1. Introduction to Business Intelligence and Power BI
1.2 What is Power BI?
Start with a problem
Ravindra's manager asks for one page that shows sales by city, refreshed every morning, that Shraddha and Zoya can open on their phones. Ravindra only knows Excel.
Explain simply
Power BI is a set of Microsoft tools that does four jobs: connect to data, transform it (Power Query), model it (relationships and DAX), and share it securely (the Service).
Show the data
| Order ID | Order Date | City | Store | Platform | Category | Amount (₹) | Delivery mins | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | 06-Apr-2026 | Pune | Kothrud | Blinkit | Dairy | 400 | 8 | Delivered |
| 302 | 06-Apr-2026 | Pune | Baner | Amazon Now | Snacks | 200 | 12 | Delivered |
| 303 | 07-Apr-2026 | Nashik | Gangapur | Blinkit | Dairy | 300 | 14 | Delivered |
| 304 | 04-May-2026 | Nashik | College Road | Blinkit | Fruits | 150 | 9 | Delivered |
| 305 | 04-May-2026 | Kolhapur | Rajarampuri | Amazon Now | Snacks | 450 | 7 | Delivered |
| 306 | 05-May-2026 | Pune | Kothrud | Blinkit | Fruits | 250 | 16 | Delivered |
| 307 | 05-May-2026 | Nashik | College Road | Amazon Now | Dairy | 350 | 11 | Delivered |
| 308 | 05-May-2026 | Kolhapur | Rajarampuri | Blinkit | Dairy | 0 | Cancelled |
About this data: This table uses columns: Order ID, Order Date, City, Store, Platform, Category, Amount (₹), Delivery mins, Status. This table uses columns: Power Query preview. This table uses columns: Data pane. Values shown are the lesson examples already on this page (not a new dataset).
Fictional sample data. Practice file: visuals_orders_apr_may_2026.csv (source: src/practice/).
Demonstrate
-
Connect: Desktop › Home › Get data › Text/CSV › choose the practice file › Transform Data.
Your result should look like this:
Power Query preview 8 rows, 9 columns -
Transform: check the column types (Order Date = Date, Amount = Whole number) › Close & Apply.
Your result should look like this:
Data pane One table with 9 fields -
Model: Modeling › New measure ›
Total Sales = SUM(Orders[Amount]).Your result should look like this:
Card visual ₹2,100 -
Visualise: add a bar chart with City and Total Sales.
Your result should look like this:
City Total Sales (₹) Pune 850 Nashik 800 Kolhapur 450 Total 2,100 -
Share: Home › Publish to a workspace (needs a work account; see 1.4 and Module 25).
Show the result
Your result should look like this (fictional sample):
| Job | Tool inside Power BI | Result on the sample |
|---|---|---|
| Connect | Get data | 8 rows loaded |
| Transform | Power Query | Correct types |
| Model | DAX measure | Total Sales ₹2,100 |
| Share | Power BI Service | Report in a workspace |
Explain what happened
The CSV was read once, cleaned with recorded steps, summarised by a measure and drawn as a chart. Next month you press Refresh instead of rebuilding everything.
Explore further
- Power BI is also part of Microsoft Fabric; you will see the word in the Service and in licensing.
Detailed reference for this lesson:
Microsoft Power BI is a set of software services, apps and connectors. Together they turn data from many sources into interactive visual reports. It is one of the most used BI tools in companies, so you see it in many data analyst job posts.
Power BI is now also part of Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft's bigger analytics platform. As a beginner you do not need to learn Fabric. But you will see the word "Fabric" in the Service and in licensing, so it helps to know the link.
Microsoft Power BI म्हणजे software services, apps आणि connectors चा एक संच. हे सगळे मिळून वेगवेगळ्या ठिकाणचा data interactive visual reports मध्ये बदलतात. Companies मध्ये सगळ्यात जास्त वापरल्या जाणाऱ्या BI tools पैकी हे एक आहे, म्हणून data analyst च्या बऱ्याच job posts मध्ये याचं नाव दिसतं.
Power BI आता Microsoft Fabric चा, म्हणजे Microsoft च्या मोठ्या analytics platform चा, भाग आहे. Beginner म्हणून तुम्हाला Fabric शिकायची गरज नाही. पण Service मध्ये आणि licensing मध्ये "Fabric" हा शब्द दिसेल, म्हणून हे नातं माहीत असलेलं बरं.
Microsoft Power BI software services, apps और connectors का एक सेट है. ये सब मिलकर अलग-अलग जगहों का data interactive visual reports में बदलते हैं. Companies में सबसे ज़्यादा इस्तेमाल होने वाले BI tools में से यह एक है, इसलिए data analyst की कई job posts में इसका नाम दिखता है.
Power BI अब Microsoft Fabric का, यानी Microsoft के बड़े analytics platform का, हिस्सा भी है. Beginner के तौर पर आपको Fabric सीखने की ज़रूरत नहीं है. लेकिन Service में और licensing में "Fabric" शब्द दिखेगा, इसलिए यह रिश्ता जानना अच्छा है.
Key strengths of Power BI:
- Familiar for Excel users – Power Query and the Data Model are the same technologies found in Excel (Get & Transform and Power Pivot).
- Hundreds of connectors to files, databases, cloud services and online sources.
- DAX (Data Analysis Expressions), a powerful formula language for business calculations.
- Interactive visuals – click on one chart and the others filter automatically.
- Secure sharing and collaboration through the Power BI Service.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip
A common mistake is calling Power BI "just a visualisation tool" in interviews. Always mention all four parts of the job: connect, transform (Power Query), model (relationships and DAX) and share securely (Service). This shows you understand the full workflow. Clear?
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – मराठी
एक common चूक म्हणजे interview मध्ये Power BI ला "just a visualisation tool" म्हणणं. नेहमी कामाचे चारही भाग सांगा: connect, transform (Power Query), model (relationships आणि DAX) आणि सुरक्षितपणे share (Service). त्यावरून दिसतं की तुम्हाला पूर्ण workflow समजला आहे. समजलं का?
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – हिंदी
एक common गलती है interview में Power BI को "just a visualisation tool" कहना. हमेशा काम के चारों हिस्से बताओ: connect, transform (Power Query), model (relationships और DAX) और सुरक्षित तरीके से share (Service). इससे पता चलता है कि तुम पूरा workflow समझते हो. समझ आया?
Fix common mistakes
| Wrong result | Reason | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| Calling Power BI "just a charting tool" in an interview | Only the visual part was remembered | Name all four jobs: connect, transform, model, share |
| Total Sales doubles to ₹4,200 | The same CSV was appended twice | Load each file once; press Refresh for new data |
| Chart shows Count of Amount | Amount loaded as text | Set the type in Power Query |
Practise independently
Practice task
Using the same file, what are Total Sales for Blinkit and for Amazon Now?
Hints
- Blinkit orders: 301, 303, 304, 306, 308.
Solution
Blinkit ₹400 + ₹300 + ₹150 + ₹250 + ₹0 = ₹1,100; Amazon Now ₹200 + ₹450 + ₹350 = ₹1,000; total ₹2,100.
Think like a professional
Describe Power BI by the business outcome first (one trusted, refreshing report) and the tools second.
Revision card
Interview card