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Practical insight on business intelligence, data architecture and building a data-driven culture.

All The Data Detective Beyond the Dashboard Architecture Corner Power BI in Practice
Power BI in Practice

Composite models explained

Composite models let Power BI combine Import and DirectQuery data within the same semantic model. They can solve genuine reporting challenges, particularly where large datasets or near real-time requirements are involved. But they also introduce complexity around performance, relationships, security and maintenance. This guide explains when composite models make sense, when they do not, and what to consider before using one.

Architecture Corner

Why you don’t always need real-time data

Real-time data sounds like the obvious goal for modern analytics, but faster is not automatically better. For many business decisions, data refreshed every few hours or once a day is more than sufficient. The right architecture starts by understanding how quickly a decision needs to be made, not how quickly technology can deliver the data.

Beyond the Dashboard

Stop asking for reports

Before asking for another report, ask what decision it will support, whether the information already exists and who will actually use it. Too many reporting requests begin with a solution rather than a problem, creating duplicated dashboards, conflicting numbers and a growing dependency on the BI team.

The Data Detective

Just Because It Works Doesn't Mean It's Right

The report worked. The DAX returned the correct answer. Nobody questioned it until Microsoft Fabric capacity started running at more than 200% usage. This article explores why technically correct code can still be architecturally wrong, and why AI makes understanding the fundamentals more important than ever.

Beyond the Dashboard

Why Simplicity Wins

Complex dashboards rarely create better decisions. They often create hesitation, confusion and mistrust. This article explores why simplicity consistently outperforms complexity in business intelligence, and how focusing on clarity, purpose and user behaviour leads to reports that people genuinely use.

Power BI in Practice

Why You Still Need to Know BI in the Age of AI

AI can write DAX, build Power Query transformations and explain Power BI features in seconds. But Business Intelligence has never been about writing code alone. This article explores why understanding data, business context and architecture remains the difference between creating reports and delivering meaningful insight.

Architecture Corner

Star Schemas Explained

Star schemas are one of the simplest concepts in data architecture, yet they underpin some of the world's fastest and most reliable reporting solutions. This guide explains what a star schema is, why it matters, how it improves analytics, and why experienced Business Intelligence professionals rely on it.

Architecture Corner

Fact Tables vs Dimension Tables

Many Business Intelligence projects struggle long before the first dashboard is built. The real success or failure often comes down to one deceptively simple decision: what belongs in a fact table, and what belongs in a dimension. Learn how experienced data modellers make that decision and why it matters.

The Data Detective

The Million Pound Spreadsheet

Many organisations still rely on spreadsheets to make decisions worth millions of pounds. Most work perfectly until they do not. This article explores why spreadsheet-driven reporting becomes so deeply embedded, the hidden risks it creates, and how better data architecture reduces dependence without losing business flexibility.