Last month we put out the call for submissions using free public datasets — along with other topics that interest you — for the Data Stories Gallery, and we got some fantastic entries! Congratulations to the grand winner and runners-up. The inspiration topic for this month is: mapping! We want to see your best reports that involve maps and geographic data.
The Microsoft Treasury group manages $158 billion in assets, including cash and investments, account receivable, equity, and other investments. They act as an in-house bank for operations in over 190 countries, monitor thousands of bank accounts, and provide just-in-time cash management on a global basis. With a purview this large, Microsoft Treasury relies on vast amount of data in order to make fast, accurate, and actionable decisions to keep their operations running smoothly. In the past, Treasury used a combination of Excel, PowerPoint, and third-party services to analyze and present their data, but Corporate VP, Treasurer George Zinn saw the future in the integration of a different product: Microsoft Power BI.
A common challenge that businesses face today is creating something that improves on the value of traditional analytics while utilizing new technologies at our disposal. Turning data into insights and action is the hallmark of a good business intelligence solution. With the increasingly rich and populated Microsoft Cloud Technology landscape, new opportunities are presented in ways that organizations can leverage them. Attend the webinar, “Accelerate your Retail Business with Analytics” by Hitachi Solutions on February 2 to learn more!
Are you ready to put your organization on a path of continuous improvement using the most valuable decision support techniques? Check out Microsoft Senior Program Manager Christian Berg’s timely series of essays on how to become your organization’s strategic advisor using Machine Learning and Power BI, available on the Community Blog. Each post takes on a different aspect of business intelligence, and includes a how-to section to get you started creating customized solutions for your team. Most analysis in the posts is done using the R language, but Christian tries to keep any scripts generic enough that anyone can apply them to their own data even without prior hands-on R experience.
Have you visited the Power BI Community blog lately? Blog posts can be anything from opinion pieces on the latest industry trends, to helpful tips and how-tos for your fellow Power BI users, to even “trip reports” from your local User Group meeting or Microsoft event. Check out these great posts from October and learn how you can contribute your own posts!
