Differences Between Power BI vs SSRS
Power bi is a data analysis tool, which can be used for reporting and data analysis from the wide range of data source. Power bi is simple and user-friendly in use which helps business analyst skills and power users to work easily on it. For the complex and huge data analysis power bi is very useful. It is widely used for modeling and structuring of unshaped data.
SSRS stands for SQL Server Reporting Services, it is a comprehensive extensible reporting platform. This includes integrated set of processing component and programmatic interfaces. It is used to design test and deploy the report. Mainly this is a server-based platform.
Power bi has more graphical component as compared to SSRS, it makes power bi more efficient and easy to use, whereas SSRS has more manual effort for analysis and generating the reports.
Power bi will be helpful to generate the report on the basis of cloud data although it will analysis and generate the report on the basis of relational storage which can access through your computer but SSRS is only useful where your data resides on the system.
SSRS is a vintage solution for publishing or generating the reports whereas power bi is latest and user-friendly tool.
Head to Head Comparison Between Power BI and SSRS (Infographics)
Below is the top 11 comparisons Between Power BI and SSRS:
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Key Difference Between Power BI and SSRS
Below are the lists of points, describe the key Differences Between Power BI and SSRS:
SQL Server Reporting Services has the capability to work along with Power Bi report, along with all the existing quality and capability of SSRS. So it’s clear that PBIRS will be the next version of SSRS and will definitely replace the SSRS in near future. As power bi has the component which is present in SSRS and along with it, it has more add-ins also present.
From the features point of view, the differences between the two Power BI and SSRS are straightforward. PBIRS is a superset of SSRS. It contains everything that SSRS has, and it adds the ability to render both Interactive (PBIX) and Analytical (XLSX) reports.
Licensing is where things get a little more involved. SSRS was always included on the SQL Server installation media, but with SQL Server 2017, this is no longer the case, it’s a separate download.
If you have a license for Standard mode SQL Server, you will be able to use the Standard mode features of SSRS, Enterprise unlocks the Enterprise features, etc. As of the 2017 version, there is also no longer an integrated model of SSRS, it is Native Mode only.
Power BI Report Server is licensed in one of two ways. Purchasing Power BI Premium capacity gives you licenses to run the same number of cores as you have in the capacity. This only applies to Premium P SKUs, not any others such as EM. The other way that it can be licensed is by purchasing SQL Server Enterprise Edition + Software Assurance.
Just as with licensing, the timing of releases of SSRS is also tied to that of SQL Server. Whenever a new version of SQL Server is released, a new version of SSRS will be as well. This is not the case for PBIRS. Since PBIRS is considered a standalone product this makes sense, and the constant pace of change in the Power BI service itself necessitates a more frequent update cadence.
Cortana integration has added a feature in power bi which is especially popular on mobile devices, allows users to verbally query data using natural language and access results, using Cortana, Microsoft’s digital assistant. This feature is not added in SSRS.
Power BI and SSRS Comparison Table
Below is the comparison table between Power BI and SSRS.
| Basis For Comparison | Power BI | SSRS |
| Definition | Power bi stands for power business intelligence which is the product of Microsoft. Used for analysis and generating the reports from the cloud as well as server | SSRS stands for SQL server reporting services, it is also a product of Microsoft. Used for analysis of data and generating reports on server-based data. |
| History | Power bi report server is first introduced in 2017. | SSRS was first introduced in 2004. |
| The Implementation | It is used to generate cloud-based reports as well as server-based reports | Only used for generating the server-based reports. |
| Benefits | Easy to use due to enriched graphical component | Drill down capability is more. |
| Accessibility | Can be used through the web, mobile App, and desktop | Only access to web and desktop |
| License | It is free for use. | It is paid tool. |
| Component | It is HTML 5 open source app-enabled and cloud-enabled SAAS. | SSRS is enterprise visualization tool based on old technology. |
| Learning Curve | Power bi is a graphical tool so through drag and drops you can complete your but its internal processed is hiding so that you can’t understand how it process internally. | In SSRS developer has to do all the coding and designing of the report so the developer has the better picture of the process. |
| Usage | It is more easy to use because of rich graphical component | Less user-friendly |
| Data Dependency | Can deal with structure and unstructured of the data | Can work with structure and semi-structure of data. |
| Occurrence | In IT market power bi is emerging and replacing SSRS | Till now SSRS has a lot of presence but now power bi has more presence. |
Conclusion
The choice between Power BI and SSRS will likely be straightforward and likely driven by requirements. If your organization only uses paginated reports on premises, you will decide that SSRS is a more cost-effective option. On the other side if you have the need to render interactive or analytical reports on premises, or you already have SQL Server Enterprise Edition with Software Assurance, then PBIRS will likely be your preferred choice. There are no circumstances that I can think of where both Power BI and SSRS will be advisable, if you have PBIRS, you have everything that SSRS offers and more. But yes definitely it will have some more cost-effectiveness.
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