a self-service and/or Enterprise Business Intelligence Solution.
It’s like the new Microsoft

Microsoft have not been the best at listening to traditional customer concerns, however they have consistently delivered world-class business software for many years. Under Satya Nadella’s leadership and James Phillips (head of business applications), Microsoft are changing the landscape of BI software and they look set to dominate this space for the next decade.

Power BI is built from the ground up on SAAS heritage

Built by the crack team who developed the SAAS for Power BI from scratch.

Power BI is built from the ground up on SSIS heritage

Another part of the puzzle that Microsoft have mastered on their first attempt and Microsoft have already proven that it is winning in this space.

Power BI can virtually ingest data from any source

Power BI can easily connect to any on-premise data or cloud data sources such as Google Analytics or Salesforce.com

Power BI is highly compressed

The data in Power BI is 600% more compressed meaning a 1GB database compress down to 85MB

Power BI has a brand-new visualisation engine

Microsoft have built a brand-new HTML 5 compliant visualisation engine – i.e. if it’s a global map and you want to see your country/region’s sales figures, just click on that country for the stats to be revealed. Gone are the days where specialist report writers are required.

Power BI has open-source visualisations

Developers can easily copy and reuse an existing visualisation. They’ve delivered some amazing quality visuals and they’re only getting started.

Power BI is built for Excel users – but it’s not excel

This is self-service BI at its best. The only company that can improve on the UI for the business user community is the same company who built and gave us excel.

Power BI is in the Cloud

The whole of the world is moving to the cloud. Power BI was originally built with the cloud in mind – and the prime fear of security for those not yet in the cloud can be laid to rest with the industrial levels of security in place.

on-premise only? No problem

Not every organisation out there is ready to move to the cloud so there is also a Power BI product that allows a company to keep their data on-premise.

Learn more about how to embrace the power of Power BI on one of our training courses, or look out for part 2 of this blog…

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4 Steps to Manage Change and Deal with Uncertainty

Throughout our careers, nothing will have any greater impact on us than change. For most, we enjoy the security of routine and the known boundaries in which we operate. Let’s begin to look at the 4 steps to managing change and dealing with uncertainty in a positive way.

Time for Change Sign With Led Light

Change can have substantial effects across so many fundamental levels.
  • It can weaken our self-confidence and self-efficacy
  • It can challenge our productivity at work
  • Create baseless fears and concerns
  • Can add stress between individuals and teams
  • Can be daunting in the face of new knowledge and systems

So are there factors that can help guide through the process of change? Is there a plan or blueprint that can better support and implement change?

The initial shock

You are moving through the day into the flow of work, maybe you have heard rumours of a change being implemented. A department being cut or merged with another, perhaps. Nothing has been confirmed, everyone is in the dark, then suddenly it is all announced with immediate effect. Most will feel shock and confusion, worry and concern. Questions will be raised about your position, the impact on the business, the new knowledge that you may be challenged to learn. This is the first stage of change.

defensive mode

The second stage begins to take effect. The shock has weakened, and the news is clear. Change has happened and is there in front of you. You don’t know why it had to happen, you question the logic of it, and the more you pull the decision apart the angrier you get. It just doesn’t make sense? This is the stage where your defensive retaliation to the initial shock is at its highest. You tend to band together with colleagues who agree with your position. All you can see are the difficulties. This is stage 2.

Just feels wrong

The uncomfortable stage begins to settle in. You are unhappy and feel awkward, unsure of what you are supposed to be doing. Of where the company is headed.

You sort of understand the advantages, yet remain unconvinced. Others are quick to point out faults and everyone is at their lowest point of morale. This is stage 3.

Slowly but surely

Time has now passed and things are starting to make sense. You can see the real advantages of why the change was implemented. This includes new skills that the change has brought to the business.

The progress forward seems heavy and slow, yet there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel. This is stage 4.

Finally…
How could this have been easier? What was missing? In each of these stages the key was the lack of communication.

In the first stage, a clear and united meeting should have been held to present the change, the impact and the benefits. Reassurances should have been given. At stage 2 team meetings should have been instigated to discuss issues and individual concerns. At stage 3 it is all about 1-2-1 and goal setting, action planning and clear objectives.

Change is inevitable. It can be an opportunity for growth, or it can be destructive. Which would you prefer?