That is my final weblog submit in 2021. I want you all a beautiful break and a contented new 12 months.

Within the first submit of my Energy BI 101 sequence, we learnt that Energy BI is an information platform containing numerous instruments and companies. We additionally defined the at present accessible subscriptions throughout the Energy BI platform. The main target of the second submit of this sequence is on what we must always be taught to attain our objectives extra effectively. On this submit, we deal with the reporting instruments accessible to us in line with our subscription plan. From this submit onwards, we talk about extra particular facets of the Energy BI platform.

We learnt to date that Energy BI isn’t just a reporting device to construct refined reviews; it’s certainly a platform supplying a variety of options from knowledge preparation, knowledge modelling and knowledge visualization to contribute to an organisation’s knowledge evaluation journey in some ways reminiscent of sharing datasets, reviews, and dashboards. All of those are attainable provided that we take the right steps in constructing our Energy BI ecosystem. However, it is vitally true that Energy BI provides us the pliability to create professional-looking and crowd pleasing visualisations offering simple to know insights round a topic. Probably the most famend device inside Energy BI is Energy BI Desktop, however it isn’t the one device accessible to us to create reviews. Apart from, Energy BI Desktop reviews should not essentially the most effective reply to all enterprise necessities. In reality, the enterprise necessities outline the Energy BI structure that helps these necessities. Primarily based on the structure, organisations determine to amass a sure subscription plan, and primarily based on the subscription plan, we’ve got numerous reporting instruments accessible to us. At this level, you may ask, “properly, what structure helps my organisation requires?”. Let’s reply that query in a future weblog submit.

For the aim of this weblog submit, it is sufficient to know what reporting instruments can be found below which subscription plans. Let’s get began.

Reporting instruments accessible in Energy BI

As talked about earlier, there are numerous reporting instruments accessible to us. Let’s first see what reporting instruments can be found to us whatever the subscription plans. Then we are going to have a look at the subscription plans supporting these instruments.

Energy BI Service

Energy BI Service is a SaaS (Software program as a Service) providing from Microsoft within the cloud. The customers inside an organisation, relying on their entry rights, could create reviews immediately in Energy BI Service. The customers may also securely share and distribute these reviews. Whereas creating or enhancing reviews is feasible in Energy BI Service, it’s strongly beneficial to keep away from this methodology for a number of causes. The obvious one is that the adjustments we make to a report could quickly get overwritten by another person that republishes the identical report from Energy BI Desktop. Examine this weblog submit from SQLChick to see why you must keep away from creating or enhancing reviews immediately from Energy BI Service. The reviews are downloadable in PBIX format. 

You possibly can entry Energy BI Service right here.

Energy BI Desktop

It’s a desktop software constructed for knowledge preparation, knowledge modelling and knowledge visualisation. For those who wish to study knowledge modelling with Energy BI, try my guide right here. We will use Energy BI Desktop to connect with greater than 250 completely different knowledge sources, making ready, reworking and cleaning that knowledge and at lastly visualising the information. Energy BI Desktop is the predominant and most famous report authoring device accessible within the Energy BI platform. It has many extra functionalities and is extra versatile than Energy BI Service. As an illustration, organising Role Level Security (RLS) shouldn’t be accessible in Energy BI Service. The file format of the reviews created in Energy BI Desktop is PBIX. 

Obtain Energy BI Desktop from right here.

Energy BI Report Builder (Paginated)

Paginated reviews aka pixel-perfect reviews are formatted in a option to match completely on a web page. That report web page may later be printed. We have now actual management over web page formatting to show our knowledge in tables or charts. The reviews should not as interactive because the reviews created in Energy BI Desktop.

Paginated reviews are primarily based on RDL know-how which is commonplace report format in SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). The device for creating a paginated report within the Energy BI ecosystem is Energy BI Report Builder. The reviews file kind is RDL. We will at present publish Paginated reviews solely to a Workspace that’s backed with both a Premium Per User (PPU) or a Premium Capability. 

Obtain Energy BI Report Builder from right here.

