Microsoft Power BI

Self-service dashboards with native connectors for Dynamics 365 and other ERPs.

Updated August 2026 · By the ERP Research Editorial Team · Independent and vendor-neutral.

Works with: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & OperationsMicrosoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralSAPOracle
Deployment: Cloud, On-premises (Report Server)
Company size: SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise
Pricing: Per-user/month
Founded: 1975
Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States

Overview

Microsoft Power BI is a business intelligence and self-service analytics platform that lets users connect to data sources, model and transform data, and build interactive reports and dashboards. It is part of the Microsoft Power Platform and is tightly integrated with the broader Microsoft ecosystem, including Excel, Microsoft 365, Teams, Azure, and Dynamics 365. Power BI is also a workload within Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft's unified analytics SaaS platform.

For ERP analytics, Power BI provides native connectors for Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations and Business Central, plus connectors and certified content for SAP HANA, SAP BW, Oracle, and many databases. Reports can be authored in Power BI Desktop and published to the Power BI service for sharing, scheduled refresh, and governed distribution. Power BI Embedded and the embedding APIs allow ISVs and enterprises to surface dashboards inside their own applications and portals.

The platform combines a tabular data model (VueModel/VertiPaq engine) with the DAX expression language and Power Query (M) for data transformation. Recent releases add generative-AI assistance through Copilot for report creation, narrative summaries, and natural-language Q&A over governed semantic models.

Screenshots & demo

Demo video from the vendor's YouTube channel. Screenshots sourced from Microsoft.

Modules & capabilities

Microsoft Power BI covers 40 of 45 capabilities we track in this category

89%

Drag-and-drop dashboard/report authoring
Core strength
Interactive filtering, drill-down and cross-filtering
Core strength
Broad chart and visualization library
Core strength
Mobile-optimized dashboardsMobile-optimized report layouts
Supported
Geospatial / map visualizationsBuilt-in Map, Filled Map and Azure Maps visuals
Supported
Pixel-perfect / paginated report layoutsPaginated Reports (Power BI Report Builder)
Supported
Narrative data storytelling
Not evidenced

“Not evidenced” means our research found no public documentation of this capability — the vendor may still offer it. Confirm on a demo.

Common use cases

Finance teams building P&L, balance-sheet, and cash-flow dashboards on Dynamics 365 data
Operations reporting across SAP and non-SAP sources in one model
Self-service exploration for business users via shared semantic models
Executive KPI dashboards distributed through Teams and mobile
ISVs embedding customer-facing analytics into SaaS applications
Supply-chain and inventory monitoring with scheduled refresh
Ad-hoc natural-language Q&A for non-technical staff

Strengths & considerations

Strengths

Deep native integration with Microsoft 365, Teams, Azure, and Dynamics 365
Low entry price with free desktop authoring and per-user licensing
Workload within Microsoft Fabric for unified data engineering and BI
Very large ecosystem of custom visuals and community content

Considerations

Premium/Fabric capacity and gateways add cost and administration for large deployments
DAX has a steep learning curve for advanced modeling

ERP integrations

Microsoft Dynamics 365Power BI connector for Dynamics 365

Prebuilt connector

Reads from ERPFinance & Operations dataBusiness Central reports

Native Power BI Desktop connector for Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations; Business Central ships built-in Power BI report packs.

Integration docs →

SAPPower BI connectors for SAP HANA and SAP BW

Prebuilt connector

Reads from ERPSAP HANA viewsSAP BW cubes

Native Power Query connectors for SAP HANA and SAP Business Warehouse; supports DirectQuery and Import modes.

Integration docs →

Oracle Fusion CloudPower BI Oracle Database connector

Open API

Reads from ERPOracle database tables

Generic Oracle Database (OCI) connector in Power Query; not a purpose-built Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP connector.

Connector details independently verified against vendor marketplaces and documentation; last checked 2026-08-11.

Pricing

Model

Per-user/month

Starting price

Power BI Pro about $14/user/month; Premium Per User about $24/user/month

Free trial

Yes

Power BI Desktop is free. Sharing requires Pro or Premium Per User; large-scale capacity is sold via Microsoft Fabric capacities and Power BI Embedded (Azure). Prices vary by region and have been subject to change. Get an independent shortlist with pricing guidance below.

Technical & security

Hosting: SaaS (multi-tenant) on Azure; Power BI Report Server available on-premises
Data residency: US, EU, UK, APAC
Compliance: SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR
Mobile app: Yes
Languages: English, and 40+ supported languages

About the vendor

Founded: 1975
Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States
Employees: ~220,000 (Microsoft total)
Ownership: Public (NASDAQ: MSFT)

Alternatives to Microsoft Power BI in Embedded BI

DomoCloud BI platform with dashboards, apps, and ERP data connectors.GoodDataEmbedded analytics platform for building dashboards into business applications.LookerGoverned semantic-layer BI and embedded dashboards over warehoused ERP data.Phocas AnalyticsERP-focused self-service BI for distribution, manufacturing, and retail.Qlik SenseAssociative-engine self-service BI and dashboards for ERP and operational data.SAP Analytics CloudCloud BI, planning, and dashboards built around SAP S/4HANA data.

Microsoft Power BI — frequently asked questions

Does Power BI connect natively to Dynamics 365?

Yes. Power BI provides native connectors for Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations and for Business Central, and Business Central ships with built-in Power BI reports.

Can Power BI be embedded in a custom application?

Yes. Power BI Embedded (an Azure capacity) and the embedding REST/JavaScript APIs let ISVs and enterprises embed reports and dashboards into their own apps and portals.

What is the relationship between Power BI and Microsoft Fabric?

Power BI is the BI workload within Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft's unified SaaS analytics platform that also includes data engineering, data warehousing, and real-time analytics.

Evaluating Embedded BI?

Tell us your ERP and requirements and we'll send an independent shortlist — including Microsoft Power BI and the best-fit alternatives — with honest pros and cons.