With the conclusion that “we need analytics,” leaders are often faced with the logical question: which one exactly? Some choose ready-made platforms such as Power BI, while others invest in creating their own dashboards that are fully adapted to their business logic. Both options make sense. Power BI attracts with its speed of launch, integration with Microsoft, and affordable price. Custom development – with deep customization, scalability, and full control over the analytical architecture. However, neither approach is perfect. To help you weigh the trade-offs, the Cobit Solutions team — experienced in both — shared practical insights based on real-world use.
Power BI: the standard for corporate analytics
The Power BI business analytics platform was publicly released by Microsoft in 2015. It was designed as a convenient and affordable tool for collecting, processing, and visualizing data. Currently, the system consists of several components:
- Power BI Desktop for creating reports,
- Power BI Service for publishing and sharing them,
- Power BI Embedded for integrating analytics into corporate applications.
This structure allows you to scale solutions to the needs of your team — from individual users to large enterprises. Over time, Power BI has become synonymous with fast, convenient business analytics. The platform connects to dozens of data sources, builds interactive dashboards without complex code, and tracks metrics in real time. For managers, it’s a tool for daily monitoring; for analysts — a way to automate routine reporting and improve data accuracy.
As part of the Microsoft ecosystem, Power BI integrates seamlessly with Excel, Teams, Azure, Dynamics, and SharePoint. This allows you to create a single information space where all metrics can be automatically collected in a shared window. No manual copying or creating unnecessary tables. And importantly, you don’t need a large team of technical specialists to get started. All you require is basic knowledge or support from an experienced Power BI developer. The specialist will help you build data model logic, set up automatic updates, create KPIs, and prepare the system for scaling.
The platform is well suited for businesses that need to get results quickly: see the profitability of different areas, identify bottlenecks, and evaluate sales effectiveness.
Typical scenarios for using Power BI
Power BI is used by both small businesses and large companies. The platform is suitable for operational control, strategic planning, and monitoring key indicators. However, analytics configuration is limited by available sources, visualization types, and modeling logic. Examples of using the tool:
- Daily management analytics: companies create dashboards with key indicators — sales, expenses, profitability, department efficiency. Power BI supports filters by period, region, and department.
- Financial planning and reporting: Power BI integrates with accounting systems, collecting data from ERP and CRM.
- Marketing and Sales: the system compares campaigns, segments, and channels. Dashboards display lead sources, sales funnels, average check, and other metrics.
In all of these scenarios, Power BI acts as a point of data collection, structuring, and visualization. It doesn’t replace processes—it makes them visible. This allows teams to act on facts, not assumptions, and adapt quickly to change.
Power BI limitations
Despite its obvious advantages, Power BI has its limitations. Most often, they are related to scalability and flexibility. When the volume of data grows or analytics goes beyond standard dashboards, model configuration becomes more complex and the cost of licenses becomes more noticeable. Deep integrations or developing your own algorithms require technical knowledge of the DAX language and data warehouse administration.
It is also worth considering that Power BI remains part of the Microsoft cloud ecosystem, so control over infrastructure and data security has certain limitations compared to on-premises or custom solutions.
Custom solutions for dashboards: when standard tools are not enough
Custom solutions are dashboards created for specific business tasks, with their own architecture, design, and logic for interacting with data. They are usually developed when ready-made tools — even flexible ones such as Power BI or Tableau — do not meet the specific needs of the company.
The main idea behind such systems is complete adaptation to the business model. Custom dashboards can display unique metrics, take into account atypical data collection scenarios, or integrate with internal corporate applications that do not have standard connectors.
The architecture is built using modern technologies — from Python, SQL, and React to specialized visualization libraries such as D3.js or Plotly. Such solutions integrate more deeply into the corporate infrastructure, allowing you to create hybrid analytical environments where data processing and performance display are combined in one space.
The advantage of a custom approach is flexibility. The company independently determines what data to collect, how to display it, and who has access to it. This is especially important when analytics is part of a product, such as a customer portal, marketplace, or personal reporting service.
Custom dashboards are also created when a higher level of security control is required or when the system needs to be hosted on internal servers. This approach is often chosen by financial, government, and healthcare organizations, where data security requirements exceed the capabilities of cloud platforms.
Development usually takes longer than with Power BI, but the result is a completely independent analytics system that can be scaled, modified, and developed without vendor restrictions.
When custom dashboards are justified
Custom solutions are created when standard platforms do not provide the required depth of analytics or limit integration capabilities. This approach requires more time and resources, but gives the company complete freedom in shaping the analytical system — from data structure to user interface. Examples of when custom solutions are appropriate:
- Complex business logic: if analytics involve atypical calculations, multi-level dependencies, or specific KPIs, custom development allows you to implement any data model without template restrictions. This is especially relevant for manufacturing companies, fintech platforms, or retailers with many variables.
- Integration with non-standard sources: you can connect your dashboards to internal systems, APIs, data warehouses, or analytics services that do not have ready-made connectors.
- Custom UX/UI: the possibility of creating an interface that matches user scenarios and corporate style. This is important for portals, marketplaces, or SaaS products where analytics is part of the service.
- High security requirements: in the banking, medical, or government sectors, it is often necessary to store data on proprietary servers, control access, and audit events. Our solution allows you to take all internal security policies into account.
- Scalability and long-term development: if the analytical system needs to expand, support new products or user scenarios, custom architecture ensures stability and independence from third-party platforms.
