News

Microsoft Power BI: Turn to business intelligence for running your company

In modern business transactions we have to constantly strive to discover challenges in real time, try to resolve them as soon as possible, and to monitor the consequences of our actions. This is where we can rely on business intelligence (BI) tools. BI visualizes the data obtained from different systems in the organization, and makes sure that the user can detect positive and negative derogations of various performance indicators with just a few clicks.

Microsoft Power BI has ranked as the no. 1 business analytics platform for several years

Not long ago we used to consider BI as a tool that is only available to the biggest corporations, but now a growing number medium and small businesses are using it. The market has responded with numerous business intelligence platforms, such as Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, ThoughtSpot and MicroStrategy. In spite of harsh competition, Microsoft Power BI has for a number of years retained the position of the market leader and continues to grow its advantage (source: Gartner).

Microsoft Power BI - the leading global analytics platform »

The whole purpose of Power BI is centered around the data; however, it should be noted that this is just a tool, and does not generate the data itself. Its task is to capture and process the data from different resources at the company, such as CRM, ERP, Excel and many others. Collecting the data in one place forms the foundation for preparing reports that reach the user through specially customized dashboards. You can access all of this anywhere, anytime and on any device (computer, tablet or smartphone), taking advantage of fast and high-quality decision-making.

Vaillant: Utilizing Power BI for total overview of sales

Even though Power BI’s features are extensive, it is still just one of Microsoft’s many applications from the Microsoft 365 suite. It can make work easier for both CEOs and heads of departments in an organization, from manufacturing to sales.

Power BI platform provides a company with a full overview of its operations.

One of the companies that fully utilized the power of business intelligence is Vaillant, the provider of energy efficient and ecologically neutral heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. CEO Tomaž Bizjak on what Vaillant wanted to achieve through the implementation of Power BI:

“The main goal we set before we started the Power BI implementation was to improve the monitoring of the sales process and to elevate the process to a higher level. Together with our contractor Stroka Business Group we designed a solution that would primarily provide a more analytical approach to problem resolution and make it easier to prepare reports. Their group of experts made it possible to have transparent real-time reporting, allowing us to closely monitor sales, both at the level of each individual transaction and at the level of Vaillant’s whole business operations in Slovenia.

Sales can be monitored both at the level of an individual transaction or product.

Like many companies, Vaillant was faced with highly dispersed data. In the scope of the whole sales process they used different systems, which resulted in a negative impact on effectiveness. Sales representative Urban Pišlar explains how they utilized Power BI to resolve an issue they had been struggling with for some time:

“Before this project launched, we did not have an analytical overview of sales, and we wanted to establish a platform that could help us monitor key indicators. We were using Excel for sales planning, and ERP and CRM to support sales processes. Stroka Business Group team connected the data from these systems at a single location, and after taking a snapshot of our condition, and by taking into account our requests, designed a dashboard with selected performance indicators. After the implementation was completed, they trained our employees in using Power BI, and made sure that the reports with the latest data are always available.”

What does the implementation of Power BI look like?

Organizations may differ by size and the industry they are in, however, the implementation of Power BI can be completely tailored to the needs, wishes and requirements of each and every one of them. For this reason, it is very important to trust experts with extensive experience in such projects.

Stroka Business Group has been assisting customers with the implementation of Power BI since 2013, and have successfully completed 50 projects during this time. Through them we obtained a breadth of knowledge that we utilize on a daily basis. This allows us to design a strategy to meet the business goals soon after our first meeting, correctly assessing which architecture would best fit the customer. During the implementation we follow the procedure that has in our experience proven to be the most effective, and we used it also when collaborating with Vaillant. The procedure has 5 basic steps on the path to making the app ready to use:

1. Holding workshops (interviews) to assess the client’s requirements
2. Analysis of data sources in the organization
3. Presenting the concept of the solution and final coordination
4. Preparing the architecture and reports in line with the approved concept
5. Training the users

Employees need to become competent users of the analytics tool

The client must at the very start of the project decide which competences they are expecting from their employees. After completing the implementation of Power BI, it is not enough to just provide users with access to the tool across various devices, it is also essential to appropriately train them in using it.

Our experts make sure that users can obtain the skills in so-called data storytelling, which means that they are capable of connecting the data and accompanying visualizations into sensible stories. We can train them so that they can gain an in-depth understanding of the data and also to learn how to utilize the data to make the right decisions.

Trust us with your challenge »

* The data on screenshots is generic, and does not reflect the operations of Stroka Business Group or any of its customers.