Energy BI Desktop Optimised for Report Server (RS)

Power BI Report Server (PBIRS) is an on-premises server able to rendering Energy BI report information (PBIX). If we’ve got a PBIRS up and operating inside our organisation and we require to publish Energy BI reviews to PBIRS, then we might want to create our reviews in a particular version of Energy BI Desktop which is optimised for PBIRS. This version is completely different from Energy BI Desktop, which we often use to create and publish our reviews to Energy BI Service. As an illustration, Energy BI Desktop RS doesn’t embody the preview options we used to see in Energy BI Desktop till these options are launched. Constructing reviews in Energy BI Desktop RS ensures that the reviews are absolutely purposeful after being deployed to our PBIRS. We will set up Energy BI Desktop and Energy BI Desktop RS side-by-side on the identical machine. 

Obtain Energy BI Desktop RS from right here.

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a tremendous spreadsheet software program with many analytical capabilities. Definitely, Excel is one essentially the most broadly used software program each accountant has of their toolbox. It’s strong, versatile and really highly effective in knowledge visualisation and knowledge evaluation. With Microsoft Excel, we are able to connect with many various knowledge sources (identical to Energy BI Desktop). We will use Energy Question for Excel to load knowledge into workbooks, rework and mix that knowledge and cargo it into an information mannequin accessible in Energy Pivot. We will additionally construct an information mannequin in Energy Pivot. Microsoft Excel gives a strong reporting expertise. We will publish the Excel information to Energy BI Service in two methods:

• Publishing Excel as an Excel workbook
• Publishing Excel knowledge mannequin as a dataset

If we choose to publish the Excel reviews as a workbook, then we are going to get a full Excel expertise inside Energy BI Service simply line how the Excel On-line works. In distinction, if we publish the information mannequin from Excel as a dataset then the datasets created in Excel, identical to every other datasets in Energy BI Service, can be found to authorised individuals.

The Excel datasets, like different printed datasets in Energy BI Service, may also be used to create reviews in Energy BI Service or Energy BI Desktop. 

Attempt Excel without cost from right here.

Report Builder

Report Builder is often known as SQL Server Report Builder. It’s a stand-alone report authoring device put in on our PC. We will create paginated reviews within the Report Builder and deploy the reviews to a Energy BI Report Server occasion. Report Builder is similar to Energy BI Report Builder. The distinction between the 2 is that with Report Builder you may deploy the reviews to an on-premises Energy BI Report Server however with Energy BI Report Builder you may at present publish the reviews to a Premium Workspace in Energy BI Service.

Obtain Report Builder from right here.

Cell Report Writer (aka DataZen)

Microsoft SQL Server Cell Report Writer is a report authoring device for SQL Server 2016 Reporting Companies (SSRS) and above. Cell Report Writer’s unique identify is DataZen which was initially launched in 2013 and bought by Microsoft in 2014. Microsoft built-in DataZen into SQL Server Reporting Companies 2016. It’s possible you’ll ask “how Cell Report Writer is expounded to Energy BI?“. The reply is that we are able to create Reporting Companies cellular reviews utilizing the Cell Report Writer and deploy these reviews right into a Energy BI Report Server. The reviews constructed with Cell Report Writer are optimized for consumption in cellular units.

Obtain Cell Report Writer from right here.

Now that we all know all our reporting choices within the Energy BI ecosystem, let’s learn how these reporting instruments are supported on completely different subscription plans.

Energy BI Subscriptions and their Supported Reporting Instruments

One of the vital vital selections each organisation ought to make is to provide you with an structure that helps the organisation’s analytical necessities. Relying on the structure, you could require one of many following subscription plans or a mixture of them.

Here’s a very temporary clarification of at present accessible subscriptions and their accessible reporting instruments.

Energy BI Free

Because the identify resembles, that is the free providing from Microsoft. We don’t require to subscribe or pay something to create our reviews in Energy BI Desktop and publish them to the Energy BI Service.

Out there reporting instruments:

• Energy BI Desktop
• Energy BI Service (creating report functionality)

Energy BI Professional

Energy BI Professional is the primary subscription tier providing from Microsoft. The next reporting instruments can be found below the Energy BI Professional:

• Energy BI Desktop
• Energy BI Service (creating report functionality)
• Microsoft Excel
  • Analyse in Excel
  • Connecting to Energy BI Datasets and creating reviews in Excel

It’s possible you’ll surprise how the Analyse in Excel and Connecting to Energy BI Datasets are completely different. Right here is the reply, relying on our permissions, we’ve got the previous two choices to connect with and create reviews in Excel on prime of present Energy BI reviews and datasets on the Energy BI Service.

