Power BI is a data analytics platform that helps businesses make sense of data through a visual interface. Users without technical expertise can create visualizations from data, such as interactive charts and graphs, and build dashboards to explore and analyze data.

There are different ways you can use Power BI, including with help from consulting firms. Consulting firms come in all shapes and sizes, from small boutique agencies to massive global firms with thousands of employees on their payroll. Many consulting firms offer services related to Microsoft’s flagship business intelligence product, Power BI.

How to Use Power BI 

Business intelligence, or BI, is the concept and practice of collecting, organizing, and analyzing large amounts of data to inform business strategy and operations. One of the most popular software tools used in BI is a data visualization platform like Microsoft Power BI.

Power BI is a cloud-based data visualization and analytics platform that enables anyone — regardless of their technical skills — to explore and visualize their data. It also lets you build dashboards and publish reports that one can access from any device. With a growing list of rich features and an intuitive user experience, Power BI is quickly becoming the go-to business intelligence tool for companies of all sizes.

 Power BI Consulting Services 

When choosing which type of Power BI consulting services to hire, you need to decide what kind of implementation you need. You can think of it as the process of actually getting your organization to use Power BI.

Implementation can include any of the following:

• Data Preparation: It ensures that the data is ready for analysis. It can mean transforming or cleaning data to make it usable in the BI tools.

• Data Modelling: It comprises creating tables, columns, and relationships within the data so one can effectively analyze it.

• Data Governance: It involves all policies and procedures for keeping data clean and up-to-date. Further, it can include data standards and guidelines for accessibility and usage.

• Data Sourcing: It includes getting data into your system. It can involve importing data from an existing data warehouse or database (ETL) or collecting data directly from sensors or other on-the-ground sources (direct data collection).

Capacity Building: Training employees on how to use the tools to enable them to perform actions independently in the future.

Finding the Right Power BI Consulting Firm for You

When companies introduce new software, they are often forced to bring new hands to the desk – human resources that require new infrastructure and cost money. It, however, is not always the most efficient way of expanding, and one must remember this in the case of Power BI too. Instead of developing in-house capacity in the short term, you’d better hire a consulting firm and outsource software development services.

One must consider many factors when choosing the right Power BI consulting firm. Think of these factors while choosing a company that is a good fit for your needs and priorities:

1) Expertise: Make sure the company you work with is highly skilled at implementing Power BI and has a proven track record of satisfactory performance.

2) Specialties: Identify which areas your organization needs help in most and find a consulting firm that specializes in those areas.

3) Experience: Ensure that the selected company has experience working with organizations like yours. In other words, make sure they are an excellent cultural fit.

4) Technological Focus: Power BI is a Microsoft product, so choose a consulting firm with a strong Microsoft focus.

5) Price: Get quotes from several companies and find the one that offers an appropriate price point for your budget.

Three Tips for Finding the Right Consultant

One, ask for references – References can provide a lot of insight into a company and its operations. Ask for reviews from previous clients and see what they have to say about the services provided by the company.

Two, use a reputable company – Many companies claim to help organizations implement Power BI, but not all are reputable. Working with a company with a good reputation is essential.

Three, take your time – It’s essential to find the right company for the job, so don’t rush the selection process. Take your time and find the best consulting partner for you.

Conclusion

Choosing the right Power BI consulting firm is essential to getting the most out of the product. If you’re using it for the first time, a consulting firm will help you fully exploit its potential. However, before you select a partner firm, you need to identify the attributes you need. Once you know what you need, it’s easy to identify the right consulting firm. When you find the right company, communicate your organization’s needs and priorities clearly so they can produce the best results.