Guide: Comparison of Microsoft Analytics Tools

Functionality comparison chart of 44 tools

Microsoft has a dizzying array of relevant, high-impact analytics products. SQL Server, Excel, Access, SharePoint, Power BI Desktop Power BI Premium, Report Server, Visual Studio, Azure…the list of their BI tools goes on.

If you find it confusing to navigate the choice of Microsoft business analytics components and consumption models, you’re not alone. To cut through the confusion, we created a comprehensive comparison chart of Microsoft BI tools that helps quickly determine the right tool for the job. The easy–to-read, matrixed layout overlays columns of analytics functionality with rows of Microsoft offerings.

Power BI report distribution options by license

Power BI has many options when it comes to report distribution. Read our blog and download our report distribution matrix that makes it easy to match up methods of report and dashboard distribution to license.

Functionality comparison

  • API Connectivity
  • Application Database
  • Cloud
  • Content Repository
  • Database Admin/Development
  • Data Preparation
  • Data Repository
  • DataMart/Data Warehouse
  • External Source Pushdown Processing
  • Interactive Visualizations
  • Low-Code/No-Code
  • Master Data Management
  • Mobile Application
  • Non-Windows O/S
  • Paginated Reports
  • Predictive Analytics
  • Real-Time Analytics
  • Report Development
  • Report Distribution
  • Self-Service Queries
  • Semantic Model
  • Semantic Model Development
  • Sharing & Collaboration
  • Ticket/Issue Management
  • Version Control
  • Web Portal
  • Workflow Management

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