As an innovative suite of business intelligence tools, Microsoft Power BI stands at the forefront of data visualization technologies. It allows users to breathe life into an array of raw data by connecting with various databases and synthesizing visually engaging business reports. For those who grapple with immense data sets, Power BI offers an indispensable platform to distill sprawling information into actionable insight, a capability paramount to guiding strategic decisions within any robust organization. Recognizing the fundamental role that data now plays in the corporate landscape, anyone with aspirations for upward mobility, specifically within large-scale business entities, must acquire a comprehensive understanding of data maneuvering. Power BI is an instrumental component of that knowledge set. Such expertise is not only beneficial but, increasingly, a prerequisite for those pursuing significance in roles central to data science, data analytics, and data management. To this end, and paying heed to the indispensability of Power BI skills in this data-driven age, I’ve undertaken the task of carefully curating a selection of top-tier online Power BI courses. Each course delineated herein has been meticulously chosen to serve individuals, be they fledgling analysts or seasoned data whisperers aiming to navigate and excel in the convoluted realms of data-inscribed disciplines. The overreaching aim of this treatise is to provide prospective Power BI savants with a comprehensible guide to pinpointing the most pertinent Online Power BI Courses that are in perfect consonance with their vocational pursuits and individual interests.
Brief Introduction to Power BI
Power BI by Microsoft is an innovative application suite that enables users to import data in various forms from numerous sources and transforms the same into an array of visualizations, making it easier to communicate business information and make business decisions in an informed manner. The availability of many different applications of Power BI makes it an excellent choice for people involved in business intelligence, where professionals in general use various strategies and technologies to handle and analyze data, especially big data.
For instance, with Power BI, a business analyst can collect data from customer reviews, social media, and purchase histories, and convert the collected information into captivating visualizations that help businesses figure out which of its products or services are bestsellers and which are not performing as per expectations. Power BI lets its users import structured data that conforms to a predefined data format, and unstructured data as well, which is raw.
This enables Power BI to concurrently work with structured data like say name of the product, and unstructured data, like a video clip. Using both these forms of data, Power BI enables a store to keep track of how quickly stock of a certain product sells out and even get an idea of how quickly into a shopping trip a customer picks up a certain item. Sources of data for Power BI can range from cloud-stored data, server or on-premise stored data, taken from the internet, from applications like Google Sheets or MS Excel, and many more, extending the many possibilities of Power BI applications. Power BI’s triple components allow access to the suite using numerous avenues. Power BI can be used both on Desktop and Mobile devices.
Benefits of Power BI
Since it was first released in the market, Power BI has been considered as a front-runner in the business intelligence and analytics field, making it the go-to application suite for all the topmost organizations in the world. Now that we understand what Power BI as a tool is, let us take a look at the key benefits for businesses that use it and why it is important to learn it.
Simple-to-Use
The greatest benefit of Power BI is its simplicity. All the data collection intricacies and data analysis happen in its internal workings and the final product is presented to the users, with insights effectively visualized, easily understandable, and relevantly applicable. Its simple-to-use, user-friendly interface enables users to generate BI reports and dashboards from several data sources with marginal effort. This easily usable interface allows not just data experts but anyone inside the organization to benefit from Power BI and data analytics.
Time-Saving
Users can easily create and use various reporting templates in Power BI, These templates then can be saved, and are made available to different teams and departments across an organization for their requirements. This eventually helps organizations to streamline their work processes, drastically reduce the time and effort associated with reporting, and create internal efficiencies.
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Security-focused
Security is an important issue for any responsible business, particularly when it comes to handling and processing big data. The dependable and robust security features of Power BI keep the data extremely safe. In Power BI data is kept secure with end-to-end double encryption, allowing businesses to share analytics insights with safety and confidence. It also identifies patterns of suspicious behavior with oversight capabilities. Strong permissions are required that reduce the risk of network intrusion. There are also sensitivity labels that ensure your data is protected even after being exported. There is a built-in compliance measure at the industry level and country level as well. Azure cloud services remove data exposure to the public internet. Row-level security (RLS) makes sure that only certain sections of data or data points are available for certain people to see, for example, a sales manager can only access sales data. Similarly, object-level security (OLS) can hide or show sections, like sales targets, depending on a user’s role, permissions are accorded.
Consistent Updates
Microsoft releases Power BI software updates regularly, usually as consistently as monthly basis. These updates help to ensure that the desktop Power BI’s usability and features are continuously ahead of the curve. Further, Microsoft actively urges and acts as per the feedback received from its users.
Cost Effective
Power BI is available at no additional cost to all active customers of Microsoft Enterprise Agreement subscribers. If not, then the cost of Power BI will vary depending on your subscription choice. However, its benefits outweigh its costs and save you a lot on long-term costs.
