Nowadays, data is a vital asset for small and medium businesses and the role the role of a Power BI Consultant cannot be underestimated. Power BI is a powerful tool that allows businesses to transform data into insights that can be used to improve efficiency and productivity. However, use of Power BI requires specialised and advanced skills of a Power BI consultant.
In this article, we will discuss the data analytics process, the role of a Power BI consultant in this process, and we will compare different forms of hire of a Power BI consultant.
Before we discuss the responsibilities of a Power BI consultant, it is vital to discuss the data analytics process. Once you understand the process it is easier to understand what stage of the process each of the tasks is targeted towards. Data analytics process involves the following steps:
This stage is for a Power BI consultant to understand business problems that need to be solved. During this step all the expectations and goals from customers are set and discussed. In order to get clear objections, a document with all business questions will be created including business questions that need to be answered, formulas to answer these questions and a suggested data visualisation method for every question. Below is an example of such document:
The next step is gathering relevant data from different data sources such as CRMs, ERPs or external databases. Data collection can be done either manually or automatically via Power BI connectors.
This stage is one of the most important and challenging parts of the data analytics process.It is crucial to clean the collected data in order to ensure that analysis will be unbiased. During the Data cleaning stage all inaccuracies, duplicates and irrelevance are identified.
After the data is cleaned, consultants design data models that organise different datasets to perform efficient analysis. During this phase, the connections between data points are established. The most widely used tools for data calculations are SQL and Excel. Data modelling will be described in more detail below.
This is the key step to visualise complex data in an easier and user-friendly format using graphs, charts, tables etc. Power BI developers create intuitive and visually appealing dashboards that present data in a way that is easy for non-technical users to get insights from.
After data is visualised, consultants help customers to analyse trends and patterns that will be used in the decision making process. This is the process of interpretation of the data visualisation inside of a dashboard. This includes identifying trends, comparing performance across different time periods or analysing customer behaviour patterns.
The final step is to deploy the insights derived from data analysis. Customers then implement strategies based on data findings. For instance, optimising marketing campaigns, improving product offerings or adjusting operational processes.
In big organisations, different steps of the data analytics process would be performed by different team members each with their own specialisations. A business analyst would work on identifying business questions and the necessary data to answer them. A data engineer would work on automating the data extraction, cleaning and pre-processing. A data analyst would work on the data modelling and visualisation. Finally, the senior management would analyse what the data visualisation is saying and act based on the insights. However, in SMBs, a single Power BI consultant often handles all of these tasks, providing a full-service solution. The key tasks that a Power BI consultant performs include:
KPIs are performance indicators that show how effectively a company achieves its long term objectives. A power BI consultant helps businesses to define clear KPIs. For instance, KPIs can include sales growth, customer retention rate, employee turnover etc. A Power BI consultant would help the client to identify KPIs, the data to calculate those KPIs and also the most effective way to visualise them. This case study is a good example of how a Power BI consultant would help with this process.
Power BI offers a range of ready-made connectors that make it easy to pull in data from different data sources. However, Power BI consultants may need to develop custom Power Bi connectors that automatically extracts data from databases API. Examples of data sources that require custom connectors include ClickUp, Jira, Quickbooks etc. Automatic data integration is crucial for a smooth analysis process as it reduces the maintenance workload.
Here are examples of custom Power BI connectors for different data sources
Power Query is a data extraction, transformation and loading (ETL) tool inside of Power BI that is used to automate data processing. Power BI consultants use this tool to clean, filter data and bring it to a convenient format to work with. During this stage, a consultant ensures the quality and speed of Power BI reports through only loading the necessary data.
Here you can find more information about the use of Power Query
Once the data is ready, the next step is to develop a dashboard that will provide real-time insights, allowing businesses to monitor its performance. Power BI consultants use different bars and charts to ensure that a report is developed in a clear and visually appealing way. Consultants then design every part of a dashboard such as filter menu, navigation menu, a line of cards and a block of data visualisations to accurately reflect data trends and patterns. You can learn more about the process for creating these charts here.
Power BI consultants play an important role in helping clients to interpret the results. Consultants usually schedule a call with the client to discuss results and all the limitations of the dashboard. Sometimes additional analysis is required after such meetings. All parts of the completed analysis are critically evaluated.
Power BI consultants provide ongoing maintenance and support, ensuring the dashboards are updated as new data sources are added, business needs or data format change. It is vital that the report will answer business questions over time, not just once.
Small and medium businesses usually have three options when hiring a Power BI consultant: hiring an employee, hiring a freelancer or becoming a partner with an agency. Each of the options has its advantages and disadvantages while the decision is usually based on the business resources available.
Hiring an in-house employee requires a dedicated amount of resources that will be available all the time. This is ideal for businesses that have ongoing and evolving data analysis needs. Some businesses can also choose to hire freelancers for full time later on. However, the cost of hiring can be significant. This includes salary, benefits and training.
Businesses with short-term or project-based data analysis needs may consider hiring a freelancer as a better option. This is a cost effective solution that allows to outsource time-consuming tasks that would require training. On the other hand, freelancers are not familiar with the business strategy or its mission most of the time. Thus, for tasks that require personalisation and deep understanding of the business, freelancers may not be able to deliver the highest level of quality.
Finally, businesses that need a team of experts with a wide range of skills can consider hiring an agency. Agencies can handle more complex data analysis projects. However, working with an agency may be the most expensive option, and businesses need to ensure they choose a qualified agency with relevant experience.
Power BI consultant is a valuable resource for SMBs. Business can unlock its full potential using data analysis that a Power BI consultant performs. The form of hire of a Power BI consultant that a business will consider depends on its needs and end goals. Whether a business chooses to hire an employee, work with a freelancer or partner with an agency, having the right consultant can turn raw data into actionable insights that drive business success.
