Just a few years can be a lifetime in the data world, but there’s reason to expect that Power BI, which has already taken the business intelligence world by storm, is set up for at least a ten-year reign. Why is that? What do you need to know about Power BI?
That’s exactly what today’s guest, Patrick Leblanc is going to cover! As the co-host of the famous Guy in a Cube YouTube channel (with over 100,000 subscribers) and Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, Patrick shares his unbiased views of whether or not Power BI is here to stay. He also shares practical ways to embrace it in your organization and provides some thoughts on the future of Power BI! Whether you have Power BI or you’re considering it, this episode is a must listen and share! Enjoy!
“Work with a team of people that represent the organization. Not the person that represents the organization, but the team of people.” [33:06]
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3 Knowledge Bombs
- [32:41] - Patrick on getting started in Power BI : “I say you take a really slow step toward that solution, and the first thing you need to do is really look at your data.”
- [33:50] - Patrick on Power BI Adoption: “That’s the big tip, you have to be gradual with these people.
- [43:58] - Patrick on trying Power BI: “You can honestly just get into Power BI desktop, which is free, do everything you need globally, kick the tires on it, if it doesn’t work, it cost you some time, because of your human resource cost, but for the most part, you’re going to pay them anyway. So it costs you nothing.”
In this episode, you'll learn:
- [02:27] - Transformational Stories and Lessons Learned: Why Power BI is here to stay
- [02:45] - User Expectations: 3 scenarios for how Power BI could come into your world
- 07:45] - Patrick’s background with the Guy in a Cube Youtube channel
- [18:50] - Why Power BI is likely to have at least a ten-year reign
- [19:41] - How many Power BI users Patrick has projected
- [21:11] - The story of Power BI
- [21:54] - Key Quote: “Now Power BI is not just a self-service tool. It’s not just a visualization tool. It’s not just a data modeling tool, it’s not just a data prep tool. It’s all of those things.” –Patrick LeBlanc
- [23:09] - Who Power BI is for
- [24:07] - Key Quote: “When you think about from a bigger picture, from a larger scope, when you think about it from data modeling and data prep, there’s no product out there that can touch Power BI.” –Patrick LeBlanc
- [25:40] - What Patrick says to people who don’t think that Power BI is mature enough
- [29:56] - The biggest challenges people face when adopting Power BI
- [32:18] - Steps for approaching Power BI
- [35:49] - One of the worst deployments that Patrick has ever seen
- [37:30] - How Patrick approaches problem-solving in a team
- [37:42] - Key Quote: “I become part of the team. I take my Microsoft hat off, whatever company, if I’m working with BI Brainz, it’s like hey, I’m a BI Brainz employee now.” –Patrick LeBlanc
- [39:18] - How to approach a team that’s inherited the system
- [40:22] - Key Quote: “This is something I practice daily, daily, daily. When I’m talking to you and you say hey Patrick, we’re about to use this tool, we go out, go talk to them, and find out is this truly meeting the need?” –Patrick LeBlanc
- [41:38] - Key Quote: “I always tell people this about Power BI. If you can use any of the top tools on the BI quadrant, you can use Power BI.” –Mico Yuk
- [42:22] - Connecting with the Power BI community
- [43:05] - Advice for leaders who don’t have Power BI but who are considering it now
- [45:23] - Where to get started when you’re just getting started
- [47:34] - Patrick’s live stream for people who have questions
- [48:45] - The importance of the openness of Power BI
- [51:15] - Embedding Power BI
- [53:51] - Advice that Patrick would give his younger self
- [56:50] - Who inspires Patrick
- [59:08] - The book that Patrick would recommend to listeners
- [01:00:19] - How AoF can stay in touch with Patrick
- [01:00:46] - What has Patrick on fire right now
- Right-click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
“Sometimes we, as IT professionals, our ego gets in the way.” [39:59]
Links and Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Check out Patrick in Guy In a Cube: Youtube Channel and Blog
- Patrick’s fav resources
- The Definitive Guide to DAX by Marco Russo and Alberto Ferrari
- Patrick works at Microsoft
- Download our FREE 50-Page Analytics Design Guide Template
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