Microsoft Power BI Training

Yes, our classrooms are Covid compliant.

As we limit our classes to a maximum of 4 there is plenty of room for everyone.

If you have any specific questions please contact us.

Yes, we provide everyone who completes one of our courses with a certificate of completion.

We do not provide Microsoft certification.

We provide certificates of completion to everyone who completes one of our Microsoft Power BI programmes as proof of the knowledge that they have.

Our training is designed to prepare your staff for certification as an MCSA in BI Reporting which is achieved by passing these two exams:

• 70-778 Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Power BI
• 70-779 Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Microsoft Excel

Please note, the actual exams will need to be organised separately, at an exam centre, and cost approximately £130, plus VAT.

Learning Power BI is no more difficult than other data analysis software.

It is very powerful software that can combine data from a number of data sources. That data can then be used for business analytics, to produce reports and dashboards.

As with other big data software, learning Power BI for straightforward analysis of simple datasets is not difficult.

Learning to use the full suite of big data tools that Power BI contains for more complex data analysis is obviously more complex and time-consuming.

Business intelligence (BI for short) refers to the collection of technologies involved in collecting and analysing data, and then presenting the information generated in dashboards and Power BI reports.

The aim of business intelligence is to make sense of the vast amounts of data that organisations hold. It allows the data to be analysed to guide business decision making and management.

Power Pivot is an Excel add-in and part of Power BI.

It is used to create data models. It allows you to combine large amounts of data from a variety of data sources, and create reports and dashboards with custom visuals.

A data model is a collection of tables with relationships. A data model that you can see in Excel is available in Power Pivot and vice versa.

Power BI is Microsoft’s data analytics and business intelligence platform.

It was launched in 2014 and its main competitors are Tableau, Google Data Studio and Qlik.

It comes in a range of versions from Power BI Desktop which is free through to Power BI Premium which is a full enterprise business intelligence solution hosted in the cloud.

Power Query allows you to retrieve, extract, and transform (ETL) data prior to bringing it into Excel (and/or into a Power Pivot data model). It allows you to insert & remove columns, filter and sort tables, and change data types.

It runs on the “M”  Language (short for Mashup) and is labelled as “Get and Transform,” in the “Data” Ribbon in Excel, and is an optional tool. When importing data into Power Pivot can import it directly into Power Pivot, or you can channel it first through Power Query if your data is noisy.

Also known as the DAX Engine (Data Analysis Expression), Power Pivot is an Excel feature that allows you to build a data model with relationships, create calculated columns and measures.

Power Pivot allows Excel to import larger data sets from a variety of sources and create more sophisticated data models using DAX.

Power Pivot allows you to create visualizations using Power View and Power Map. Power Maps is a geographic visualization tool, while Power View allows you to present data in interactive dashboards.

Power Pivot is a free add-on for Excel 2010 and Excel 2013. From Office 2016 onwards it can be found in Excel.

Power BI works on top of the Power Pivot and Power Query engines. You can shape and analyse your data either using Get Data in Power Query or Data Model in Power Pivot. You can then Power BI reports and interactive dashboards using Power BI’s wide variety of data visualisations.

Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) is the native language for PowerPivot, Power BI Desktop and SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS).

It is quick and simple to use and includes some of the functions that Excel uses to work with relational data.

You can find our more about how to learn DAX here: Beginners DAX training course and here: Advanced DAX training course.

Power BI is a different tool to Excel.

They are both great so long as they are used for the right job.

Excel is great for quick, simple ad-hoc analysis. It is very widely used and understood. Sharing your analysis can be a little fiddley, however.

Power BI is a business analytics and data analysis tool, designed to work with large amounts of data.

It was designed with collaboration in mind and makes sharing your work to mobile apps or over the internet straightforward.

We have a detailed blog post about this which you can find here: Power BI: Desktop VS Pro VS Premium. If you would like more details.

Very briefly however the differences are as below.

Power BI Desktop:

Power BI Desktop (free) gives you access to Power BI’s basic features and is where you create data models and carry out data cleansing and analysis. It is also how you access the full cloud-based version of Power BI – Power BI Service – if you are a subscriber.

Power BI Pro:

Power BI is the full version of Power BI. It includes the ability to build and share dashboards and reports that you have built which you can’t with BI Desktop.

Power BI Service or Premium:

Power BI Service is designed for large organisations. It gives your company access to its own dedicated capacity and allows for analysis of very large scale datasets.