Power BI Feature Report

The following Power BI report contains 173 features and services introduced or enhanced in 2017:

Power BI 2017 Feature Report

The report contains the following three pages:

1. Feature Reference (Page 1)
   • A table and three Chiclet slicers (Category, Month, Feature Value) for filtering.
2. Category Trend (Page 2)
   • A ribbon chart with the feature categories stacked across months and a table.
3. Feature Dot Plot (Page 3)
   • The Dot Plot by Maq Software and a table.

Each table visual includes a Reference URL back to the Power BI Blog post related to the feature or announcement. Each page also includes a link to Power BI Docs. You should use these resources and other official sources for more details.

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*If you’re fairly new to Power BI, you can click one or multiple data items in the visuals on pages 2-3 to update the respective tables at the bottom. Use Ctrl+click to multi-select.

Notes

• Originally my thought was that the list and report should be exclusive to Power BI Desktop (connectivity, query, analytics, reporting). Then I reasoned that, though it adds some complexity, the broader ecosystem needed to be represented so categories like Service, Gateway, Report Server, Mobile, and Embedded were added.
  • An exception to this is Azure Analysis Services, for now.

• Sound arguments could be made that certain items left off the list currently should be included or that the categories should be different.
  • For example, I have Power BI Premium in the Service category for now but it could potentially be its own category.

• You shouldn’t necessarily read too much into the Feature Value.
  • Basically, with an 8 or higher I tend to think the feature or announcement enables new scenarios or use cases.
  • Bookmarks receiving a 9 is an example of this as this feature and related features (Selection Pane, Bookmark Links) can change how Power BI reports are developed and consumed going forward.
    • Single Sign On via Kerberos through DirectQuery is another example. For companies with investments in these supported sources, Power BI becomes a much more attractive option.
  • With the exception of Embedded, many of the highest rated features were included in The Cookbook or will be included in Mastering Power BI.

Feel welcome to share your thoughts for improvements or any significant issues you find (omissions?). I personally find it useful to quickly identify a particular feature or category of features and then link back to the official blogs/announcements or documentation. Therefore, I may regularly update this report and reference it in future Power BI blog posts.

Insight Quest Update

• There will not be a blog post next Thursday.
• There will be a blog post the following Thursday (1/4/18).
• Consider subscribing to receive notification of new posts.