Discover The Power of Your Data

Chicago-based Power BI consultants, Discover The Power of Your Data help businesses turn their records into reports they can use. The team first learns how a business runs, and then proposes the measures that will show whether it is working. The company says its work matters most where information is scattered across spreadsheets, paper, databases and cloud services, because the data still tells a story about where a business has been, and about where it might go next.

Choosing the measures before the dashboard

The firm does not start with a dashboard. It argues that a business should first agree what it needs to measure, so that the reports reveal trends and useful facts rather than a pile of figures. Typical questions include whether a business needs an alert when sales fall or a large order arrives, which customers are the most valuable, and which products sell the most.

Power BI reports and the data behind them

The core service is building Power BI reports and dashboards from whatever a business keeps: spreadsheets, paper files, databases or cloud storage. The company says it can connect several sources through APIs, so that the figures a manager needs come from one view rather than from separate files. Its strategy support is ongoing, helping a business keep using its data as the business changes.

Manufacturing reporting in practice

The firm has a Power BI practice aimed at manufacturing, and its website gives examples. One is a foam mattress manufacturer with ten plants in the United States, which can now measure production scrap in real time rather than waiting about two weeks for the figure. Another is an electrical firm in Hawaii that predicts future workloads and can tell whether its workforce on the islands can take on more work. A home building company in Iowa uses the reports to compare material costs with estimates and to see which upgrades customers choose.

Consultants rather than programmers

The company says it does not hire programmers so much as business consultants who use technology to solve problems. Its first rule, according to the firm, is to understand the problem before proposing a solution, because it has learned the cost of skipping that step. It describes itself as a Microsoft certified Gold partner.

Sister services and a wider skills base

The business is presented as a service of a software company that offers custom solutions. Its website names other services alongside Power BI, including .NET programs, SQL Server and Microsoft Access, and says some of its SQL Server specialists are also Microsoft Access MVPs.

Discover The Power of Your Data is a Power BI consultancy that works with businesses to turn their data into useful reports. Its team starts by understanding how a business runs, then suggests metrics to measure it.

Products and services

• Power BI reports: dashboards and reports built from spreadsheets, paper records, databases and cloud data.
• Metric design: choosing measures that reveal trends and useful facts about a business.
• Alerts and sales analysis: alerts for big orders or falling sales, and analysis of which customers and products sell most.
• API services: connecting data sources through APIs.
• Strategy support: ongoing support for how a business uses its data.

Customers and markets

Its case studies include a foam mattress manufacturer with 10 plants in the US, an electrical firm in Hawaii and a home building company in Iowa.

Key facts

• Based in: Chicago
• Platform: Microsoft Power BI
• Focus: Power BI for manufacturing