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In The Trenches

The Best Articles and Tutorials About Cloud Analytics, BI and Management 

Hi! I’m Paul. I’m a data nerd from the beautiful suburb of Durbanville, Cape Town.
I’m available for short term BI / data engineering projects and Cloud data migrations on Azure, AWS or Google Cloud.

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Business Intelligence and Analytics Blog

There’s a lot of excitement about Copilot in Power BI and in Fabric as a whole. The number one question I’m asked about Copilot by customers is “How much does it cost?” and indeed there have been two posts on the Fabric blog here and here attempting to answer this question. The point I want […]

This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2024/03/17/how-much-does-copilot-cost-in-microsoft-fabric/. The author is Chris Webb

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In today’s fast-paced digital world, information is power, especially when it comes to mastering the intricacies of software development and deployment. One key player in this arena is Microsoft, with its comprehensive approach to documentation, notably through platforms like Microsoft Fabric Data Analytics. But before diving into the specifics of Microsoft’s offerings, let’s explore the […]

This post first appeared at https://p3adaptive.com/does-microsoft-have-a-documentation-tool/. The author is Marketing

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In today’s fast-paced business world, understanding data is crucial for making informed decisions. This is where Microsoft’s Power BI comes into play, offering a powerful platform that simplifies complex data into understandable insights. As Power BI becomes more popular across various industries, many newcomers are left wondering: Is Power BI easy for beginners to learn? […]

This post first appeared at https://p3adaptive.com/is-power-bi-beginner-friendly/. The author is Marketing

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In the dynamic world of business intelligence, Microsoft’s Power BI stands out for its ability to turn complex data into comprehensive insights. As it becomes increasingly integral to data-driven strategies, many are evaluating the feasibility of learning Power BI and the advantages of Power BI Consulting for organizational analytics. Is Power BI Easy to Learn? […]

This post first appeared at https://p3adaptive.com/is-power-bi-easy-or-hard-to-learn/. The author is Marketing

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With the exciting release of Microsoft Fabric and the Fabric capacity SKUs last year, we are consolidating purchase options and retiring the Power BI Premium per capacity SKU after January 1, 2025. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/important-update-coming-to-power-bi-premium-licensing/. The author is Read More

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/important-update-coming-to-power-bi-premium-licensing/. The author is 

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Last week I again had the pleasure of being invited by Rob Collie to be on his podcast Raw Data by P3 Adaptive.  For those that are not familiar with my story, I identified Rob as a leader in the Power Pivot/Power BI space very early on (back in the […]Read More » This post […]

This post first appeared at https://exceleratorbi.com.au/my-latest-podcast-with-rob-collie-from-p3-adaptive/. The author is Matt Allington

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In today’s digital era, where data is king, Microsoft Fabric Data Analytics stands out as a groundbreaking solution for organizations keen on leveraging their data to its fullest potential. Launched amid much anticipation, Microsoft Fabric has quickly become a cornerstone for data-driven strategies, thanks to its comprehensive suite of analytics tools. Designed to integrate seamlessly […]

This post first appeared at https://p3adaptive.com/when-should-i-choose-microsoft-fabric/. The author is Marketing

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In today’s data-driven world, the ability to analyze and visualize data has become a crucial skill across many industries. Power BI, Microsoft’s interactive data visualization tool, is at the forefront of this revolution, enabling users to make informed decisions by transforming raw data into compelling insights. The question on many aspiring data professionals’ minds is: […]

This post first appeared at https://p3adaptive.com/can-i-learn-power-bi-by-myself/. The author is Marketing

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Changing Power BI add-in as snapshot made easy and with more options. You can now change your live data to an image, that only people who can see the report will be able to see. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/improved-image-mode-in-power-bi-add-in-for-powerpoint/. The author is Read More

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/improved-image-mode-in-power-bi-add-in-for-powerpoint/. The author is 

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Many Power BI connectors for relational databases, such as the SQL Server connector, have an advanced option to control whether relationship columns are returned or not. By default this option is on. Returning these relationship columns adds a small overhead to the time taken to open a connection to a data source and so, for […]

This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2024/03/10/overhead-of-getting-relationship-columns-in-power-bi-directquery-mode/. The author is Chris Webb

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We are excited to announce the February release of the on-premises data gateway! This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/on-premises-data-gateway-february-2024-release/. The author is Read More

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/on-premises-data-gateway-february-2024-release/. The author is 

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You can now create tables in Excel online using data from Power BI semantic models. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-creation-of-connected-tables-in-excel-online/. The author is Read More

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-creation-of-connected-tables-in-excel-online/. The author is 

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The new Excel and CSV connectors in Fabric allows you to connect to your favorite files and create Power BI reports in a few clicks. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-new-data-connectors-for-excel-and-csv-for-report-creation-in-fabric/. The author is Read More

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-new-data-connectors-for-excel-and-csv-for-report-creation-in-fabric/. The author is 

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Level: Intermediate Why You May Want to use RLS Imagine you’ve just built a Power BI report filled with sensitive financial data. You want to start to share this data across the organisation but not everyone is allowed to see everything.  The CFO should be allowed to see everything, but […]Read More » This post […]

This post first appeared at https://exceleratorbi.com.au/ways-to-configure-rls-in-power-bi/. The author is Nick Jeffries

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In the realm of data management and analytics, staying ahead of technological advancements is crucial for businesses aiming for efficiency and growth. Enter Microsoft Fabric Data Analytics, a robust platform designed to streamline data processes and enhance analytics capabilities. At the heart of this platform is OneLake, a component that promises to revolutionize how companies […]

This post first appeared at https://p3adaptive.com/what-is-onelake-in-microsoft-fabric/. The author is Marketing

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Microsoft Fabric Data Analytics has transformed from a much-anticipated concept into a cornerstone technology within Microsoft’s cloud services arsenal. Launched to the public at Microsoft Ignite in November 2023, this cloud-based platform is designed to empower organizations to build and deploy data-driven applications on an unprecedented scale. Since its initial unveiling in 2021 and through […]

This post first appeared at https://p3adaptive.com/microsoft-fabric-documentation/. The author is Marketing

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In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses are increasingly relying on data analytics to drive informed decision-making. One tool at the forefront of this revolution is Microsoft’s Power BI. A key component of leveraging this powerful analytics platform is through Power BI Consulting, ensuring businesses can fully harness its capabilities. A common inquiry we encounter […]

This post first appeared at https://p3adaptive.com/is-power-bi-desktop-included-in-office-365/. The author is Marketing

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In today’s data-driven business world, tools like Power BI have become indispensable for turning complex data into actionable insights. As companies increasingly rely on data analytics for competitive advantage, demand has skyrocketed for Power BI consulting and expertise. This begs the question: can mastering Power BI alone land you a job in today’s analytics job […]

This post first appeared at https://p3adaptive.com/is-learning-power-bi-enough-to-get-a-job/. The author is Marketing

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If you’re tuning a DirectQuery semantic model in Power BI one of the most important things you need to measure is the total amount of time spent querying your data source(s). Now that the queries Power BI generates to get data from your source can be run in parallel it means you can’t just sum […]

This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2024/03/03/measuring-the-total-time-spent-querying-sources-in-power-bi-directquery-mode/. The author is Chris Webb

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Uncover a host of updates and enhancements to our new card visual reference labels. This February 2024 update brings many great features including improved alignment of elements, new placement options for reference labels, a new tabular style, a transparency slider for the divider, new per-card customization, and enhanced layout control. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/updates-and-enhancements-for-reference-labels/. […]

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/updates-and-enhancements-for-reference-labels/. The author is 

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