Business Intelligence (BI) and data visualization tools: PowerBI, Oracle Analytics Cloud, and Tableau, all three of these tools are great for helping businesses make sense of their data. However, each has unique strengths and weaknesses. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at PowerBI, Oracle Analytics Cloud, and Tableau to see how they compare. 

What is PowerBI?

PowerBI is a tool from Microsoft designed to be relatively user-friendly and easy to use. It includes a drag-and-drop interface for creating visualizations. PowerBI also offers a wide range of pre-built templates and visualizations for users to customize to their needs. With a strong integration with other products in the Microsoft ecosystem, PowerBI is the best choice for businesses already using Microsoft products.

PowerBI is a cloud-based BI and analytics service provided by Microsoft. It enables users to analyze data and share insights. The desktop application, called PowerBI Desktop, is a free download to be installed on any Windows PC. The cloud service, called PowerBI service, is a subscription service that provides access to the PowerBI Desktop application and other cloud-based features. In addition, it includes a web-based interface called the PowerBI portal to view reports and dashboards and manage PowerBI content and users.

PowerBI Desktop is a data visualization and modeling tool to create reports and dashboards. Reports are collections of visualizations for you to interactively explore, while dashboards are visualizations that get published to the PowerBI service for others to view and interact. It also includes a query editor to connect relational databases, OLAP cubes, or tabular data sources, shape data, and create models.

  • Shaping data refers to the process of transforming data into a format that is suitable for analysis.
  • Creating models refers to the process of building relationships between data tables.

The PowerBI Mobile app is a free app installed on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices. The app users can view reports and dashboards published on the PowerBI service. Additionally, it has security features to control access reports and dashboards. It is also possible to password-protect reports and dashboards to restrict access to specific users or groups of users.

However, PowerBI is more expensive than other BI tools. So, for larger businesses, it could be challenging to scale up.

What is Oracle Analytics Cloud (OAC)?

Oracle Analytics Cloud is a tool with a focus on powerful data analysis features. It includes many data connectors, allowing users to connect to virtually any data source. Oracle Analytics Cloud also has advanced features, such as predictive analytics and Machine Learning – allowing users to do more with data.

As a cloud-based analytics platform, Oracle Analytics Cloud enables the following:

  • Connectivity to different data sources: OAC helps connect to data sources, both on-premises and in the cloud, making it easy to get started with data analysis, as you don’t need to worry about data migration.
  • Self-service data preparation: OAC includes a self-service data preparation tool to clean and transform data. It is a critical step in data analysis, ensuring the data is ready for analysis.
  • Visual data exploration: OAC provides a visual data exploration tool to help discover insights into data. It includes various charts and graphs to explore data.
  • Predictive analytics: OAC includes a predictive analytics engine to build models that predict future outcomes. It is most helpful when businesses want to make data-driven decisions.
  • Collaborative analytics: OAC also offers a collaborative analytics tool to share data and insights with others. Hence, you can involve more SMEs in the data analysis process.

Despite these advantages, Oracle Analytics Cloud is complex to use. So, it may be challenging to get started for users new to BI.

What is Tableau?

Tableau is an interactive data visualization tool. It offers features for creating custom visualizations and includes built-in support for many different types of data sources. As a result, Tableau is generally considered one of the most straightforward BI tools. One of the visible advantages is that it offers a free trial version for businesses to use and get started.

Tableau is a powerful data visualization tool that helps you see and understand data in new ways. With Tableau, you connect to almost any data source, including files, databases, and cloud-based data, then visualize and create interactive dashboards and reports that are easily shareable with others. Tableau is easy to use, even for those unfamiliar with data visualization or data analytics.

The software has a drag-and-drop interface that makes it simple to create visualizations and leverage built-in intelligence. Furthermore, you can use the data and find insights you may not have otherwise found-making it effortless to ask questions about your data and get answers in seconds.

So, which BI tool is the best for your business? 

While all three have similar features, each one fulfills unique needs that depend on your business. For example, if you need a tool that is easy to use and doesn’t require a lot of training, PowerBI or Tableau might be a good choice. On the other hand, Oracle Analytics Cloud solutions might be a better choice if you need a tool that offers powerful data analysis features. While OAC can be complex, it is still user-friendly and offers seamless integration with Oracle ADW and OAC’s data flow capabilities, giving it an edge over the competition.

Related blogs:

How to Transform and Enrich Data in Oracle Analytics Cloud?

Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC): Evolution and Best Practices

The power of Oracle Integration Cloud’s process automation with RPA

Oracle Analytics Cloud: How to Create Services?

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