Power BI is a suite of business analytics tools developed by Microsoft that allows you to visualize and share insights from your data. Power BI consists of several components, including Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service (also known as Power BI online).
- Power BI Desktop: Power BI Desktop is a free application that you install on your computer. It allows you to connect to various data sources, transform and clean your data, create interactive visualizations, and build reports and dashboards. Power BI Desktop is used for developing reports and models before publishing them to the Power BI Service.
- Power BI Service: Power BI Service is a cloud-based service that allows you to publish, share, and collaborate on your Power BI reports and dashboards. Once you have created your reports in Power BI Desktop, you can publish them to the Power BI Service, where you can share them with others, view them on the web or mobile devices, and set up automated data refresh schedules.
Power BI also includes mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Windows devices, which allow you to view and interact with your Power BI reports and dashboards on the go.
In summary, Power BI Desktop is used for creating reports and dashboards, while Power BI Service is used for sharing, collaborating, and viewing those reports and dashboards online.