With Microsoft pushing its new features of BI front-end tools, I thought I’d spend some time breaking down the different component of Power BI and what you need for each one.
Power BI comes in 2 flavors: On-Premise (via Excel 2013), and On-the Cloud (via SharePoint 365)
Power BI – On Premise
The on-premise tools consist of:
- Power Query
- Power Pivot (not really a new tool as it’s been around for a while now)
- Power Map
- Power View
Power Query and Power Pivot will work as a downloadable add-ins for Office 2010 or later. Power View is available in the Office Professional Plus and Office 365 Professional Plus editions, and in the standalone edition of Excel 2013.
PowerMap requires a higher subscription, specifically: Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus, Office 365 Midsize Business, or for the Office 365 Enterprise E3 or E4 plans. You can view more info here.
Power BI – Cloud
The cloud tools include:
- Power BI Sites
- Power Q&A
- Query and Data Management
- Power BI Windows Store App
The Power BI Sites is available when you register for Power BI for Office 365. If you already have an E4 licence, you can add it for $20/month per user (more info on pricing). You can also have it as a standalone, or add it to your Office 365 ProPlus subscription.
- You can view workbooks with sizes up to 250MB in the browser (if using regular SharePoint, you can’t view workbooks larger than 30MB in the browser)
- Can view Power View sheets in HTML5 (read: future mobile integration/functionality)
- Can add workbooks to your list of favorite repors in your personal My Power BI site
- Can configure the landing page to showcase different workbooks
- View query usage analytics and manage data sources
