Microsoft provides business intelligence solutions that help its customers democratize data analytics and get better insights faster. Microsoft commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying Microsoft Power BI. The purpose of this study is to provide readers with a framework to evaluate the potential financial impact of Power BI on their organizations.

To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed four customers and surveyed an additional 59 using Power BI either with or without other Microsoft Power Platform products — Power Apps and Power Automate. Regardless, this study looks specifically at the benefits and costs associated with Power BI as a standalone solution. Interviewees said that by improving business intelligence in terms of quality and timeliness of decisions, they were able to improve business outcomes and user efficiencies. These improvements delivered business benefits such as reduced time-to-market, better customer service, and increased revenues.

Prior to using Power BI, organizations used a mix of solutions including other vendor solutions, spreadsheets, and homegrown tools. This meant that there was a backlog of analytics projects that required help from database administrators (DBAs)/data scientists while users were making decisions based more on intuition rather than facts. Adopting Power BI transformed the culture to be more data-driven. One interviewee said, “People can make decisions faster because they get the data they need in
days instead of months.”

The quantified benefits from this report were:

• Improved analytics delivered tangible business benefits
• Moving to Power BI reduced the total cost of ownership (TCO)
• Power BI users saved time because of faster access to important
  information.

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