Insights
Practical writing on Power BI, Microsoft Fabric and data strategy.
Articles by working UK consultants. No vendor talking points, no jargon for its own sake — just what we wish someone had told us before our first project.
Case Studies
8 min read
Power BI for Marketing: Case Study
How we built a Power BI reporting solution for Bark Street Digital that connected Google Analytics, Semrush and website enquiries into one interactive marketing dashboard.
7 min read
Power BI for Finance: Manufacturer Case Study
A North West manufacturer was closing the books in Excel and losing a week to reconciliation every month. We rebuilt the reporting in Power BI, connected Sage and the CRM, and gave the FD a live view of P&L, cash and aged debt.
7 min read
Power BI for Operations: Distributor Case Study
A UK distributor was running operations from three different systems and a wall of printed reports. We joined the data in Power BI and gave the ops director a single view of OTIF, stock health and cost to serve.
7 min read
Power BI for Sales: B2B Services Case Study
A B2B services firm was running its sales meetings off a HubSpot export pasted into Excel. We replaced it with a live Power BI dashboard covering pipeline, forecast, win rate and rep performance.
Microsoft Fabric
8 min read
What Is Microsoft Fabric? A Plain-English Guide for UK Businesses
Fabric is Microsoft's attempt to put everything you need for analytics — storage, pipelines, warehousing, Power BI — under one roof. Here is what that actually means in practice.
7 min read
Do You Need Microsoft Fabric for Power BI?
Short answer: no, not for most teams. Slightly longer answer: there are four situations where Fabric earns its keep, and you almost certainly know if you are in one of them.
Power BI Consultancy
9 min read
Power BI Security: A Practical UK Guide for 2026
The practical answer to Power BI security in a UK business. Workspace roles, row level security, sensitivity labels and the patterns that stop numbers ending up in the wrong hands.
8 min read
Power BI Licensing UK: A Plain English Guide
Power BI licensing in the UK, in plain terms. Pro versus Premium Per User, Fabric capacities, embedded and the tricky question of viewer licences.
8 min read
Self Service BI: What It Really Takes to Make It Work
Self service BI is easy to buy and hard to run well. Here is what it actually takes to make it work, without ending up with two hundred conflicting versions of the same report.
7 min read
Power BI vs Excel: When to Use Which, Honestly
Excel is not going anywhere, and neither is Power BI. This is when each tool earns its place, and how to run them together without duplicating everything twice.
8 min read
The Benefits of Power BI for Business (Honest 2026 Take)
Why teams pick Power BI over the alternatives, where it genuinely earns its keep, and where it does not. Plus the FAQs we get asked in every first call.
8 min read
Power BI Pricing UK: Pro, Premium and Fabric Explained
Power BI licensing sounds simple until you actually try to buy it. Here is what each tier costs in the UK, when it is worth upgrading, and the hidden gotchas.
8 min read
Power BI Dashboards: A Practical Guide to Getting Them Right
A Power BI dashboard is easy to build and hard to build well. Here is what separates a report people open every day from one that quietly gets ignored.
9 min read
Power BI Consultancy in the UK: How to Choose the Right Partner
Choosing a Power BI consultancy in the UK is mostly about cutting through the noise. Here is what to actually look for and the questions that separate the real ones from the rest.
8 min read
How Much Does Power BI Consulting Cost in the UK? (2026 Guide)
Power BI consulting in the UK ranges from a few thousand pounds for a one-off report to six figures for a full platform. Here is a straight breakdown of what drives the number.
7 min read
What Does a Power BI Consultant Actually Do?
A Power BI consultant is more than someone who builds charts. The job is half data engineering, half stakeholder management, and the best ones are mostly there to ask awkward questions.
6 min read
Power BI for Finance Teams: A Practical Guide
Finance is the function that benefits most from Power BI done well — and suffers most when it is done badly. Here is what a working finance dashboard actually looks like.
6 min read
Power BI for HR: Building a Useful HR Dashboard
An HR dashboard built in Power BI can replace the monthly headcount spreadsheet and make people decisions properly data led. Here is what to build and what to avoid.
6 min read
Power BI for Accountants: A Practical UK Guide
Power BI is quietly becoming the standard reporting layer for UK accounting practices and finance teams. Here is what it is genuinely useful for, and where it is oversold.
Data Strategy
9 min read
A Data Governance Framework That Fits On One Page
A workable data governance framework for UK businesses that do not want a two year programme. Roles, policies, quality and controls sized for real teams.
7 min read
Data Analytics Consulting: What It Is and When You Need It
Data analytics consulting is a broad label. Here is what it usually means in practice, what a good engagement looks like, and when it is worth the money.
9 min read
Building a Data Strategy: A Practical Guide for UK SMEs
Most data strategies for SMEs are too long, too theoretical, and unread. Here is a short version: four questions, three deliverables and a 90-day plan that real businesses can follow.
9 min read
How Does Data Analytics Help a Business? A Practical Answer
Forget the buzzwords. Here is what data analytics actually does for a real business — the decisions it improves, the costs it reduces and the customer experience it changes.
10 min read
How Business Intelligence Helps in Decision Making
Business intelligence is not a tool category, it is a decision-making habit. Here is what BI actually changes in the boardroom, on the shop floor and in the weekly ops meeting.
10 min read
How to Use Data Analytics to Grow Your Business
Growth is the headline most leaders want from analytics. Here is what actually works: a practical, no buzzword guide to using data analytics to grow revenue, retention and margin.
12 min read
HR Reporting and Analytics: A Practical Guide for UK Businesses
HR has more data than almost any other function and uses less of it. This is a grounded guide to HR reporting and analytics, the metrics worth tracking, and how to turn people data into decisions.
6 min read
Supply Chain Analytics: A Practical Guide for UK Businesses
Supply chain analytics turns scattered logistics, stock and supplier data into decisions you can act on. Here is how UK businesses build it without boiling the ocean.
4 min read
Data Deep Dive: When a Dashboard Is Not Enough
Dashboards tell you what is happening. A data deep dive tells you why, and what to do about it. Here is what a focused deep dive analysis looks like in practice.