Custom dashboards are justified when analytics is part of the business model, not just a reporting tool. They create a flexible system that can be adapted to any process and developed alongside the company, without depending on external updates or licensing restrictions.
Limitations of custom solutions
Despite their complete flexibility and control, custom dashboards require more time and resources to create. Development includes building data architecture, interface design, integration configuration, and testing. This is suitable for companies that are willing to invest in a long-term system, but may be excessive for those who need quick results.
It is also important to consider ongoing support: every update, change in logic, or addition of a new data source requires the involvement of developers. Without clear documentation and a team that understands the internal structure of the solution, the risks increase. Custom analytics provides maximum control, but at the same time imposes responsibility for its development and stability.
Comparative analysis: Power BI and custom solutions
To choose the right analytics format, it is worth comparing key parameters: launch speed, flexibility, integration, cost, and scalability. Below is a brief overview to help you make an informed decision.
| Criterion | Power BI | Custom solutions |
| Speed of implementation | The first dashboards can be launched in a few days. Ideal for companies that need analytics “here and now.” | Development takes more time because unique architecture, design, and data logic are created. |
| Cost | Low initial investment. Payment for licenses and users. | Higher start-up costs, but no monthly licenses. Cost-effective for large or long-term projects. |
| Scalability | Suitable for standard scenarios: corporate reporting, financial indicators, KPIs. | Flexible scaling for any data, modules, or users. |
| Integration | Works best in the Microsoft 365 and Azure ecosystem. | Can combine any technologies, cloud services, or internal company systems. |
| Security | Microsoft cloud infrastructure with security certification. | Full control over data storage, possibility of hosting on your own servers. |
| Design and UX/UI | Standard templates that meet Microsoft’s corporate requirements. | Complete freedom in creating the interface, from visual style to interaction scenarios. |
| Support and development | Depends on Microsoft updates and Power BI API capabilities. | Support is determined by the developer or internal team. |
In a stable environment, Power BI provides a quick start. However, if analytics need to adapt to products, customers, or internal processes, a custom solution opens up more opportunities.
How to choose the right solution: 5 priority criteria
No two businesses are alike. So, a solution that works perfectly in one company may be excessive and too expensive in another. To make the right choice, we suggest answering 5 questions.
1. How long are you willing to wait for results?
Power BI allows you to run your first reports within days of setting up your data sources, as this tool has a ready-made ecosystem of visualizations, connectors, and templates. This is convenient when you need analytics “yesterday” and don’t have time for complex technical developments.
Custom solutions, on the other hand, always involve development from scratch. The latter includes architecture, design, logic, and testing. They take more time but can be justified if the business has specific requirements that do not fit within the framework of ready-made tools.
2. What is the budget for implementation?
Power BI is a cost-effective start for small and medium-sized businesses: licenses and basic configuration are significantly cheaper than custom development. In addition, the services include a ready-made infrastructure: hosting, built-in security features, and technical support.
Custom solutions require a significant budget for unique UX development, testing, support, and scaling. If your requirements go beyond the standard features of Power BI, custom development may be strategically justified.
3. Do you have an internal BI team?
Power BI is more geared toward users without deep technical skills—business analysts, financiers, managers. If your company has its own developers or outsourced data engineers, it makes sense to consider a custom solution. The latter can support infrastructure, create APIs, and integrations. This provides more opportunities for automation and development of the analytical system.
4. How important is integration with Microsoft 365 or Azure to you?
For companies already working in the Microsoft ecosystem, Power BI is a natural extension of their processes. You can embed reports in Teams, Excel, SharePoint, or your corporate portal at no additional cost. But when a company uses other cloud services, its own solution may be easier to configure for integration and will not depend on Microsoft’s policies.
5. Do you need to scale analytics for different products or customers?
Power BI is suitable for centralized reporting within a company when the data structure is stable. For example, key financial indicators or departmental performance are analyzed on a monthly basis. But if your business is dynamic, with multiple products or individual customer projects, custom development will provide flexibility. It allows you to change the architecture, connect new sources, and create your own modules without platform restrictions.
Conclusion
In modern business, analytics has become a key factor in competitiveness. That is why the choice between Power BI and a custom solution is not so much a technical issue as a strategic one. Both approaches have their own value and work effectively under different conditions.
- Power BI is a proven and affordable solution for small and medium-sized businesses. A centralized reporting system is suitable when the data structure is stable and the indicators are typical. That is, they show: sales, expenses, department efficiency. Power BI enables you to automate report updates, minimize manual work, and provide real-time access to data.
- Custom dashboards are a strategic investment in the future. They are needed when a company wants to create its own analytical ecosystem, develop a unique data model, integrate internal services, or ensure maximum control over security.
Despite the fact that many companies take technical capabilities or limitations into account, the key criterion for choosing a system should still be the alignment of analytics with real management tasks. If standard reporting is sufficient for the business, Power BI will quickly and effectively meet the need. If analytics must be part of a product, process, or customer service, it is better to invest in custom development.
Pallavi Singal is the Vice President of Content at ztudium, where she leads innovative content strategies and oversees the development of high-impact editorial initiatives. With a strong background in digital media and a passion for storytelling, Pallavi plays a pivotal role in scaling the content operations for ztudium’s platforms, including Businessabc, Citiesabc, and IntelligentHQ, Wisdomia.ai, MStores, and many others. Her expertise spans content creation, SEO, and digital marketing, driving engagement and growth across multiple channels. Pallavi’s work is characterised by a keen insight into emerging trends in business, technologies like AI, blockchain, metaverse and others, and society, making her a trusted voice in the industry.
