Which Power BI Dashboards or Reports Should You Use?

A Power BI Dashboard: What Is It?

A Power BI dashboard is described by Microsoft as "a single page, sometimes referred to as a canvas, that tells a narrative using visuals. A well-designed dashboard simply includes the story's highlights on one page so that readers may explore related reports for further information.

It does just what it says; it presents articles or reports' key details and information in a visual way. In simple terms, it is a preview, a sneak peak, the teaser you watch before a movie, or a small selection from a wider spread.

Let's now examine some of the most common applications for Power BI dashboards.

Benefits of Using a Power BI Dashboard

• Enables users to quickly access all key metrics and evaluate reports.
• Users are able to produce visualizations from several datasets or reports.
• Customization to satisfy any enterprise's needs.
• It may be included into apps to provide a consistent user experience.
• May immediately share with other company employees.
• Data visualization makes information delivery simple.

As we've seen, Power BI dashboards are a highly effective tool that may be utilized anytime an accurate and succinct data summary is required. To pique the attention of a user or an audience, they provide a content overview at the start of a report presentation.

In the end, they combine information from several reports to provide the key findings and interesting aspects.

Dashboard applications are thus only constrained by the requirements and context at hand.

What Is the Purpose of a Report?

A Power BI report is a multi-perspective view of a dataset, with visualizations expressing various discoveries and insights from that dataset, to quote Microsoft once again. A report may include only one image or several pages of images.

A report is a comprehensive analysis of a single dataset, but a dashboard may include graphics from multiple separate reports.

A dashboard could just provide a teaser or one specific aspect of a dataset, but a report would give the whole picture and a more comprehensive look.

Benefits of Power BI reports

• Information from datasets presented in a comprehensible style.
• Real-time graphic modifications in response to data changes are possible because to customization.
• Complex datasets are simpler to understand.
• Content may be interacted with safely since modifying a report won't affect the underlying dataset.
• Using visual tools and formats to support dataset outcomes
• A Power BI report may be used everywhere a report has to be presented visually or audibly, according to its applications.
• A Power BI report may be very effective even outside of those situations since the majority of reports and datasets are now digitally interacted with. It makes the main components of a dataset easier to comprehend and absorb because of how simple it is to utilize.

Differences Between Reports and Dashboards in Power BI

• The screen size page of the Power BI dashboard contains crucial data arranged across many reports, datasets, and facts. Reports, in contrast, are a compiled presentation of several datasets, and data may be seen on various sites.
• Power BI dashboards are a feature of the Power BI service and are not accessible for Power BI desktop. On the Power BI desktop, however, reports may be created and viewed.
• Each Power BI dashboard is made up of maps, graphs, and other visuals since it draws its data from several sources. But Power BI reports can only utilize one dataset as a source.
• The only existing visualization that may be pinned in a Power BI dashboard is from the active dashboard to other dashboards, a feature known as dashboard navigation. However, Power BI reports may browse or pin any dashboards or reports.
• There is no option for email subscription for the Power BI dashboard. However, customers have the option to subscribe to get reports in their email inbox at any moment.
• If situations need attention, Power BI dashboards offer an alerting function that raises an alarm, but not in reports.
• Power BI dashboards lack the ability to filter and dice data, while reports provide several options.
• Reports cannot use natural language queries; only the dashboard can.
• The Power BI dashboard visualization cannot be altered. However, depending on the user's position and access rights to dashboards and reports, report visualization may be altered and preserved.
• Only the Power BI dashboard allows for the export of raw data. The presenting and visualization tools, however, are not. Reports allow for the export of raw data in any format, including tabular forms.
• Dashboards get their information from reports, which may be in a variety of forms such as text, table, chart, number, etc.
• Although the dashboard is shown on a single page, reports require us to travel through numerous pages of comprehensive information.
• In order to provide a more thorough view, Power BI reports may be dug down to various data levels.
• Reports may be downloaded to a local PC for further review and exported to any format.
• Online reports may be published and subscribed to through email.
• Reports and dashboards both offer the same functions, however only restricted formats may be exported from a dashboard. Because reports are the only tools that can examine data, they are utilized to show the crucial information.

What is Better Compared? Reports vs Power BI dashboards

You must have noticed by now that Power BI dashboards and reports cannot be kept separate. They complement one another and function in perfect harmony as Microsoft's business intelligence's yin and yang.

Both are potent, adaptable, and durable instruments that may provide a thorough examination of the bigger picture or the tiniest, most minute details.

According to the demands and requirements of the circumstance, a professional IT manager or business user may make the greatest use of the tools at their disposal. It wouldn't make sense to choose one over the other and ignore the other.