We are all familiar with the game of chess. Each piece having a specific moving pattern and role to the game. Depending on how the player moves the piece, even the simplest pawn can be the difference between winning or losing a game. It takes knowledge to master the game of chess because each piece operates in a different fashion that when used to its fullest potential can constitute a win. Just like in chess if we use a visual tool (chess piece) for our data such as Power BI it will give us the knowledge needed to allow more critical and intelligent business decisions to be made. Just as we are all familiar with chess, we are all also familiar with the more simplistic game of checkers. In checkers, all pieces have the same roles and you have limited movements. The same is true with our data, if it is not organized in an effective visual manner than no matter how long we stare at it we will only be able to see checker pieces and make simplistic/reactionary decisions.
Power BI Advantage
Microsoft’s Power BI is one of the most powerful data visualizers on the market. Many companies get by using Excel to organize their data and generate visuals to help them understand the data. Even though Excel is very powerful you are limited to the game of checkers rather than chess. Power BI will connect to almost any data source available. Once connected it will establish a connection that will allow automatic refreshing, so we never have to worry about having the most current data again. Just like in chess there are all different types of pieces to play with, Power BI will give you access to their complete suite of visuals that will allow us to create very informative dashboards. These dashboards will give us an advantage over our competitors and allow us to make more critical and intelligent business decisions.
Play Chess Not Checkers
We do not want to be caught playing checkers while our competitors are playing chess. With everything that is going on each company needs to be performing at their best and it can be hard to do that when we are reactionarily playing checkers with specific moves. When we have a tool such as Power BI give us a better view of the situation then we can take that knowledge and give us a competitive advantage over other businesses. We are all fighting for the same pie. Why run in and fight your competitors for the same sliver when a giant piece is sitting off to the side waiting for someone to take it? Power BI will allow us to make intelligent and calculated moves to strengthen our company’s position. All we need to ask ourselves is: Are we playing chess or checkers with our business?