Why is Microsoft BI Right for Me?
Updated February 04, 2015
Why is Microsoft BI Right for Me?
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
2014 Enterprise
Modules Used
- SSRS
- SSIS
- SSAS
Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft BI
Microsoft BI that is part of SQL Server 2014 is very easy to install and configure in either a department or enterprise setting. I have experience in both scenarios with multiple different clients in various industries. There is also a lot flexibility in how you install/configure the Microsoft BI tools, depending on what type of solutions you are looking to implement. If you need just an ETL (Extract, Transform & Load) solution to get a data mart up and running using data from multiple sources or if you need a quick web based reporting solution. You have the options to put each of the Microsoft BI tools on separate servers (virtual or physical) or one server and you can then scale out or up on each of these options as needed over time. All of the tools use a standard set of development tools provided either with SQL Server or available for free from Microsoft's website. These tools are all using the Visual Studio engine and provide a very easy to learn environment, especially for those that have done any development in Visual Studio in the past. The end users will be able to easily interact with the solutions you build either through the web or in tools they are most familiar with like Excel.
Pros
- SSIS is by far the easiest and most efficient ETL (Extract, Transform & Load) tool available, after trying many different tools over the years there is no tool that is more flexible and easier to develop solutions with. What takes days/weeks or longer to setup in other tools can be done in at least half the time and perform better.
- SSRS is one of the best web reporting tools available for companies of any size that doesn't require you to re-architect your entire existing database structure. SSRS can connect to all of the major databases and work with data from multiple of them all in the same report. For web reporting that needs to be up and running fast, but be secure and easy to develop on there is no better tool available today.
- SSAS is for more in depth analysis of your data and it has the same capabilities as all other Microsoft tools to connect to multiple data sources and present the data to the user in standardized format. Most users will love that they can access so much of the companies data in Excel using the PivotTables that they probably already use today, but now you are controlling the data and know that it is the correct data. With the new Tabular capabilities in SQL Server 2012 and up it allows end users to help build the initial version of these complex data structures which can then be migrated over to IT to add security, automation and quality control to the final solution.
Cons
- The development tools for Microsoft BI in SQL Server 2012 and up are in a bit of flux at the moment. Initially with SQL Server 2012 they were all fully integrated and available with the installer, but now they have moved to it being a separate web download that you have know which version you need to get it working correctly with the version of SQL Server you are working on. Thankfully all of these tools still use Visual Studio as the starting point, but it would be nice to see the tools better integrated going forward and still able to be updated on a regular basis.
- SSRS has not seen any major updates in the last couple of versions of SQL Server and it could really benefit from some of the new advancements that Microsoft has made with the Power BI line of products that are only available if you use the cloud based Office 365 service. It would be really nice to see some of the features that are available in Power BI added to SSRS to make it a more complete web based reporting tool and more accessible to end users as well as IT.
Microsoft BI provides the most flexibility and best integration across of the products in the SQL Server Microsoft BI Suite (and with other Microsoft tools). The tools are flexible enough to work just as well in a small group as they are in a large enterprise and without having to re-learn the products to fit those different scenarios. All of the tools in the SQL Server Microsoft BI stack are provided with one licenses (assuming you install everything on one server) and all of the development tools required are available for free if they they aren't included with the main installer. The Microsoft BI tools will work with most of the major database systems out of the box and if it doesn't, there is a very active 3rd party software environment that develops free or paid add-ons that will cover the options that Microsoft doesn't out of the box. The tools are easy to learn and use and updated on a very regular basis. There is always the flexibility to add or take away from the products installed as part of a Microsoft BI solution, so you never have to be locked into using only the tools provided by Microsoft.
Using Microsoft BI
70 - Consultants, Business Analysts, Project Managers, Directors and C Level, it is being used at all levels for all functions of our business and it keeps getting used more and more with the new Power BI functionality that has made it available for mobile as well as laptops/desktops. We use it to drive our business and keep us up-to-date on our bottom line and make sure all of our projects/clients working well.
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