Power BI

[prainw]

Our company wants to start using Power BI.  I'm researching and finding Power BI Desktop, PBI Report Builder, and serveral more 'pieces'.  Does anyone have a picture of the entire puzzle?  Im trying to determine all of the pieces to the puzzle of Power BI - what does my company need to produce reports (dashboards, paginated reports, csv files) using Power BI? How many pieces (apps) are there and what are they? Where do we start? What about security?  Help please.  Please point me to something that shows the entire picture.  I'm really tired of looking at individual pieces.   Thanks in advance.

[v-tangjie-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @prainw ,

Power BI Components Overview

Power BI consists of several key components that work together to provide a comprehensive business intelligence solution. Here's a brief overview:

1. Power BI Desktop: A free Windows desktop application used for creating reports and data visualizations. It's the primary tool for report creation, allowing you to connect to data, transform it, and build complex reports that can be published to the Power BI service. Get started with Power BI Desktop

2. Power BI Service: An online SaaS (Software as a Service) where reports and dashboards are published, shared, and consumed. It's the platform for sharing and collaborating on reports and dashboards within your organization. Basic concepts for designers in the Power BI service 
3. Power BI Mobile Apps: Available for Windows, iOS, and Android devices, these apps allow you to view and interact with your Power BI content on the go.
4. Power BI Report Builder: Used for creating paginated reports that can be shared within the Power BI service. Paginated reports are ideal for scenarios where you need to print or share reports that span multiple pages in a well-formatted manner. What are paginated reports in Power BI? 
5. Power BI Report Server: An on-premises report server where you can publish your Power BI reports, after creating them in Power BI Desktop. This is for organizations that require reports to be stored and managed on-premises.  What is Power BI Report Server? 

Additional Elements:

• Datasets: Collections of data imported or connected to Power BI.
• Visualizations: The representation of data in various visual formats like charts, graphs, and maps.
• Reports: Collections of visualizations that represent data insights.
• Dashboards: Single pages that aggregate multiple visualizations and reports.
• Tiles: Individual visualizations within a dashboard.

Getting Started

1. Begin with Power BI Desktop: Start by downloading Power BI Desktop for free. It's the best way to explore data, create reports, and get familiar with the Power BI ecosystem.

2. Publish to Power BI Service: Once you're comfortable with report creation, explore publishing your reports to the Power BI service for sharing and collaboration.

3. Explore Additional Tools: Depending on your needs, look into Power BI Report Builder for paginated reports and consider Power BI Report Server if on-premises reporting is required.

Security Considerations

Power BI provides robust security features at different levels, including data connectivity, storage, and report sharing. It supports row-level security (RLS) to control data access and integrates with Azure Active Directory for authentication and authorization.

• Data Protection: Power BI uses encryption to protect your data both at rest and in transit. Power BI Security - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

• Compliance and Privacy: Power BI is compliant with global standards, ensuring that your data handling practices meet regulatory requirements. Data protection in Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

For a comprehensive understanding of Power BI's security capabilities, I recommend reviewing the Power BI Security Whitepaper.

Best Regards,

Neeko Tang

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[IoannisPhilip]

Hi @prainw  it depends on what you need to achieve, you don't necessary need all the solutions. You have a PM, let me know if I can help.

Best,
Ioannis