Microsoft enables Self-Service BI Adoption using the Power BI App
Microsoft enables Self-Service BI Adoption using the Power BI App
This article was originally published on LinkedIn Pulse by our Data and AI Practice Lead, Tarun Agarwal.
Microsoft is helping organizations drive the data culture. Microsoft Power BI is empowering customers to transform themselves by enabling every single employee able to make better decisions using data. Implementing enterprise-wide data culture is difficult since self-service BI adoption continues to be a challenge. Power BI is erasing that barrier by providing data insights to everyone.
One of the ways Microsoft is achieving this is using Power BI Apps. Power BI Apps allows creating customized content focused on a group of users and then distribute it to the user community as an app. The App can be pushed to users for easy consumption.
Business users often need multiple Power BI dashboards and reports. Business users need an easy way to access information. BI portals with a ton of reports and dashboards often overwhelm end users. The users revert to asking for information in emails. However, the Power BI App creates collections of relevant dashboards and reports and publish these collections as apps to specific people or groups. Users can interact with the App through the browser or mobile App. Data refresh is automated as per the predefined frequency.
Broader reach to a wide group of audience
Power BI delivers amazing data exploration experiences. Power BI App provides custom navigation for each App. Users can quickly find the required information. Custom navigation makes it easy for users to understand relationships between various reports and dashboards. The user sees the custom navigation defined by the author and overlays Power BI navigation.
Collection of all analytics and other supporting content in one place
Power BI App allows bringing all relevant content in one place. It provides the most unified experience to consume information. Analytical content from different workspaces, or outside Power BI can come together in one app.
Non-analytical content, for example, PDF or PPT slides of monthly/quarterly business review, wiki page link, SharePoint documents, Stream video, external videos from YouTube or Vimeo, etc., can all come together in one app. The user never leaves the App and consumes all content coming from multiple different sources.
Governance and management
Technology teams, report authors or admin, can manage who can access the content by grant permissions on these collections. The admins also control the frequency of the data refresh. It also allows admins to grant authorizations on how users can interact and access underline datasets and contents. Admins can also add a support page that provides more information to learn or use the App.
Customized Navigation
Power BI App can provide personalized experience using the section and link features of the App.
Sections group related items together for an organized look and feel
Links allow bringing other content related to your App inside the App. As an example, a PowerPoint from SharePoint can be linked to open monthly business reviews inside the App. A Power App or CRM screens can also be launched through the App. Links make the App a robust container to host all relevant sources of information. Users perform their daily jobs within the App.
Easier to manage cloud migration journey
Through the ability to link and bring external content inside the App also allow organizations to manage cloud adoption and migration journeys. Analytical content from various on-premises applications can be accessed through the same App. Users do not need to navigate through multiple applications. Users do not know where the underline content is coming from. Thereby provide enormous flexibility to manage application migration to the cloud.
Unified look and feel and customer experience
Reports and dashboards and other content can adopt a common UI/UX theme and color scheme. That provides and unified look and feel and experience to the end-user.
To summarize, the Power BI App is a great way to deliver business insights to thousands of users through a single pane of glass.
Please reach out to me in case you have any questions around Power BI, or help with Power BI adoption.