Power BI – Data Sources and its type

In this article, we will be looking at Data Sources and their type in Power BI.

Power BI is an interactive data visualization software developed by Microsoft with a primary focus on business intelligence. It is part of the Microsoft Power Platform.

The Power BI data sources that are available are as follows:

•    Flat Files
•    SQL Database
•    OData Feed
•    Blank Query
•    Azure Cloud platform
•    Online Services
•    Blank Query
•    Other data sources such as Hadoop, Exchange, or Active Directory

Steps to get  Data Sources and its type of Power BI:

Step 1: The user must select the Get data option on the main screen of the Power BI desktop to obtain data. The most popular data sources are displayed first. Then select More to view the complete list of data sources that are accessible.

Below is the screenshot with the more option highlighted:

Step 2:As seen in the screenshot above, click the “More.” option opens a new navigation window with a category of all accessible data sources on the left side. Additionally, a search option is at the top, as shown in the screenshot below.

The various data sources are presented below:

All: All of the Power BI desktop’s possible data sources are listed under this category.

File: The list of supported flat file types for the Power BI desktop is displayed when the user click File. Choose the file type from the list and click Connect to any file type. The file’s location must be specified.

Database: A list of all the database connections you can connect to is displayed when the user selects the Database option. Choose a database type from the list as shown in the screenshot below to connect to any database. Go to Connect. To connect, the user must enter the server name, user name, and password. Using the advanced settings, you can also connect by using a straight SQL query. Additional connectivity options include Import and DirectQuery.

Azure:

The user can connect to the database in the Azure cloud by using the Azure option. The options available under the category of Azure are displayed in the following screenshot.

Online Services:

The user may link Power BI to various web services, including Facebook, Google Analytics, Salesforce, Exchange, and more.
The options under Online Services are depicted in the screenshots as follows:

Other:

The options that are available in the other category are displayed in the screenshot below.