By now, if you aren’t already harnessing the data moving around your organisation, then you automatically place your business at a disadvantage compared to your competitors.
No matter what sector your business operates in, data-driven insights are becoming increasingly important, particularly in the post-pandemic era when organisations are looking to thrive and make up for the past year.
For this reason, a growing number of businesses are implementing sophisticated Power BI solutions to help them transform information into insights, whilst benefitting from the update cycles that Microsoft introduces each month.
From flexible reporting improvements, including the introduction of Power Automate to engaging custom visuals like ADWISE roadmap v2.0, Power BI has been on the receiving end of some significant updates in recent months.
In this blog, we explore some of the most exciting updates and analyse their impact on the Power BI community, including our own clients.
Power Automate (preview)
Once Power BI has transformed information into insights, the next step is for end-users to act on these and extract maximum value from the findings of the report.
In a bid to enhance this experience, Microsoft recently implemented a new Power Automate visual that allows users to run an automated flow within their Power BI report, offering integrated automation within the context of the end-user’s selection.
This new visual allows the executed flow to be data contextual, meaning the Flow inputs will be adjusted based on the user’s filter selection.
Now, with the click of a button, end users can interact with the insights provided, acting on these to drive business-enhancing change within their organisation, even if this action occurs outside of the product and not within the Power BI interface itself.
This is yet another example of Microsoft’s commitment to quality, as they continue to introduce new and exciting features in direct response to customer feedback.
Modern visual tooltips (preview)
Another important update introduced in recent months are the modern visual tooltips, which are designed to give users greater control over their data through the inclusion of datapoint drill actions and updated styling options.
Once activated through the preview features section of the options and settings tab, users will be able to drill up/down or drill through a datapoint without having to navigate the right-click menu or visual header.
If the user selects ‘drill down’ the visual will update to display the next level in the hierarchy, meanwhile clicking ‘drill through’ will display a number of options they can drill through to. For example, users can select ‘market basket analysis’, which will drill through to the analysis page.
To bring a sense of consistency and branding, the tooltips colour and style is based on the existing theme of the report, which can be changed through the ‘customise theme’ dialogue.
Remember, to access this preview users will first need to enable it by going to the options and settings section of the file tab. Once activated, all new reports will have the modern tooltips enabled by default.
ADWISE Roadmap and Bubble Chart
When it comes to project, product or campaign planning, there are not many better visuals than the ADWISE Roadmap, which allows users to visualise time-scheduled data or events in a user-friendly interface.
With this new and improved version, users now have access to highly requested zoom/scroll functionality, as well as fixed height rows and progress bars, allowing them to keep track of projects to ensure work is delivered on time.
Meanwhile, an improved version of the Bubble Chart has also been introduced, following the overwhelming popularity of the original visual, developed by Akvelon.
With this second version, two highly requested features have been added, including a second level of bubble labels, which can be used to display secondary information for more in-depth reporting.
The other feature is word wrapping on the inside of bubble labels, which allows Power BI users to include and display more text information if needed.
Let data lead the way...
Whilst most businesses understand the importance of uncovering data-driven insights, not everyone has a system in place that can automate data analysis and empower users to build engaging reports for their team to digest.
To address this, organisations should look to implement a solution, like Power BI, that will give them the tools needed to harness the data they have collected, identifying emerging trends that will allow them to drive the business forward.
With Microsoft consistently introducing monthly update cycles in direct response to customer feedback, users can be confident that the service will adapt and change over time, allowing them to remain flexible throughout the journey.
If your business needs help finding a sophisticated solution that meets its unique needs, then contact our in-house team of experts for advice.