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Analyze i4connected Data with Microsoft Power BI

In order to use company data effectively, it is necessary to merge and connect data from various sources. i4connected as an Industrial Internet of Things platform collects data for various purposes, such as energy management, condition monitoring or predictive maintenance. The requirements for data visualization differ depending on the application. In this article we show how to analyze data from i4connected with Microsoft Power BI.

Useful Tool for Business Analysis

Power BI is a business intelligence tool from Microsoft to present unrelated data sources visually and interactively. The data can come from any source imaginable – from a local Excel spreadsheet to a cloud based data warehouse system. With Power BI, you can create and analyze connections between data from different, heterogeneous systems. Because Power BI is part of Office 365, users can easily share their reports and dashboards within the organization.

Analyze data from i4connected with Power BI

Power BI allows you to integrate data collected and processed with i4connected into existing company reports and thus better correlate data with each other. Using a drill-down function, dashboards can be operated interactively. For example, the dashboard automatically adjusts within a bar chart at the click of a mouse and illustrates the respective context. The connection between i4connected and Power BI is absolutely simple, as you can see in our video:

The use case in the video shows how you can establish a connection with just a few clicks, analyse data and prepare it graphically in various charts – such as energy consumption data from distributed production sites in Hamburg, Berlin, Amsterdam and Stockholm. The local dimension is clearly visible on the integrated map. The visualisation also shows relevant KPIs such as total consumption, the number of units produced and the calculated energy consumption per unit. Using the drill-down function, the user can dive deeper into the data structures and, for example, switch from the annual to the monthly view. If the user selects a location on the map, all diagrams adapt accordingly.

Quickly Gain new Insights

Power BI offers countless possibilities for data visualization. At the same time, the tool is so intuitive that users can put together useful dashboards in no time at all. Those who already use Power BI for company-wide reporting can now easily integrate data from i4connected and evaluate it in the overall context.