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

Paul Hansen is an experienced Analytics Engineer and Senior BI Developer, skilled in data architecture, ETL processes, and data visualization. He has a strong background in SQL, Python, and cloud platforms like AWS and Azure. Paul has led teams to create integrated data solutions, leveraging tools such as dbt, SSIS, and Power BI. His recent roles have ranged from Senior BI Developer to BI Team Lead, demonstrating his ability to manage complex projects and deliver insightful business intelligence solutions. Paul values a collaborative work environment that fosters innovation and professional growth.

Please access his resume here:
Paul Hansen – Business Intelligence Professional 2023
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulhansenza/

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Business Intelligence and Analytics Blog

The previous limitation preventing drillthrough (via Excel’s Show Details feature when using Analyze in Excel) on Direct Lake and DirectQuery semantic model has been removed. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/drillthrough-in-excel-now-supported-for-direct-lake-and-directquery-models/. The author is Read More

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/drillthrough-in-excel-now-supported-for-direct-lake-and-directquery-models/. The author is 

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As organizations modernize their data integration workflows, moving from Azure Data Factory (ADF) to Fabric Data Factory is an important milestone. Before starting the migration, it’s crucial to determine which pipelines and activities are ready to move, which require modifications, and which are not yet supported in Fabric. The built-in migration assessment tool in ADF […]

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/assessing-your-azure-data-factory-for-migration-to-fabric-data-factory/. The author is 

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When you ask Power BI Copilot a data question, the first thing it will do is try to answer that question using information from report visuals; if it can’t find the answer on a report page it will then go on try to build a new visual or generate a DAX query. Most of the […]

This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/12/07/stopping-power-bi-copilot-from-answering-questions-from-report-visuals/. The author is Chris Webb

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We are announcing the deprecation of Q&A, our legacy natural language tool, which will take place in December 2026. Moving forward, users can instead utilize Power BI Copilot, which provides a more advanced and integrated solution for querying your data with natural language. Why this change? Power BI Copilot now features an advanced natural language […]

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/deprecating-power-bi-qa/. The author is 

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Calendar-based time intelligence (see here for the announcement and here for Marco and Alberto’s more in-depth article) is at least the second-most exciting thing to happen in DAX in the last few months: it makes many types of time intelligence calculation much easier to implement. But as far as I know only Reid Havens, in […]

This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/11/30/a-look-at-the-impact-of-calendar-based-time-intelligence-on-power-bi-directquery-performance/. The author is Chris Webb

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This update empowers report creators to craft more engaging experiences for report consumers. Report creators can easily maintain image visuals with more image formatting options, more image source options, the ability to change the image in-place. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/image-visual-enhancements-for-report-creators/. The author is Read More

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/image-visual-enhancements-for-report-creators/. The author is 

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If there is sensitive data in your Power BI semantic model that you don’t want some users to see then you need to use row-level security or object-level security to control access to that data. You’re an experienced Power BI developer – you know that, right? But what about Build permissions? If an end-user only […]

This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/11/23/power-bi-build-permissions-and-security/. The author is Chris Webb

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This update brings DAX semantic highlighting support within TMDL documents alongside other enhanced authoring features like Power Query semantic highlighting, breadcrumb navigation, code actions, code formatting, localization, and numerous bug fixes. You can find more details about this latest release in the changelog. The Tabular Model Definition Language (TMDL) extension is essential for anyone working with TMDL documents in […]

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/tmdl-visual-studio-code-extension-generally-available/. The author is 

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The new card visual now generally available brings a modern and visually engaging way to highlight key metrics in your reports, now with support for hero images, new defaults, and consistent formatting experience. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/deep-dive-into-the-new-card-visual-in-reports-generally-available/. The author is Read More

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/deep-dive-into-the-new-card-visual-in-reports-generally-available/. The author is 

