Power BI is an essential cloud-based analytics tool within the Microsoft Office suite, helping professionals across various departments aggregate, visualize, and share data efficiently. Its extensive functionality supports careers in data science, business intelligence, finance, and tech, making proficiency in Power BI highly valuable for positions at leading Phoenix firms such as Intel, ZipRecruiter, and Waymo.
Microsoft Office suite has a wealth of tools that teams can access that improve workflow cross-departmentally. Power BI is one of those tools that is often underutilized, but with some training, is a tremendous help for busy professionals. Some thought Power BI was only applicable for departments that examine and work directly with large datasets. This is simply not the case, and the more workforce access to this tool, the better it is for communication and performance by every team. Power BI is a scalable, cloud-based business intelligence software application available as part of Microsoft’s suite of business tools. It is a user-friendly tool that professionals can use with some training and practice.
Some of the functions of Power BI include options for aggregating, analyzing, visualizing, and sharing data. Anyone with experience with programs such as Excel or any other basic spreadsheet work find that it makes their work much easier and more efficient. Power BI integrates well with all Microsoft products.
Companies typically use two versions of Power BI. The basic version is for small or midsize companies that don’t need to handle as much data as large corporations. Businesses that have accounting, sales, and marketing departments often find the basic version effective. The Power BI Plus version is subscription-based and handles large amounts of data. FinTech, business intelligence, data science and analysis, and cybersecurity are good candidates for the Power BI Plus version. One feature that makes Power BI more attractive than other cloud-based programs is its ability to secure a report server to maintain data and reports on-site.
Organizations commonly use Power BI when looking for insights within their data to connect disparate datasets. It’s also a way to transform and clean data that can be made into a model. From there, users can create charts and graphs to provide sleek presentations that are easily understood. Power BI’s data models are flexible enough to be used in numerous ways such as telling stories through charts and data visualizations, as well as examining ‘what-if’ scenarios.
The advantages of Power BI extend beyond basic Microsoft Suite applications, too. It’s a valuable tool that supports more than seventy related programs such as widely used Azure, Dropbox, Google Analytics, OneDrive, and Salesforce, and supports on-premise applications like SQL databases. With these built-in connectors, dashboards that everyone can use can be created in minutes and can be scaled and customized at will. Power BI’s drag-and-drop interface also means not having to code, copy, or paste anything to get started.
Power BI administrators and managers can create advanced custom dashboards for those handling large datasets, providing deeper insights into department performance. The Power BI Admin has access to the admin portal, allowing for the ability to modify tenant settings, view usage reports, and set organization visuals. The ability to make solid predictions when charting a new direction or monitoring an existing situation is incredibly valuable for any business entity. In a data-hungry business world, the ability to nimbly gather real-time data and produce understandable infographics with Power BI is a tremendous advantage.
Mastering Power BI as a career tool is essential for those whose careers rely on understanding and predicting data. Data accumulates at a stunning rate in an information-hungry business climate and is useless unless a program is in place that can automatically translate each bit. Decades ago, data analysis was the realm of large teams of specialists who could make general predictions, but today’s business can’t function like that effectively now. Technology continues to evolve at a blistering pace, and the urgency for experts in data management is skyrocketing, with supply not meeting demand. The ability to pull information that can be easily read and completely up-to-date for any group in an organization is now necessary.
Managing large amounts of data and turning it into understandable insights for department heads and stakeholders is typically handled by roles such as data analysts, data scientists, finance directors, sales and marketing managers, and lead administrators. All of these positions benefit from the incorporation of Power BI into their data management efforts. However, Power BI is not just for data scientists and business intelligence professionals. It is an incredibly user-friendly program designed to be accessible to any professional, making it a very attractive addition to any resume. For example, department representatives and management have to create regular reports and forecasts that their teams can work with, plus they need to be able to track how their team or individual employees are progressing. Power BI is the Microsoft tool they use to make this task easy and efficient. There is even an admin portal for use by administrators to be able to monitor usage and licenses.
For high-ranking careers in data science and business analysis, expertise with Power BI is standard knowledge. There is an opportunity for tech talent to make a career as a Power BI developer for those who already have experience with data analytics or a similar business segment. Power BI developers must have solid skills in data integration, data warehousing, modeling, and presentation concepts and are considered part of the data science team. Sensitive and private data is shared within companies, and Power BI users and developers must have high ethics. Since any data-heavy role has to be able to demonstrate what the information they’ve gathered means to supervisors and stakeholders, top communication abilities and business acumen are required skills.
Some of the more unique data-rich companies based in Phoenix are a draw for tech professionals eager to see the future come to life with their efforts. Cutting-edge names such as ZipRecruiter and Intel, who are known for driving technology, call Phoenix home, as well as futuristic companies such as Waymo, which is paving the way for self-driving vehicles. These businesses are growing faster than their competition in their respective fields, all driven intensely by data and predictions. Companies that handle massive amounts of specialized data include ZipRecruiter, Waymo, GoDaddy, and Qualcomm, some of the region’s most aggressive employers.
