Organizations that own Microsoft 365 E5 licenses or are already familiar with PBI often find themselves at a crossroads when also using other data visualization tools like Qlik or Tableau. While Qlik and Tableau are also powerful BI platforms, we have seen a recent trend where CEOs and CFOs are asking for visualization and reporting to be standardized on the Microsoft PBI platform for multiple reasons – cost and integration with the entire Microsoft set of tools (O365, Dynamics, Power Platform, and now Fabric) being the key ones. Transitioning to PBI can be done using similar data visualization features, leverage built-in Microsoft capabilities, and deliver impactful insights at scale while minimizing any impact to the business. This article explores the challenges, opportunities, and potential results for organizations moving from the other BI tools such as Tableau and Qlik to PBI, alongside industry metrics and real-world examples.
Transitioning from Qlik or Tableau to PBI requires migrating existing data sources as-is, dashboards, and reports. This process can be complicated, as each platform structures data differently, with unique ETL processes and visualization components. A detailed discovery of each report, worksheet and/or dashboard with close collaboration with the existing BI team to understand the logic and steps, is key to this step. The UI (visuals) should be moved into PBI as close to the current visual as possible to ensure minimal impact on the user experience. This is achievable as the tools are fairly similar in their UI features, with some differentiation on the user experience. Where possible, discovery should be done with a POC to show the users and give them the confidence in the migration to PBI. As a last step in this process, a detailed migration strategy is defined, focusing on mapping data from source in the data models accurately as well as into the UI design, both essential to ensure data fidelity in PBI.
Example: A financial services firm with several years of Tableau visualizations needed to migrate data sourced from many systems while preserving and showing detailed analytics and insights as-is. A 4 week POC showed the users the result of one of their reports in PBI to both gather feedback and increase confidence in the migration. By planning a phased migration, they ensured no data gaps, although the process demanded dedicated resources.
Many teams accustomed to Qlik or Tableau require training to get up to speed with PBI’s unique functionalities, particularly for creating custom visuals, leveraging DAX for calculations, and integrating PBI with other Microsoft tools. It is recommended (and beneficia) if the team can do self-service training Microsoft offers online to help them prepare for the development and migration work and then perform the migration work internally or with collaboration with someone who has the migration expertise.
Industry Metric: According to a report by LinkedIn Learning, 60% of professionals identified upskilling in new software as a top priority, underlining the importance of investing in team training to maximize PBI's potential.
Qlik and Tableau provide distinct customization options and visualizations that users might rely on. Adjusting PBI’s available visuals and rebuilding dashboards to align with business goals requires time and effort. Additionally, managing expectations regarding feature parity is key, as some users may find particular features in Qlik or Tableau that are handled differently in PBI.
Example: A retail company transitioning to PBI found that some Tableau filters didn’t have direct PBI counterparts, requiring the team to design custom visuals and leverage PBI’s drill-through capabilities to recreate the intended user experience.
For organizations already invested in Microsoft 365 E5 licenses or investing in Fabric licensing, moving to PBI reduces costs by consolidating data visualization needs within the Microsoft ecosystem. Eliminating or minimizing Qlik or Tableau licenses can lead to significant cost savings.
Industry Metric: Gartner reports that enterprises save an average of 20-30% in software licensing fees by consolidating platforms, making PBI a financially compelling choice for E5 and/or Fabric license holders.
PBI’s deep integration with Microsoft products such as Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Azure, and Power Automate offers unparalleled collaboration opportunities. Users can embed static or dynamic PBI dashboards directly into Microsoft Teams, fostering real-time insights sharing, and use Power Automate for automated workflows triggered by data changes in PBI reports.
Example: A manufacturing company leveraged PBI’s integration with Teams and SharePoint to create a unified reporting portal accessible to all employees, allowing for instant collaboration and reducing reliance on email updates on reports.
Microsoft Copilot, combined with PBI, enables users to leverage AI for advanced analytics and automation, creating predictive insights that go beyond traditional visualization. Copilot’s natural language capabilities, available in all its other tools as well, makes querying data intuitive, allowing users to ask complex questions without needing deep technical expertise.
Industry Metric: McKinsey reports that organizations using AI tools for data analytics see a 10-15% improvement in decision-making speed. PBI, with Copilot’s assistance, will accelerate insights generation, helping companies react more swiftly to market changes.
Transitioning to PBI brings all reporting and visualization within a single ecosystem, facilitating a unified view across the organization. This reduces silos for reporting and visualization, manual integrations of information and ensures consistency, as users access one source of truth for metrics, analytics, and performance indicators.
Example: A logistics firm that transitioned from Qlik to PBI found that having centralized data improved the accuracy of their reports and forecasts, leading to a 20% improvement in inventory management.
Microsoft 365’s familiarity aids user adoption of PBI, reducing the learning curve and increasing productivity. Users who are already accustomed to Microsoft’s interface find PBI’s navigation more intuitive compared to Qlik or Tableau.
Industry Metric: Forrester reports that companies using PBI experience a 20-25% increase in user adoption rates within the first year, as employees adapt quickly to the interface and functionalities.
With Microsoft Fabric, companies can scale PBI beyond traditional reporting to include big data analytics and data engineering workflows, all within the same framework. Fabric provides the foundation for data lake integration, making it possible to handle large datasets and build advanced reports with ease.
Example: A healthcare provider utilized Microsoft Fabric with PBI to consolidate patient and operational data, enabling complex analytics without extensive infrastructure investment. This streamlined patient data reporting and improved operational decision-making.
For organizations that have already invested in Microsoft 365 E5 or PBI in some part of the organization or are planning to invest in Fabric, moving from another tool such as Qlik or Tableau to PBI presents numerous opportunities to consolidate costs, boost collaboration, and leverage advanced Microsoft capabilities. Although the transition involves challenges such as data migration, skill development, and customization, the benefits—from enhanced productivity and streamlined data workflows to powerful AI-driven insights—are going to be well worth the effort. Embracing PBI not only positions organizations to make the most of their Microsoft investments but also opens doors to more agile, data-driven operations that support sustainable growth and competitive advantage.
By shifting to PBI, companies can unlock the true potential of their Microsoft 365 E5 licenses they already have or invest strategically in the Fabric licenses to use it any of the components including PBI and amplify the impact of their data-driven strategies across the entire organization. We