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Is Power BI a Good Career Option?
One of the most sought-after domains in the current market is business intelligence. Business operations are becoming more complex than ever with each passing day and that is the reason why more and more companies are scurrying for the technologies that can be helpful to visualize data in real-time and derive meaningful data insights. In this regard, Power BI is the market leader in business intelligence tools that have brought the much-awaited answer for the industries and transformed the way businesses are operated.
Understandably this has led to a high demand for Power BI skilled professionals in almost every single type of industry be it software, finance, consulting, retail, healthcare, etc. So, people who are still unsure whether it is the right career option or not must consider it as a promising career option. If you are particularly considering a career in data analytics or business intelligence, then Power BI is the top skill you need to add to your resume.
Apart from the variety of job opportunities that Power BI presents, it is also a useful skill to have for steady long-term career growth. Some of the popular job roles as Power BI specialist are Data Analyst, Product Manager, Business Analyst, Power BI Project Manager, Power BI Developer, SQL Server Power BI Developer, Power BI Semantic Model Developer, Power BI Administrator, Power BI Manager, Power BI Consultant and so on.
Salary Trends for a Power BI Developer
As per the data available at Glassdoor from its users, the average salary for a Power BI Developer is about ₹5, 80,000 per annum in India. Whereas the average starting Salary for a Power BI Developer in India is around ₹3, 60,000 per annum. At least two years of minimum experience is required to become a full-time Power BI Developer. These salary estimates are based on data of about 21000 latest salaries received from various Power BI Developers across industries. A Power BI Developer’s highest salary is ₹9 00,000 per annum. Usually, there is also an additional cash compensation for a Power BI Developer, which is about ₹50,000 per month, but it varies as per years of experience.
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Power BI Courses and Certifications Online
Individuals with an interest in learning Power BI and big data can pursue a short-term online certification course. A much longer and time-consuming route can also be followed like getting a bachelor’s degree in computer science or data science, and/or a master’s degree in data science program, many of these are also available online.
These courses usually contain a lot more subjects apart from Power BI. However, a Power BI short-term online course can be a more desirable route a learner may take to get started early and become more competitive for Power BI jobs, eventually, more specialized guidance may be necessary conditional to the specific role one is moving towards. Learning the basics of Power BI does not take long if you have prior knowledge and skills in spreadsheet software and business intelligence.
5. Best Online Power BI courses
1. IIM SKILLS
Course Title: Data Analytics Master Course with Power BI
Institute: IIM SKILLS
Course Highlights:
IIM SKILLS is a leading online educational platform renowned globally. Offers an elite Data Analytics Course with a specific focus on Power BI, allocating a complete extensive, and exclusive module dedicated to the Power BI tool. The course is mapped in a way to helps students develop all the requisite data analytics skills imbibed in their carefully crafted modules designed by industry experts.
Curriculum
| Module Name | Important Topic |
|
Module 1: Basic and Advance Excel
|
Introduction to Data Handling |
| Data Manipulation Using Functions | |
| Data Analysis and Reporting | |
| Data Visualization in Excel | |
| Overview of Dashboards | |
|
Module 2: Visual Basic Application
|
Introducing VBA |
| How VBA Works with Excel | |
| Key Components of Programming Language | |
| Programming Constructs in VBA | |
| Functions & Procedures in VBA | |
| Objects & Memory Management in VBA | |
| Error Handling | |
| Controlling Accessibility of Your Code | |
| Communicating with Your Users | |
|
Module 3: SQL
|
Basics RDBMS Concepts |
| Utilizing the Object Explorer | |
| Data Based Objects Creation (DDL Commands) | |
| Data Manipulation (DML Commands) | |
| Accessing Data from Multiple Tables Using SELECT | |
| Optimizing Your Work | |
|
Module 3.1: SQL Server Reporting Services
|
Basics of SSRS |
| Creating Parameters | |
| Understanding Visualization | |
| Creating Visualization Using SSRS | |
|
Module 3.2: SQL Server Integration Services
|
Understanding Basics of SSIS |
| Understanding Packages | |
| Creating Packages to Integrate | |
| Creating Project Using SSIS | |
|
Module 4: Power BI
|
Introduction |
| Data Preparation and Modeling | |
| Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) | |
| Reports Development (Visuals in Power BI) | |
|
Module 5: Data Analytics Using Python
|
Introduction to Basic Statistics |
| Introduction to Mathematical Foundations | |
| Introduction to Analytics & Data Science | |
| Python Essentials (Core) | |
| Operations with NumPy (Numerical Python) | |
| Overview of Pandas | |
| Cleansing Data with Python | |
| Data Analysis Using Python | |
| Data Visualization with Python | |
| Statistical Methods & Hypothesis Testing | |
|
Module 6: Tableau
|
Getting Started |
| Data Handling & Summaries | |
| Reports Development (Visuals in Tableau) | |
|
Module 7: R For Data Science
|
Data Importing/Exporting |
| Data Manipulation | |
| Data Analysis | |
| Using R with Databases | |
| Data Visualization with R | |
| Introduction to Statistics | |
| Linear Regression: Solving Regression Problems | |
|
Module 8: Alteryx
|
Overview of the Alteryx Course and Fundamental Concepts |
| Using the Select Tool to Rename Fields, Change the Data Type | |
| Understanding the User Environment and Alteryx Settings | |
| Filtering Data/Data Processing | |
| Blending/Joining Data from Different Sources | |
| Data Cleansing | |
| Impute Values | |
| Random Sample |
Special Focus on Power Bi –
- Introduction To Data Handling
- Data Visualization In Excel
- Data Manipulation Using Functions
- Data Analysis And Reporting
- Overview Of Dashboards
- Create Dashboards In Excel – Using Pivot Controls.
