Victoria Power BI User Group Meeting December 2017

What’s New and Exciting with Power BI Agenda Introductions What’s New and Exciting with Power BI Desktop (Dec 2017) Other Updates(Dec 2017) From Power BI to Azure Analysis Services Custom Navigation in Power BI Question and Answer 

Introductions We have two sites where we manage meetings. One is hosted by Microsoft Power BI User Group https://www.pbiusergroup.com/communities/community-home?CommunityKey=6c7102ee-2720-418e-b3c8-fff60a8d78c5

Introductions The other is hosted by Meetup. Please join so that you can be notified when of new meeting events occur. In addition the slide decks are uploaded to the MS site for reference https://www.meetup.com/Victoria-Power-BI-User-Group/

Power BI Desktop Reporting Q&A for report creation Cross-highlighting for bookmarks More bookmark flexibility Field properties pane and field descriptions Scatter visual from x- & y-axis groupings High density sampling for maps based on latitude and longitude Responsive slicers New custom visuals Card Browser Table Heatmap Data Image by CloudScope Power KPI Matrix Text Filter ChartAccent – LineChart ChartAccent – BarChart Analytics Drill filters other visuals   Data connectivity Adobe Analytics connector HDInsight Interactive Query connector Data.World connector SAP BW connector improvements: Support for connecting to an SAP BW Message Server Support for Windows Authentication IBM Netezza connector is now generally available https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-desktop-december-feature-summary/

Additional updates Power BI Premium Power BI Premium now supports uploading Power BI Desktop (.PBIX) files that are up to 10 GB in size – a x10 increase compared to before. https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-power-bi-premium-support-for-larger-datasets/ Power BI Service Selective publish for Power BI apps External user distribution with Azure Active Directory B2B Improved workspace management with Premium AI-powered app recommendations Dashboard on-tile updates E-mail subscriptions for apps Single-sign on for SQL Server, Teradata, and SAP HANA High availability for gateways and more in the November on-premises update Granular control for Publish to Web https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-service-october-and-november-2017-feature-summary/

Additional updates Power BI Premium Power BI Premium now supports uploading Power BI Desktop (.PBIX) files that are up to 10 GB in size – a x10 increase compared to before. https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-power-bi-premium-support-for-larger-datasets/ Power BI Service Selective publish for Power BI apps External user distribution with Azure Active Directory B2B Improved workspace management with Premium AI-powered app recommendations Dashboard on-tile updates E-mail subscriptions for apps Single-sign on for SQL Server, Teradata, and SAP HANA High availability for gateways and more in the November on-premises update Granular control for Publish to Web https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-service-october-and-november-2017-feature-summary/

Need to balance Agility vs Stability Rapid development and delivery of a “working” system, not necessarily a “perfect” system, in order to build a tactical solution Learn as you build. Tangible progress above the water line thus less time to educate as the results are apparent Best when solving a highly focused business problem. 1 or 2 steps of a business process/workflow Low data volume, small user group Heuristic in nature/Trial and Error Shoot from the hip approach Decentralized control of analysis and reporting Stability A slow measured approach to development and delivery in order to build a robust strategic solution Learn, educate then build. Effort is below the water line thus more time to explain because results are not tangible and not apparent Best when solving a broad business problem. All parts of a business process/workflow. High data volume, large user group Due diligence/Investigate then proceed Aim then shoot approach Centralized control of analysis and reporting Agility Stability Balance

Need to balance Agility vs Stability Agility = Data Discovery Tools Excel Power Pivot Power View Power Query Power Map Office 365/Azure Stability = Enterprise BI Tools SQL Server Reporting Services Integration Services Analysis Services SharePoint Agility Stability Balance

BI Solution Data Discovery Solution Agility Stability Balance Business Needs There is a loop that flows in both directions depending on business needs BI Solution Data Discovery Solution Agility Stability Balance

Data Discovery Solution Start/Finish on Business Need. On each iteration either follow a “Data Discovery” solution path or a “BI” solution path depending on business requirements. A Data Discovery solution may serve as the starting point for a BI solution and a BI solution may generate demand for a Data Discovery solution. The feedback loop is key to maintaining the balance between the need for agility and stability. Data Discovery Solution BI Solution

Power BI to Azure Analysis Services – Dave Jaycock Power BI is an accelerator not a replacement, know when and how to expand beyond Power BI.

Power BI to Azure Analysis Services – Dave Jaycock Advantages of Azure Analysis Services Allows for greater data sizes (scales up to 400GB vs 1GB max w/ Power BI Pro) Provides ability to partition the model for incremental data loads Allows for faster data refresh schedules than Power BI (import data mode only) Provides a platform that can scale up to meet peek demand or scale down during low usage Common development technologies (utilizes same engine as Power BI, SSAS Tabular, Excel Power Pivot)

Demo

Power BI to Azure Analysis Services – Dave Jaycock Thoughts and Considerations Beta Software Azure SSAS data connector for Power BI is still in BETA No Direct Connection from Power BI Service to Azure (requires Desktop Client) Cloud Based modelling tool still buggy and not intuitive Data Source Restrictions Does not support as many data sources as PowerBI Greater support for On-Prem than Cloud (ie. No support for Dynamics AX / One Drive) Scheduling Refreshes Requires Custom Scripting Refreshes are scheduling through Azure Functions Scripts are produced in C# or JavaScript (examples online for how to setup)

Custom Navigation with Power BI Use this technique to provide a better user experience when navigating a report, in particular embedded reports. To implement this use Bookmarks Transparent shapes linked to bookmarks Works with the service and with Embedded Power BI Reports