What are the top BI tools for your project?

This is easy. Pen Paper My mouth ( aka communication skills ) Most important part is getting the adoption/buy-in and including them in the joirney

Selecting the right BI tool for your project involves critical considerations. Define project goals, involve stakeholders, and align the tool with budget and timeline. Evaluate data sources, scalability, and user-friendliness. Prioritize UI/UX if data visualization is key. Reporting and support matter. Ensure data security and compliance. Test with trials or proof of concepts. Customization, long-term viability, integration, and the learning curve are essential. Community support, scalability, industry specialization, and data governance are key factors. Tailor your choice to your project's unique needs for optimal data-driven insights.

Absolutely crucial points, especially when embarking on a Business Intelligence journey. It's all about aligning the tool with the business objectives and ensuring seamless integration with data sources. Taking the time to define these aspects upfront pays dividends in the long run.

The best BI tool is very much dependent on knowledge of Analyst and the kind of information he wants to deliver. If the requirements are sleek and you just want KPI figure then even Excel can get your job done. If your team is looking for something easily available to all and is cost effect go with your company suite, If you are using Google go with Looker or if you are using Microsoft Suite you better love the power of PowerBi. This is so because such tools compliment their eco systems. Then comes my favourite which is Tableau if you are looking for delivering some advance analytics with developer ease and at the same time keeping in mind the User Friendliness. Also, not to forget Tibco Spotfire (most loved in Clinical industry)

Power BI became popular among many users because it uses elements that people learned before in Excel: Power Query, to perform ETL, and DAX (from Power Pivot) to make calculations. The familiarity with these features is a key point for reducing the learning curve, making Power BI an appealing choice for Business Intelligence.

Another important consideration is cost: the investment required to implement a BI solution ranges from low to very expensive. Can you repurpose existing software? (More on this later.) Or will you be required to buy new software?

Selection of the BI Tool should be based upon the kind of expectations the stakeholders have. In my opinion below are the 2 foremost tools: Power BI : Cost Effective and Self Service BI capabilities Tableau : Easy Integration and Multiple visual option Out of these two, Power BI is my preferred choice as it gives access to Microsoft Support Community and also one can leverage unlimited potential with integration of Microsoft Power Platform.

We always come back to choosing the right tool based on the need. In order: If you simply need to send a static report every Monday morning at 9 am: Ctfreak If you want to dynamically filter your report: LookerStudio or PowerBI, or consider Apache Superset if you prefer a self-hosted solution If a more granular user rights management for data access is needed: Qlik and Tableau come into play.

BI vendors produce their own content to support their user base, but a substantial leap in learning can be achieved by examining the content generated and disseminated by independent technical evangelists who maintain close ties with these companies. For instance, Microsoft has the Microsoft MVPs, Tableau has the Tableau Ambassadors, Qlik has the Qlik Partner Ambassadors, and so forth. These individuals provide both paid and free content in a variety of formats, frequently teaching advanced techniques that go beyond the level of information that can be found in the official content libraries.

Something people tend to forget but is still important when undertaking Business Intelligence projects is to consider data security and privacy, as well as compliance with relevant regulations. Safeguarding sensitive information is critical to protect against breaches or unauthorized access. Compliance with data protection regulations, such as GDPR or HIPAA, is mandatory and entails handling data in accordance with specific legal requirements. Ensuring these aspects are well-integrated into BI solutions is essential to maintain trust and legal adherence.