Dashboards that seem to be falling apart due to the proliferation of calculations and data models and are very often built using Excel as a source.
Seriously, you don't want this! Why do so many people want to solve everything in Power BI? The golden rule is: "Do all your customizations as close to the source as possible!"
As Matthew Roche (Roche's Maxim) - program manager at Microsoft says "Data transformations should be made “As far upstream as possible, and as far downstream as necessary” .
Upstream, as close to the original source as possible, so if I say now that a data platform is a must, you are now thinking, ahhh, logical! Right?
This wisdom is often ignored, because 'you just have to know'. A matter of knowledge and sometimes a combination of knowledge, budget, priorities and setting goals.
Here's why you wouldn't want everything in Power BI:
1. Power BI is not a kitchen cupboard to cram everything into
Filling your dashboard with calculations and transformations is like filling your kitchen cupboard with everything you have: it works, until it explodes. Before you know it, you’re stuck in a web of formulas that make your reports slower than a snail on vacation.
2. Bad for sleep
If you do everything in Power BI, you’re creating a nightmare for anyone who has to take over your job. Whether you’re taking a vacation or succumbing to a midlife crisis, your coworkers will curse you when they try to make sense of your spaghetti. And honestly, do you want that on your conscience?
3. A source of truth, not confusion
Your data needs to come together as one clear whole. If you put all your logic in Power BI, consistency will be a mess. Do yourself a favor and make sure your data platform is a single source of truth, not a source of confusion, with something like Microsoft Fabric.
4. Keep the hackers out
Governance and security are not just buzzwords. It is easier and safer to manage your data in your data platform. Or do you want your Power BI reports to be the Achilles heel of your data security? No, right?
5. Be ready for whatever comes
By setting up your data platform properly, you make it flexible for new sources, changes, new use cases such as predictive analytics. Let Power BI be the icing on the cake, not the cake itself.
Power BI is not your all-in-one solution. Use Power BI for what it is meant to be: a visual presentation, not your full data solution. Use a simple but powerful data platform like Fabric and avoid locking yourself into Power BI.
So, what do you think? Still stuck in Power BI mode? Or ready to give your data platform the credit it deserves?
Stay away from data drama! 😉
If you're thinking, well, that's not so bad... then watch this YouTube video in which Matthew explains exactly why you want to keep your data transformations as close to your source as possible and therefore not in Power BI.
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