Getting Started: BI Tools compared
This blog post is part of a series from OptimalBI and published with their permission. You can read other blogs - Getting Started Amazon QuickSight.
In today's data-driven business landscape, making informed decisions quickly is more crucial than ever. Business Intelligence (BI) tools have become indispensable assets for organisations seeking to harness the power of their data. Many BI tools are available in the current BI market, but how do you choose between them?
This blog post will dive deep into a comparison of Power BI and QuickSight, exploring their features, strengths, and potential drawbacks. Whether you're a small startup looking for cost-effective insights or a large enterprise requiring robust data analysis capabilities, understanding the nuances of these tools can help you make the right choice for your specific needs.
We will examine various aspects of both platforms, including ease of use, data integration capabilities, visualisation options, pricing models, scalability, and collaboration features. By the end of this post, you'll have a clearer picture of how Power BI and QuickSight stack up against each other, enabling you to make an informed decision on which tool best aligns with your organisation's goals and requirements.
Let's embark on this journey to unravel the intricacies of Power BI and QuickSight and discover which BI tool might be the perfect fit for your data analysis needs.
What is Power BI?
Power BI is a cloud-based data visualisation and BI tool from Microsoft, is designed with user-friendliness in mind. Its intuitive interface and easy-to-use features make it accessible to users of all technical levels.
Power BI offers a variety of connectors to various data sources, including SQL Server, Snowflake, Oracle and Excel, making it a breeze to bring in data from different sources. It also seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft products, such as Azure, Excel, and supports various devices, including desktop, mobile and web.
What is QuickSight?
Amazon QuickSight is a cloud-based data visualisation and BI tool from Amazon Web Services (AWS), it's not just fast, but also scalable. It's designed to empower you in making data-driven decisions, no matter how large your data needs to grow. With features like data processing, ML and natural language queries, QuickSight is ready to grow with you.
Lets Compare!
Visualisation:
Power BI stands out with it's extensive range of visual types and the ability to incorporate customised visuals from the marketplace, making it a versatile choice for data visualisation.
QuickSight, on the other hand, offers a straightforward and basic visualisation interface, making it a user-friendly option for those who prefer simplicity.
Customisation:
Power BI excels in customisation, offering a wide range of options for formatting, unique themes and visuals; empowering users to create distinct reports and dashboards.
QuickSight is simple and has basic settings.
Speed:
Power BI optimise query performance, but the complexity of calculations and data interactions may influence the speed. Import mode is way faster than DirectQuery mode.
QuickSight with it’s in-memory processing using the SPICE engine, ensures swift data retrieval and analysis, enhancing efficiency with large datasets and real-time analytics.
Scalability:
Power BI premium model for large deployments needs to be scaled, which is managed overhead. It can be difficult if you like to scale down.
QuickSight makes it a breeze to scale from 1 user to 1000 users, without the hassle of managing servers.
Cost:
Power BI subscription is freely available but only offers basic features for dashboarding and sharing. Also, there are constraints on data refreshes and storage. Pricing can be found here.
Power BI Pro - $10 per user/month
Power BI Premium per User - $20 per user/month
Amazon QuickSight is not free but has multiple pricing options that vary depending on your needs. Pricing plan can be found here.
Author - $24 per user/month
Author Pro - $50 per user/month
Reader - $3 per user/month
Reader Pro - $20 per user/month
Downloading and sharing:
Power BI reports can be downloaded as a .PBIX file share for re-use. While Power BI provides collaboration and sharing features, there are some limitations in sharing reports and dashboards with external users or users outside the organisation. Sharing options may be restricted based on the subscription plan or require additional licenses for external sharing.
QuickSight reports cannot be downloaded to local machine. Although you can export analysis/dashboard as a PDF. And you can only share with external users if users have account.
Dataset limit:
Power BI data are usually limited to 10GB in size, but with Microsoft Fabric's premium capacity, it can depend on the SKU. More details are available here.
Quotas for QuickSight's SPICE engine are as follows:
2,047 Unicode characters for each field
127 Unicode characters for each column name
2,000 columns for each file
1,000 files for each manifest
For Standard edition, 25 million (25,000,000) rows or 25 GB for each dataset
For Enterprise edition, 1 billion (1,000,000,000) rows or 1TB for each dataset
Performance:
Power BI has two languages: Power Query M and DAX (Data Analysis Expression). DAX prioritises performance. Advance calculations and data models can be done using DAX. But if your organisation uses Direct Query mode, then DAX has limitations.
The SPICE engine is fast and efficient in QuickSight. It can handle large datasets, allowing real-time analytics and interactive dashboards. Personally, I haven’t used QuickSight in a large organisation setting. If you have any insights you would like to share, I would love to connect and hear from you.
Platform:
Power BI uses locally installed client software, which is only available for Windows devices. If your organisation do not use Windows devices, then Power BI service can be used.
QuickSight works on all browsers, and no installation is required.
New features/updates:
Power BI automatically upgrades to the latest version when you open the Power BI desktop, unless it's managed by an organisation and settings are not enabled. Features in the preview can be enabled under File>Options and Settings> Options> Preview Features.
QuickSight automatically updates when the user signs in next time. No upgrade is required.
Paginated reports:
The paginated reports feature comes with a Premium subscription in Power BI.
In QuickSight, to create a Pixel-perfect reports, an additional subscription is required, which costs around $500 per month for 500 units or $24,000 annually for 4000 units per month.
Machine learning:
Power BI works with Azure ML and Azure DevOps. Power BI also has a Q&A feature which allows users to ask questions and it can create a visual for you.
QuickSight integrates with Amazon SageMaker and AWS accounts or regions. QuickSight Q also has a similar feature and can be used by all users, but only users with Author Pro subscriptions can create Q topics.
Conclusion
Choosing the right data visualisation and BI tool depends on your organisation's needs and budget. If you're looking for an easy-to-use tool with a wide variety of data connectors and strong integration with other Microsoft products, Power BI might be your best choice.
If you're looking for a fast and scalable tool with powerful features like machine learning and natural language queries, QuickSight might be the solution for you.