Power BI – Differences Between Microsoft Power BI and SSRS

In this article, we will cover what is SSRS and Power BI, their Features, Types, and Differences Between Microsoft Power BI and SSRS.

What is SQL SSRS (Server Reporting Services)?

SSRS stands for SQL Server Reporting Services. A tool developed by Microsoft is used to create visualizations and reports on data such as graphs, tables, charts, etc. It consists of a set of tools for creating, distributing, and managing reports. This tool provides insight into information stored in SQL databases and helps to make important and timely decisions based on reports generated by SSRS. This tool can be used by both experts and end users. 

Features of the SSRS

• No Additional Costs: The cost of all tools is the organization’s primary concern. Organizations are always looking for tools that can provide maximum benefits at the lowest cost. When someone installs SQL Server, SSRS is provided free to users to help reduce the cost of reporting tools.
• Mobile-Friendly: SSRS also allows you to view reports generated from your mobile device. Generates a URL that you can use to open your report from any mobile device, anytime, anywhere using the Internet.
• Advanced Analytics: SSRS can generate reports in a graph, chart, and tabular format.
• Microsoft Development Environment: SSRS uses a feature-rich and user-friendly development environment provided by Microsoft.

There are 3 services in this development environment. These are:

• Microsoft SQL Server Analytic Service: Helps you analyze your data.
• Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services: Involved in integrating multiple data sources.
• Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services: Creates visual reports on data.

Types of Reports in SSRS

At the same time, SSRS allows users to filter reports or data according to their requirements and to generate custom reports based on the data being analyzed. SSRS can generate the following reports:

• Tablix: This type of report uses a tabular format to display data.
• Matrix: Similar to tabular, but much more advanced. This allows the table to be stretched both vertically and horizontally. You can also perform various actions on the report.
• Charts: This type of report consists of pie charts, bar charts, line charts, frequency polygons, histograms, and more.
• Subreport: This type of report helps you extract the report from other reports. The retrieved reports are a subset of the default reports.
• Drill-Down Reports: This type of report establishes relationships between data at the top and bottom levels. Users can click on a specific level to view lower-level data.
• Drillthrough Report: A report that users can view by opening a link in another report. These reports show details of elements that can be included in other reports. It will help you navigate through the various reports.

What is Power BI?

Power BI stands for Power Business Intelligence. Power BI is a reporting and data visualization tool developed by Microsoft.
It is capable of generating various reports and dashboards from different data sources. It also helps businesses to share reports and visualizations with the stakeholders to take important business decisions. It comes in free and paid versions. The free version provides limited functionality whereas the paid version has much more advanced functionality.

Features of Power BI 

• Mobile app support
• Regular Updates
• Supports very large databases
• Support to analyze data in excel
• Automatically refresh data
• Easily integrates with the other Microsoft products
• Create beautiful visualizations

Power BI tools

• Power BI Desktop: The leading authoring and publishing tool. Power BI users and developers use it to create entirely new models and reports. You can use the
  Power BI Desktop tool for free.
• Power BI Service: Power BI data modules, dashboards, and reports are hosted online software as a service (SaaS). Share, manage and collaborate in the cloud. 4,444 Power BI service tools are available with a Pro license that requires users to pay $10 per month.
• Power BI data gateway: Acts as a bridge between on-premises Power BI service data sources such as import, direct query, and live query. Your BI admin installs Power BI.
• Power BI Report Server: Hosts paginated reports, mobile reports, KPIs, and Power BI desktop reports. It must be updated every 4 months and is managed by the IT team.
• Power BI mobile app: Available for Android, iOS, and Windows.
  Microsoft Intune is managed by this tool. You can view reports and dashboards on the Power BI service report server.

Advantages of Power BI

• Supports natural query languages ​​and does not require users to learn complex new query languages.
• It is very secure as it receives regular updates from Microsoft.
• Power BI can be easily integrated with various cloud services such as Azure.
• Users can customize the Power BI dashboard according to their requirements. This provides a seamless user experience.

Disadvantages of Power BI

• Power BI requires users to have emails from the same domain to exchange reports with each other.
• Real-time data from various sources is not supported. Only limited sources can work with real-time data in Power BI.
• Dashboard does not accept or pass user, account, or other object parameters.
• The maximum supported file size in Power BI is limited to 250 MB.

Table of Difference between Power BI and SSRS

Feature	Power BI	SSRS
Long Form	It Represents Power Business Intelligence.	It refers to SQL Server Reporting Services.
Developer and Release	Developed by Microsoft and released in 2017.	Developed by Microsoft and released in 2004.
License	Has both paid and free versions	This is a free application that comes with SQL Server.
Accessibility	Accessible through the web (Power BI service), desktop (Power BI Desktop), and mobile app.	Accessible via the Internet and the desktop.
File Size	The maximum file size is 250 MB.	The file size is unlimited.
Reports	Reports are generated both on the server and in the cloud.	Reports are server-based.
Data Supported	Supports structured and unstructured data.	Supports structured and semi-structured data.
Update Frequency	Updates for Power BI are released monthly.	SSRS gets updates every few years.
Complexity	Easy to use GUI	Requires a user to know SQL queries.