- Data Analytics Using Python-1(10 Hours)
- Data Analytics Using Python-2 (10 Hours)
- Data Analytics Using Tableau (15 Hours)
- R For Data Science (20 Hours)
- Data Analytics Using Alteryx (18 Hours)
These industry-relevant skills will empower students giving them an edge over their peers to find lucrative jobs in the analytics field. The recordings of the classes are available online and can be accessed anytime to clear any doubts. The institute conducts one of the best online Power BI courses.
The Data Analytics course including a special Power BI module is not just a regular course, it offers an exhaustive and practical learning experience spanning over six months, complete with interactive classroom teachings and live teaching sessions. To further diversify the learning possibilities, it folds in a two-month tenure of non-paid internship which allows for first-hand exposure to real-world industry challenges. All in all, there will be 160 hours of lectures and more than 100 hours of practical assignments with hands-on tool-based learning.
- Power BI
- Python 1 & 2
- R
- Basic & Advance Excel
- VBA
- Tableau
- Alteryx
- SQL
Our Assessment:
In our opinion, IIM Skills ranks at the top as the best online Power BI courses. Power BI is widely used for data analytics as data manipulation, data visualizations, and data reporting is an integral part of data analytics. The course offered by IIM Skills is a wholesome course if you want to learn Power BI as it also teaches you all the affiliated programs and how data can be analyzed through these interrelated apps.
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C0ntact Details:
+919580740740, info@iimskills.com
2. edX
Course Title: Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Power BI
Online Platform: edX
Course Highlights:
Next on our list of top Online Power BI Courses is edX.
edX is a well-known online education platform brought by world-leading education Tech Company 2U, Inc. edX was formed by MIT and Harvard as an innovative experiment to make available to everyone the world’s best online source of education. Today, edX connects more than 81 million people around the world and delivers a wide range of professional courses across every career discipline you can think of. It has thousands of job-relevant courses designed to help every aspiring learner on a path to accomplishment.
Their online Power BI courses can be completed in four weeks, it is a beginner’s guide to working with data in Microsoft Power BI tool and is suited perfectly for professionals. This will help students well versed in working with data assimilation, creating visualizations, and preparing reports and dashboards. This Power BI course is specifically designed for beginner-level data professionals, financial analysts, business analysts and marketing experts.
Our Assessment:
This is a self-study four-week certification course by edX, a reputed online platform. On completion, users will get a well-recognized professional certificate. This course is essentially designed for beginner-level data professionals and promises to make you adept in all concepts of Power BI in a very short period. The course has garnered good reviews and ratings and we believe coming from edX it is the best for beginner-level students who want to take online Power BI courses.
3. DataCamp
Course Title: Introduction to Power BI
Online Platform: DataCamp
Course Highlights:
DataCamp as the name itself suggests, is a well-known online learning platform that teaches Individuals and companies the necessary skills to work with data in the real world. Data Camp understands the incredible power of data and also how to harness it for the benefit of businesses. It has a subscription base of more than 2,500 companies that use the courses DataCamp to upskill their teams. The Introduction to Power BI course is designed to make a person go from zero to hero, as the student discovers how to navigate through this popular business intelligence platform through numerous hands-on exercises.
The course starts by teaching students how to load and transform data using Power Query, then the significance of data models, and then it teaches how to create visualizations using Power BI’s drag-and-drop functionality. The students will then be taught how to dig deep into reports and make fully interactive reports. Finally, it will help learners to level up their skills using DAX formulas (Data Analysis Expressions) to build customized calculated columns and fields to analyze your data in a much better way.
