Power BI: A new reporting tool for the University
02 Oct 2019
Microsoft Power BI is the University’s functionally rich reporting tool. Staff can use it to produce sophisticated reports and dashboards, simply and easily.
The IT project team responsible for the roll out of Power BI across the University is pleased to announce that it is now supported by IT Services.
What does this mean?
The IT Support Centre can now provide staff with technical help and support for Power BI. This includes managing requests for Power BI Pro Licences, and access to reports (known as ‘Apps’ in Power BI).
From mid-October, automated forms will also be available in the Support Portal to further streamline the access request process. Note that access requests must be made by the line manager of the person requesting access.
Many areas across the University are already using Power BI, though it is up to local reporting teams to decide when to turn on live reporting for their areas.
Support information is available on the IT Services website, including links to Knowledge Base articles in the Support Portal.
Learn more about Power BI
Watch a short video highlighting some of the features and benefits of the new reporting tool:
Discoverer
Power BI replaces the Discoverer reporting tool, which is now out of support and will soon be decommissioned. For a short time, Power BI will run in parallel with Discoverer. A decommissioning plan is being drafted and will be shared with local reporting teams once it has been confirmed with the project board.
Analytics Project
Power BI is part of the University’s Analytics Project to look at how we can better report on our Business and Management Information (also referred to as BI/MI). The project will also be replacing the University’s current Data Warehouse with a new ‘Data Lake’ which will house our information in raw state that can be accessed in a variety of ways, for more fluid and agile reporting.