Leader: Microsoft

Microsoft is one of three vendors in the Leader quadrant and, as it has been for several years, is the furthest of any company along the "Completeness of Vision" axis. Microsoft Power BI offers data preparation, data discovery, interactive dashboards and augmented analytics via a single product. It is available as a SaaS option running in the Azure cloud and, new in 2017, as an on-premises Power BI Report Server.

Strengths: Microsoft is the low-priced incumbent, according to Gartner, and the vendor has put downward price pressure on the BI/analytics market. The company significantly grew its subscriber base in 2017: Some customers cite the software's ease of use and visual appeal as the main buying criterion. The company continues to execute on its product road map, adding the Quick Insights augmented data discovery feature in 2017. Microsoft and Sisense had the highest customer reference scores.

Cautions: The majority of Microsoft's customers use Power BI for parameterized reports and dashboards, rather than for more complex analytical tasks, putting it in the bottom quartile for breadth of use. While the core of Power BI is a self-contained product, some functionality requires integration with other Microsoft products. Some customers were frustrated with changes in pricing and packaging, according to Gartner.