Businesses today generate enormous amounts of data. Sales transactions, inventory records, production schedules, financial reports, customer information and operational metrics are created every day.
But having data is not the same as understanding it.
A company may have an advanced ERP system and still struggle to answer simple questions. Which products are selling fastest? Where are inventory levels becoming a problem? Which customers contribute the most revenue? Are production costs increasing? Which business processes are slowing growth?
This is where Microsoft Power BI can become an important part of a modern data strategy.
Microsoft Power BI is a business analytics platform designed to connect data, create interactive reports and dashboards, and help organizations turn information into actionable insights. Microsoft describes Power BI as a core analytics component of Microsoft Fabric, with tools for connecting, modelling, visualizing and sharing business data.
For organizations already using or considering ERP platforms such as Dynamics 365 Business Central, Power BI can provide another layer of visibility over business operations.
This article explores how Microsoft Power BI fits into the broader Microsoft ecosystem, how it can complement ERP implementation, and how companies such as Rivira Systems can help businesses approach connected Microsoft technology in a practical way.
Microsoft Power BI is a business intelligence and data visualization platform that helps organizations analyze information from multiple sources.
Instead of depending entirely on spreadsheets or manually prepared reports, businesses can connect relevant data sources and create interactive dashboards.
Power BI can work with databases, files, cloud services and other data sources. Power BI Desktop provides tools for data preparation, modelling and report creation, while the Power BI service supports publishing, collaboration and sharing.
For example, a manufacturing company might have information spread across: