Data connections in Power BI

1. Data connections in Power BI

Hi, my name is Iason and I will be your instructor for this Power BI course. In this course, we will be covering the important features related to connecting data in Power BI.

2. The importance of data

Firstly, let's review why data is important, specifically to companies. Business data plays an important part in driving the success of any business, big or small, whatever industry the company operates in, whether healthcare or logistics, company data can be stored and utilized. Company data can help overall performance in a number of ways, such as, evaluating company KPIs or carrying out performance analysis of marketing campaigns. There are two categories of company data - internal and external data. Internal data has been collected by the company itself, from its operations. External data has been collected by another company, which can choose to sell it to other companies. This data can relate to more general topics.

3. Storing data

Knowing how and where data is stored helps when making data connections. Storing data is a part of the overall data flow process - how data flows from raw sources to structured setups. Data sources are the first step. This is where the raw data is obtained from company servers. They can be database management systems like MySQL or raw data files like CSV files. The next component is the data lake, which allows users to gather raw data from different sources. They can be used to further combine company data. The third component is the dataset. This is usually in tabular form, with clear columns and rows.

4. The flow of data

In this visual we can see a simplified overview of the data flow stages, and how they fit in with the manipulation and visualization of data. Once the data has progressed through the first three stages, it can be manipulated for use in reports. Data visualization processes are the final step.

5. The flow of data

The first steps of the flow are usually dealt with by data engineers or database administrators. The latter stages are related to data analyst or data scientist roles. A clear data flow setup ensures that company data can be effectively utilized with clear maintenance and refresh procedures.

6. Data in Power BI Desktop

Power BI Desktop is the main tool used for connecting to all data source types, as it has over 100 available sources, including Excel files, Databases, such as Dataverse, and even web pages. Dataverse is a cloud-based storage space that can be used to store business application data.

7. Power BI Service

Power BI Service is the Software as a Service version of Power BI. It is made up of a collection of applications that allow users to create, control, and share data insights. One important feature is Workspaces, where users can create and store any assets within the cloud service. Workspaces can be for personal use or for entire teams. Multiple users with shared access can create, share, and view assets. It allows whole organizations to connect to one data visualization tool. Users are also able to download and apply different applications to assist with improving their data visualizations.

8. Data in Power BI Service

Power BI Service can be used for sharing different types of assets, such as datasets, reports, or dashboards. Dashboards are only available in Power BI Service. These are single-page outputs where you can pin visualizations from one or more reports from within Power BI Service. Users can therefore create high-level insights by combining different visualizations. We will cover more of this later on. Connections to data sources are made through the use of data gateways, which act as a bridge between data sources and Power BI. This also allows users to create scheduled refreshes, ensuring that datasets are kept up to date.

9. Power BI comparison

Here we can see an overview of the differences and similarities between the two applications. In general though, Power BI Desktop is useful for loading, transforming, and manipulating data. Power BI Service has its strengths in sharing different assets within organizations with multiple users. Both applications provide report-creating features and the ability to apply security measures to outputs.

10. Let's practice!

Now, let's get started on the course material!

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