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We’re excited to announce the release of the Standalone Copilot experience in Power BI Mobile apps! Copilot in Power BI on mobile is a new way to get insights from your Power BI data. You no longer have to search for content, open it, and scan your report. All you need to do is tell […]

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/standalone-copilot-in-power-bi-mobile-apps-chat-with-your-data-anytime-anywhere-preview/. The author is 

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Ten years ago, Power BI entered the market and transformed how businesses interact with data. Before self-service BI, business users waited days, sometimes weeks, for IT teams to build reports and answer data questions. With the introduction of Power BI – any user could download the app for free, connect to their data, and get […]

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/bringing-context-aware-intelligence-to-power-bi/. The author is 

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The November 2025 Power BI feature update brings several important announcements and enhancements across the platform. Key highlights include the deprecation of R and Python visuals in the Embed for your customers solution, significant updates to Copilot and AI capabilities—such as the standalone Copilot in Power BI mobile apps (Preview) and improvements to Verified Answers—and […]

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-november-2025-feature-summary/. The author is 

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Starting in January 2026, all new reports created in both Power BI Service and Desktop will use the PBIR format by default, and existing reports will be automatically converted to PBIR when edited and saved. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/pbir-will-become-the-default-power-bi-report-format-get-ready-for-the-transition/. The author is Read More

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/pbir-will-become-the-default-power-bi-report-format-get-ready-for-the-transition/. The author is 

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A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about how you can now link event data from Workspace Monitoring to data in the Fabric Capacity Metrics App using OperationId values. In the latest (3.4.0) release of DAX Studio there’s a new feature that you might have missed that link queries run from there to […]

This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/11/16/linking-queries-run-from-dax-studio-to-workspace-monitoring-and-the-capacity-metrics-app/. The author is Chris Webb

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In today’s data-driven world, semantic models have become the backbone of trustworthy analytics. They define business logic, metrics, and relationships that turn raw data into meaningful, trusted and curated insights. As organizations embrace generative AI, semantic models provide the structure and context that AI needs to deliver accurate, reliable answers.  At Microsoft, we have spent nearly two decades refining the semantic layer that connects data […]

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-named-leader-and-outperformer-in-the-2025-gigaom-radar-for-semantic-layers-metric-stores/. The author is 

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Can you call a DAX UDF from Power BI Copilot? I was asked this question by Jake Duddy during the livestream on Power BI Copilot I did with Reid Havens last week. I already knew it was possible because one of the customers I work with had already tried it, but I hadn’t tried it […]

This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/11/09/calling-dax-udfs-from-power-bi-copilot/. The author is Chris Webb

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As data volumes grow exponentially, Power BI customers demand AI-driven analytical solutions that scale to petabytes, are secure, governed, and easy to manage. Power BI semantic models, backed by Microsoft Fabric, are the foundation for user-friendly BI solutions, bridging the gap between business users and IT by enabling trusted ad-hoc analysis. Consequently, Power BI semantic […]

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-semantic-models-as-accelerators-for-ai-enabled-consumption/. The author is 

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There’s no AI without data. Are you ready to invest in your future? Fabric Data Days starts on November 4th! We’re offering 50+ days of immersive learning designed for data professionals at every level and students alike. Don’t miss your chance to gain practical experience from experts and connect with a global community of experts. […]

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/advance-your-career-in-data-ai-with-microsoft-fabric-data-days/. The author is 

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In my last post I talked about the text index that Power BI Copilot builds to help it answer data questions. You might be wondering if you can monitor the index build process and the bad news is that – at least at the time of writing – you can’t do so directly. However you […]

This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/11/02/monitoring-the-dax-queries-generated-when-the-power-bi-copilot-index-is-built/. The author is Chris Webb

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One change may impact the behavior and look of the new card visual in existing reports. The callout size and background setting will be available with or without a divider after GA. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/prepare-for-new-card-visual/. The author is Read More

This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/prepare-for-new-card-visual/. The author is 

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