Most of these companies are located in Phoenix’s Tempe Town Lake area, overlooking Arizona State University, named number one in the nation for innovation for the eighth straight year. As the name implies, the hub of tech, education, and innovation is located by a lake that sparkles in the nearly ever-present Arizona sunshine. Reflections from the lights from the large Center for the Performing Arts glint off the lake’s shoreline while silent college racing boats zip back and forth, even training at night.
Costs of living are widely spread, which is what would be expected in the fifth-largest city in America. In posh areas north of Phoenix/Tempe such as Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, successful business people enjoy being surrounded by some of the most famous golf courses in the world. For individuals and families, there are culturally diverse neighborhoods that stretch out miles from the city center with plenty of room for swimming pools and other outdoor recreation that is so valued in the Valley of Sun. Average home prices range from $178,000 in outlying sub-centers to multi-million-dollar luxury homes closer to the posher districts. Salaries for those in technology, business intelligence, and data are robust, ranging from around $60,000 to well into the six figures.
Taking in-person Power BI classes in Phoenix is the best way to receive 1-on-1 tailored attention from instructors in small class sizes. Noble Desktop, the creator of this tool, suggests looking at courses offered by Interface Technical Training. Phoenix residents also have the option of attending several choices of courses in Power BI from ONLC and Certstaffix Training, two schools that provide sessions in a state-of-the-art computer lab led by a remote instructor.
Interface Technical Training offers an Analyzing Data with Microsoft Power BI four-day program. In this course, students learn basic and intermediate skills in data analysis using the powerful software. Power BI allows users to transform and combine data from multiple sources, enabling students to explore concepts like database connection, loading, and grouping. Additional topics include data merges, query syntax, and visualizations.
ONLC offers a few courses that teach Microsoft Power BI at different levels or for different roles in business. A solid option for an introductory course is their two-day Power BI for Excel Users workshop. Students in this course discover how to easily move raw data from an Excel spreadsheet to Power BI for analysis in this beginner-friendly course. Using existing skills in Excel, participants learn how to model data, as well as create and publish reports. Students also learn how to master colors, text boxes, interactions, and other data visualization tools. Additional topics include sharing and publishing, including customized dashboards, workplaces, and personal gateways.
Certstaffix Training has a Microsoft Power BI Desktop and Microsoft Power Query class that shows students the necessary functions to transform and combine data from various sources. Topics covered in this class include database connections, loading, and grouping, as well as data merges, Power Query syntax, CSV, and Excel management.
Phoenix is a large, spread-out city, and getting around even short distances can take some patience. Additionally, those who are interested in adding Power BI to their arsenal of professional tools tend to be extremely busy. Live online courses in Power BI are a great way for those professionals to find space in their schedules with the ability to take classes from anywhere. Finding a distraction-free location of their choice allows students to concentrate on the material offered and take advantage of direct assistance from their instructor. Because the classes are live and have small sizes, students can get the assistance they need while they learn in a distraction-free environment. Students are even free to share their computer screens with their instructors for more individualized help.
An excellent course for instruction in Power BI is the Power BI Bootcamp. Bootcamps are comprehensive, information-rich sessions that allow students to learn best practices when using Power BI for creating data visualizations for business reports. In these bootcamps, students discover how the tool was created by combining the best aspects of Excel, Access, SQL, and additional business technologies. Power BI streamlines the process from data to insights, providing users with a skill that solves any business task more efficiently. Students also learn how to connect multiple data sources into one relational model, use Power Query, and make throughout time intelligence reports. Additionally, students use Power BI’s DAX language to power visualizations and get tips on which experts to follow as they refine their skills when they return to the workplace.
Power BI courses and bootcamps are also offered by NYIM Training. Instruction from NYIM Training includes showing the benefits of using Power BI in many roles in technology by demonstrating the use of the software with Power Query, data modeling to connect datasets, and the report view to create compelling dashboards and visualizations. NYC Career Centers is another school with Power BI classes that include instruction in Power BI. Classes with this school are hands-on and demonstrate how gaps in data reporting potential in businesses can be satisfied with this tool.
Power BI isn’t just for those who work with data every day, and it is not a tool that is limited to Microsoft’s Office Suite. The level of efficiency a workplace can experience when a team or the entire company is a wise investment. It’s possible to give employees skills with this user-friendly business intelligence tool by providing onsite corporate Power BI training offered by Noble Desktop. Investing in training is a tremendous advantage when keeping a workforce up-to-date. An expert instructor will tailor a course for your employees and provide training at your location, or can conduct a live virtual session over a video conferencing platform such as Zoom. If it is more convenient to allow employees to attend public open-enrollment classes, individual vouchers can be purchased at a discount. Contact Noble Desktop for more information.
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