Power BI vs. Databox

As more and more business intelligence (BI) vendors enter the market each year, Power BI and Databox consistently rank as top-rated solutions on software review sites. Both products offer power BI capabilities, but choosing between the two can be tough. In this article, we compare Power BI vs. Databox in depth to help you make an informed decision.

If you’d prefer to see more BI options, use our Product Selection Tool to get a free list of the BI software recommendations tailored to your needs. In five minutes or less, we’ll send you five vendors we think you’ll love.

An overview of Power BI vs. Databox

Power BI is a frontrunner in the BI software industry. It holds a good reputation not only because it’s a product of the software giant Microsoft, but also because it offers critical BI features like comprehensive reports, dashboard customization, reliable analytics, and accurate forecasting. Power BI can handle all business sizes, but it’s typically used by medium to large scale companies.

Databox is a highly-rated BI system that offers a wide range of built-in capabilities. Its features let you build stunning, multi-device dashboards, calculate and create custom metrics, build reliable reports, monitor company performance, and even create TV dashboards. It has extensive integration possibilities and is designed for companies of any size. Databox offers a 15-day free trial for users.

Features comparison

Power BI and Databox have many similar features in addition to some unique features. We’ll discuss reports, dashboards, and the mobility of Power BI and Databox.

Reports

Power BI lets you create reports that display up-to-the minute details. Reports created in Power BI may be shared with other team members and can be accessed through web browsers on desktop and mobile devices. You can also add different chart types for a more effective visualization of your report. Recurring reports may be delivered to specific users via email at scheduled times.

Databox also lets users create reports using its pre-designed report templates. This BI solution has over 200 report templates you can choose from. Reports created in Databox may be shared with others through snapshots and embedding, and you can take snapshots of your reports to share with other team members. Embedding the reports into your own company pages is also possible with Databox. You can schedule snapshots of your reports to be sent on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

Read also: The 6 Best Dashboard Software Options of 2019

Dashboards

One of the best features of Power BI is its customizable dashboards. Through its drag-and-drop interface, you can create interactive dashboards by exporting your Excel queries, data models, and reports to Power BI. You can also schedule data to be refreshed automatically. Additionally, Power BI dashboards let you display collections of data, charts, and tables from various sources. Owners of the dashboards can optimize the dashboard views for mobile devices.

The Databox dashboard feature shares many similarities with dashboards created in Power BI. Databox also has a drag-and-drop function to help you create dashboards easily that you can automatically refresh at scheduled times. You can view data from multiple sources on a single dashboard. The only primary difference between dashboards in Power BI vs. Databox is that Databox dashboards automatically work on every device — including smartphones, tablets, televisions, and even Apple Watches.

Mobility

Power BI has native mobile BI applications for Windows, iOS, and Android devices that keep you on top of your business anytime, anywhere. You can securely view and annotate dashboards and reports using this mobile app and get real-time notifications about data you’re tracking. Using the app, you can share dashboards and reports with other team members.

Dashboards and reports in Databox can be viewed using mobile devices, desktop browsers, wearable technology like the Apple Watch, and on office TVs. Databox also has mobile apps for Android and iOS devices. Just like with the mobile app for Power BI, this mobile application from Databox can send push notifications when important data changes happen, and you can share and annotate dashboards and reports. With this mobile app feature, you can get a daily or weekly summary of your top KPIs. You can also enable Touch ID or passcode security for added data protection.

Integrations for Power BI vs. Databox

Power BI has integrations with powerful and useful apps and tools for CRM, workflow automation, service management, employee monitoring, online database creation, and more. This software also integrates with familiar products from Microsoft like Excel, Dynamics CRM, and Office 365. Some of the non-Microsoft integrations for Power BI are:

• TOPDesk
• Fluix
• Workpuls
• TeamDesk
• Salesforce

Databox is considered to have one of the broadest integration possibilities when it comes to BI software products. It integrates with applications and platforms for team communication, ecommerce, marketing automation, social coding, inbound marketing, integration, and social visibility:

• Slack
• PayPal
• SEMrush
• Buffer
• Zapier
• HubSpot Marketing
• GitHub

The better BI solution

Both Power BI and Databox offer similar features and can accommodate the needs of small organizations to large enterprises. If you’re trying to choose between these two systems, you should consider the individuals who will be using the software on a daily basis.

Power BI might be a good choice if your company already uses other Microsoft products. Excel workbooks and spreadsheets can be easily exported to Power BI for report creation. On the other hand, Databox might be better if you have staff members who travel or work from remote locations. The fact that Databox reports and dashboards can be viewed on any device without a need for additional configuration can help remote team members stay updated from anywhere. Plus, its added data protection features can protect confidential business data.

If you feel that Power BI or Databox isn’t right for your business, use our Product Selection Tool for a free shortlist of recommended BI software choices. In five minutes or less, we’ll match you with five vendors perfectly matched to your needs.