Microsoft Power BI
Interactive dashboards and data analytics for Swiss businesses – connected to your specialist systems.
What is Microsoft Power BI?
Microsoft Power BI is Microsoft's business intelligence platform for interactive dashboards, reports and data analytics. Power BI Desktop is used for report development, Power BI Service (Cloud) for sharing and collaboration, Power BI Mobile for dashboards on smartphones. Power BI is natively integrated with Microsoft 365, Excel, SharePoint and Teams.
per user/month for Power BI Pro (included in M365 E3/E5)
Microsoft Pricingdevelopment time for a basic management dashboard with CNEXT
CNEXT Projektdaten“Power BI democratises data: Controlling, HR and Operations can create their own reports — without an IT ticket. Our job is to keep the data pipeline stable and data quality high.”
Marcel Haas— CEO & Solution Architect, CNEXT
Power BI Solutions from CNEXT
Management Dashboards
Real-time KPIs for management, controlling and operations — on desktop and mobile.
ERP Reporting
Direct connection to Abacus, Bexio, SAP for automatically updated financial and business reports.
Power BI Embedded
Embed dashboards in your own portals and applications — without visible Power BI interface.
Swiss Reference Projects
Concrete Power BI projects by CNEXT for Swiss businesses.
Finance cockpit (industrial company, Winterthur)
Power BI connects Abacus financial data with SharePoint project lists: GL, accounts receivable, cash flow and project margins on a single dashboard. CFO reporting reduced from 2 days to 5 minutes.
HR analytics (cantonal administration, Bern)
Headcount, turnover, age structure and training costs from three HR systems in one Power BI report. Row-level security: each directorate only sees its own data.
Sales dashboard (software SME, Basel)
CRM pipeline from Dynamics 365 + revenue from Abacus + forecast on one dashboard. Automatic Teams notification for deals over CHF 100,000 with no activity for 14 days.
Frequently Asked Questions about Power BI
What is Microsoft Power BI and who is it suitable for?
Microsoft Power BI is Microsoft's business intelligence platform for interactive dashboards, reports and data analytics. Suitable for controlling, management, operations, HR and marketing in companies of any size — from SMEs with 20 employees to large enterprises.
Can Power BI connect to Abacus, Bexio or other Swiss ERP systems?
Yes. CNEXT connects Power BI to Abacus via ODBC or direct database connection, to Bexio via REST API, to Topal and Sage via ODBC/SQL. For systems without a direct connector, we use Power Query M formulas or Azure Data Factory as a data pipeline.
How much does Power BI cost for Swiss companies?
Power BI Pro costs approximately CHF 9–10/user/month (included in M365 E3/E5). Power BI Premium Per User approximately CHF 20/user/month. Development costs at CNEXT: simple dashboard from CHF 3,000, complex controlling dashboard with datamart from CHF 15,000.
How long does it take to develop a Power BI dashboard?
Simple dashboard (1–3 data sources, standard visualisations): 2–5 days. Medium dashboard (multiple sources, data modelling, DAX): 1–3 weeks. Complex controlling dashboard with datamart and historical data: 4–8 weeks.
What is the difference between Power BI and Excel for reporting?
Excel reports are static, must be updated manually and are not suitable for multi-user access. Power BI dashboards update automatically, support drill-down and filtering, scale for hundreds of users and are available on mobile devices. CNEXT recommends Power BI from 3+ regular report recipients.
How secure are Power BI dashboards?
Power BI is fully integrated into the Microsoft 365 security boundary: Sensitivity Labels, Row-Level Security (RLS) for data-based access control, Conditional Access and full audit logs. CNEXT implements RLS so each user only sees their own data (e.g. regional managers only see their region).
What is Power BI Embedded and when does it make sense?
Power BI Embedded allows integrating Power BI dashboards into your own web applications or customer portals without a visible Power BI interface. Useful for: SaaS providers embedding analytics in their product, or companies with an extranet portal for customers or partners.
Can Power BI analyse SharePoint data?
Yes. Power BI connects natively to SharePoint lists and libraries. Typical scenarios: project lists, task tracking, inventory lists, CRM data in SharePoint lists. CNEXT recommends a data pipeline via Power Automate or Azure Data Factory for large data volumes (>100,000 rows).
What is DAX and do I need to learn it?
DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) is the formula language in Power BI for calculated measures such as growth rates, rolling averages and year-to-date values. Users don't need DAX for standard dashboards — CNEXT develops all complex measures. CNEXT offers DAX training for power users.
How do I keep Power BI dashboards up to date?
Power BI updates data automatically via Scheduled Refresh (up to 8x daily in Pro, 48x in Premium). CNEXT configures the refresh schedule, Data Gateway (for on-premises sources like Abacus) and alert notifications on refresh errors.
Transform data into decisions?
CNEXT develops Power BI dashboards connected to your Swiss specialist systems.
Free initial consultation