Power BI Architecture

 Power BI Architecture

Power BI is more than just charts—it’s a tool that turns raw data into meaningful insights. To use it well, it helps to know how data flows from the source to the people who use it.

Here’s a step-by-step guide through the architecture, explained in a way that actually makes sense—because data should tell a story, not just sit in tables.

1. Data Sources: 

Power BI can connect to almost any kind of data:

• Databases: SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, etc.
• Files: Excel, CSV, JSON, text files, etc.
• Cloud services: Azure, Google Analytics, 
• Online platforms: SharePoint, Salesforce, APIs

Key idea: Power BI can handle messy, structured, and semi-structured data.

2. Data Preparation: 

Power Query is where we clean and prepare data:

• Remove duplicates and empty values
• Fix column types and split data
• Combine tables and filter data

Key idea: Turn raw data into clean, ready-to-use data.

3. Data Modeling: 

Here, we structure the data for analysis:

• Connect tables and create relationships
• Add calculations using DAX
  
• Apply business rules

Key idea: Build a smart model for accurate insights.

4. Visualization: 

This is where numbers turn into visuals:

• Reports: Interactive pages with charts, tables, and slicers
• Dashboards: A high-level snapshot of key metrics
• Scorecards: Track goals and monitor performance

Users can drill down, apply filters, and interact dynamically. It’s no longer data—it’s a narrative, designed to be understood at a glance.

Key idea: Make insights easy to understand and act on.

5. Power BI Service:

Once your report is ready, it’s time to publish it to the cloud via Power BI Service. This layer lets teams collaborate seamlessly:

• Share reports across your organization
• Schedule automatic data refresh
• Create apps for business teams
• Enforce row-level security (RLS)
  
• Manage access and governance

Key idea: Insights are not stuck on your machine—they’re available anytime, anywhere.

6. Business Users:

Finally, your insights reach the people who actually make decisions:

• Executives: Strategic decision-making

• Managers: Track performance

• Analysts: Explore trends

•  Monitor daily metrics

Access Methods:

• Web browsers
• Mobile apps
• Embedded dashboards

Key idea: Drive data-informed decisions across the organization.

End-to-End Power BI Flow

• Collect data from multiple sources.
• Clean and transform data using Power Query.
• Build relationships and DAX calculations in the data model.
• Create interactive reports and dashboards.
• Publish content to Power BI Service.
• Business users consume insights securely.