Analyse in Excel

This feature is accessible from the Energy BI Service on prime of the present reviews or datasets on the Energy BI Service itself. After we login to the service, if we’ve got permission, we are able to…

1. Click on on the Extra Choices button on a report or a dataset
2. Click on Analyse in Excel

3. If you have already got the most recent model of Excel libraries put in in your machine then click on Obtain in any other case click on the I’ve already put in these updates hyperlink. A I’ve the Excel libraries put in on my machine, I click on the hyperlink

The above course of downloads an Excel file related to the underlying dataset. You possibly can open the Excel file and begin creating your reviews.

Connecting to Energy BI Datasets and creating reviews in Excel

On this situation, we join from Excel to the datasets accessible to us on the Energy BI Service. The next steps clarify how to take action:

1. Open Excel and login to your M365 account

2. Click on the Knowledge tab
3. Click on the Get Knowledge button
4. Click on From Energy BI Dataset
5. You require to move your Energy BI credentials, then you may choose the specified dataset to connect with

Notice

We require to M365 account to have the ability to use connect with a Energy BI dataset.

Energy BI Premium Per Person (PPU)

The PPU subscription permits organisations to get the premium options by subscribing to a PPU for every person. Learn extra about PPU and its options right here. The next reporting instruments can be found to us when we’ve got a PPU subscription:

• Energy BI Desktop
• Energy BI Service (creating reviews functionality)
• Microsoft Excel
  • Analyse in Excel
  • Connecting to Energy BI datasets and reviews from Excel
• Energy BI Report Builder (Paginated reviews)
• Thirdpatry reporting instruments reminiscent of Tableau by way of XMLA endpoints

Energy BI Premium Capability

Energy BI Premium is an enterprise-grade BI providing within the Energy BI ecosystem. It is a capacity-based subscription which means we get devoted assets and gives larger scale and efficiency for Energy BI. The Energy BI Premium capability permits extra customers throughout the organisation to get essentially the most out of all accessible Energy BI contents with higher efficiency. Learn extra about Energy BI Premium capability right here. The next reporting instruments can be found to us when we’ve got a Premium capability:

• Energy BI Desktop
• Energy BI Service (creating reviews functionality)
• Microsoft Excel
  • Analyse in Excel
  • Connecting to Energy BI datasets and reviews from Excel
• Energy BI Report Builder (Paginated reviews)
• Thirdpatry reporting instruments reminiscent of Tableau by way of XMLA endpoints
• Energy BI Desktop Optimised for Report Server (RS)
• Report Builder
• Cell Report Writer (aka DataZen)

Energy BI Embedded

Energy BI Embedded is one other service providing from Microsoft primarily for software program improvement firms who wish to embed Energy BI reporting performance into their functions. It’s possible you’ll use Energy BI Embedded in your organisation both you’re a software program vendor (ISV) otherwise you’re constructing in home functions that embody Energy BI reporting performance otherwise you’d like to check some Energy BI Premium Capability functionalities. Sure! That’s proper. Energy BI Embedded capability works similar to Energy BI Premium capability and a variety of Premium functionalities can be found in Embedded capability as properly like the flexibility to make use of XMLA endpoints over each Embedded and Premium capacities. You possibly can check an Embedded capability without cost. Learn this submit to learn how. Study extra about Energy BI Embedded right here. The next reporting instruments can be found to us when we’ve got an Embedded capability:

• Energy BI Desktop
• Energy BI Service (creating reviews functionality)
• Microsoft Excel
  • Analyse in Excel
  • Connecting to Energy BI datasets and reviews from Excel
• Energy BI Report Builder (Paginated reviews)
• Thirdpatry reporting instruments reminiscent of Tableau by way of XMLA endpoints
• Energy BI Desktop Optimised for Report Server (RS) (Solely accessible in A4 SKU and above)

Right here you go. Now you might have a greater understanding of the reporting instruments accessible on the Energy BI ecosystem and when you need to use them. You probably have any feedback, please share it with us within the feedback part beneath.