Power BI is a great tool for data visualisation and reporting, but feeding all that data from multiple sources into Power BI for further analysis can be a challenge. Fortunately, Microsoft’s new Common Data Service (CDS) for Analytics technology is designed to simplify this process.
The CDS for Analytics technology is a new feature integrated into Power BI that allows users to streamline the Power BI integration process by extracting data from business applications and optimising the way users interact and manipulate the data.
The process is simplified thanks to standardising data streams since most organisations want to have an overview of similar types of data spanning from finance and operations to marketing and sales.
Here’s how CDS for Analytics works to help you incorporate data into Power BI:
- Data Extraction
The CDS tool automatically extracts data from business applications into Power BI for analysis through prebuilt connectors from applications such as Dynamics 365 or Salesforce, and from users’ own databases. It also provides a standardised and uniform process to collect, transfer and use data for analysis without the need for coding.
- Data Modelling
Standardisation enables faster data modelling to derive better business value and insights in Power BI. Microsoft’s Common Data Model combines a set of standardised templates for commonly used data objects and associated business activities such as contacts, sales leads or purchase orders. Data is then transferred into these pre-defined templates for easy manipulation and analysis.
- Embedded Analytics
The integration between business applications and Power BI is further optimised through a series of planned Power BI Insights apps with packaged analytics aimed at different business units and processes, including sales and customer service. This way, Power BI-enabled apps benefit from the start from in-built data analysis and visualisation features.
The CDS for Analytics and the Power BI Insights app are due for preview release in the second quarter of 2018. More info here.
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