Our Assessment:
These online Power BI courses will empower learners to gain a thorough outline of how to discover and use Power BI to build powerful and effective reports. The course includes training of 6 hours that includes 19 videos and 55 exercises. This is a perfect course for beginners intending to learn Power BI quickly and effectively.
4. Edureka
Course Title: Microsoft Power BI Training
Online Platform: Edureka
Course Highlights:
When we mention Online Power BI Courses, how can Edureka be left behind? Edureka is a new and growing E-Learning Platform. In their own words, they are ridiculously committed to their students. They offer comprehensive courses in the fields of Big Data and analytics, Programming, Application Development, Cloud Computing, and similar other trending technologies. Their wide variety of offerings and their commitment to their students is what makes them a top choice to do any course.
The focus of Edureka’s Microsoft Online Power BI Courses is to help students achieve expertise in business analytics. By the time students complete the course they will master the concepts like Power BI Desktop, Power BI Q&A, Power BI Content packs, Power BI DAX, Power BI Integrations with Azure Machine Learning, Power BI Custom Visuals, and SQL Services. This module will introduce you to Power BI, its building blocks, and several other fundamental concepts of Power BI. It is an extensive course covering all areas of Power BI.
Our Assessment:
The Edureka online Power BI course is an instructor-led course and is one of the highly-rated best-sellers on the platform. Students have an option to either choose a compacted module of about two weeks or a full-featured course of four and a half weeks as per their need. It is one of the best options available online and is highly recommended to all aspirants.
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5. Udemy
Course Title: Microsoft Power BI – A Complete Introduction (2023 Edition)
Platform: Udemy
Course Highlights:
An education technology company Udemy, is an online teaching and learning platform. It is one of the most trusted and coveted online platforms offering a wide variety of spheres since 2010. As per reports, Udemy has more than 64 million learners, a staggering 210,000 courses, and over 75,000 instructors teaching courses in about 75 languages, with 870 million plus course enrollments as of December 2023.
In this self-paced course, students will learn about Power BI and the comprehensive set of business intelligence tools to achieve data analysis goals. The course will teach you how to quickly structure data, easily add calculations to it, create visualizations and publish appealing charts in a matter of minutes. This course is regularly updated to reflect all the latest Power BI Desktop, Power BI Pro, and Power BI Mobile to keep the students well-informed and up to date.
Our Assessment:
The course will help learners to effectively analyze data from various data sources and create their datasets. While there are many online Power BI courses on Udemy, this particular course is highly rated by about 50,000 learners of this course. This speaks volumes about the course content and this is why it finds a place on our best online Power BI courses list.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q 1. Is Power BI hard to learn?
Generally speaking, the Power BI application suite is easy to learn and use. However, this ease of learning Power BI depends on a few factors such as knowledge of business intelligence, previous technical experience, spreadsheet knowledge, inherent analytical skills, and commitment to learning. Also, the mentors of the Online Power BI Courses, are slightly customized to fit many needs, which helps students learn much more easily. Additionally, the institutes provide ample resources online, like the recording of classes, forums, video tutorials, and extensive documentation 24/7 for a lifetime, to make it easier for students to learn and clear their doubts as and when required.
Q 2. How long does it take to learn Power BI?
Students can learn Power BI basics, along with the necessary skills for Power BI developer jobs in about four to six weeks maximum. It also depends upon the student’s commitment and how many hours are dedicated to learning the skills. The learning of the basics of Power BI involves seven particular phases, which include installing, integrating data sources, handling data, creating basic visualizations, learning how to use DAX functions, creating dashboards and reports, and lastly, publishing the findings.
Q 3. Is Power BI better than Tableau?
Power BI and Tableau are both powerful tools for data visualization, however, both have different advantages and disadvantages. Power BI is much better at handling big datasets and is integrated with Microsoft products more closely, which is a big advantage. Whereas, Tableau, is slightly better at creating interactive dashboards and at providing additional advanced customization options. Tableau is generally used more to create data visualizations on the other hand Power BI is preferred for reporting. Both the tools are slightly different from each other and the preference will depend on the actual needs of the user.
Conclusion
Organizations can move to newer heights by using the Power BI tool. The data fluidity and the entire company’s access to the dashboard in real-time could be a game-changer for any company by increasing efficiency and competitiveness. Hence, the usage of Power BI is becoming extremely essential for all businesses, and accordingly, the demand for Power BI specialists has seen steady growth over the past decade. As a result, choosing a career path as a Power BI Developer has become very lucrative. By doing a short-term online course, one can easily become job-ready in a few months.
However, choosing the course that matches your needs and interests is paramount. This article tries to throw light on some of the best online Power BI courses available out there, the list is not exhaustive but puts out the best options accessible online. The idea is to assist readers in making a more informed choice and create a path to a successful journey in the field of analytics with the help of knowledge gained through the Power BI application suite.
