Data Sources in Power Bi Desktop

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Step by step Tutorials with examples to connect Power BI with variety of data sources including files, SQL database, and Azure cloud.

Type of Data Sources in Power BI Desktop

If you are new to Power BI desktop refer article How to download and install Microsoft Power Bi Desktop – Full Stack Tutorials Hub .

In Power BI, there are various types of data sources that you can connect. Here are some common data source types in Power BI:

To see available data sources, click on Get Data Icon in the Home tab of the Power BI Desktop ribbon. The Get Data dialog box will get open which shows different data types in the following categories:

1. All: The All category includes all data connection types from all categories. Power BI can read data from different file formats. A huge number of data source options are available in All tab.
2. Files: Power BI can read data from different file formats including Excel workbooks, CSV files, text files, XML files, JSON files, and more. You can import the entire file or specify specific tables or ranges.
3. Databases: Power BI supports connecting to a wide range of databases such as SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and more. You can import tables or write custom SQL queries to fetch data.
4. Power Platform: The Power Platform can read data from different file formats including Power App, Power Automate, Dataflows etc.
5. Azure Services: If you are using Microsoft Azure, Power BI integrates with various Azure services such as Azure SQL Database, Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Analysis Services, and more.
6. Online Services: Power BI has built-in connectors for popular online services such as Dynamics 365, Salesforce, Google Analytics, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and many others. These connectors allow you to extract data from these services directly into Power BI.
7. Other Sources: Power BI also supports other types of data sources like Hadoop clusters, SAP Business Warehouse (BW), SharePoint lists, Microsoft Exchange, and even custom data connectors that you can develop.

The Power BI is continually expanding the data sources available to Power BI Desktop and the Power BI service.

Learn more about Power BI user interface here Microsoft Power BI User Interface – Full Stack Tutorials Hub.

File Data sources

The File category provides the following data connections:

• Excel Workbook
• Text/CSV
• XML
• JSON
• Folder
• PDF
• Parquet
• SharePoint folder

Database Data Sources

The Database category provides the following data connections:

• SQL Server database
• Access database
• SQL Server Analysis Services database
• Oracle database
• IBM Db2 database
• IBM Informix database (Beta)
• IBM Netezza
• MySQL database
• PostgreSQL database
• Sybase database
• Teradata database
• SAP HANA database
• SAP Business Warehouse Application Server
• SAP Business Warehouse Message Server
• Amazon Redshift
• Impala
• Google BigQuery
• Google BigQuery (Azure AD)(Beta)
• Vertica
• Snowflake
• Essbase
• Actian (Beta)
• Amazon Athena
• AtScale cubes
• BI Connector
• Data Virtuality LDW
• Denodo
• Dremio Software
• Dremio Cloud
• Exasol
• Indexima
• InterSystems IRIS (Beta)
• Jethro (Beta)
• Kyligence
• Linkar PICK Style / MultiValue Databases (Beta)
• MariaDB
• MarkLogic
• MongoDB Atlas SQL (Beta)
• TIBCO® Data Virtualization

Microsoft Fabric Data Sources

The Microsoft Fabric category provides the following data connections:

• Power BI datasets
• Dataflows
• Datamarts (Preview)
• Warehouses (Preview)
• Lakehouses (Preview)
• KQL Database (Preview)

Power Platform Data Sources

The Power Platform category provides the following data connections:

• Power BI dataflows (Legacy)
• Common Data Service (Legacy)
• Dataverse
• Dataflows

Azure Data Sources

The Azure category provides the following data connections:

• Azure SQL Database
• Azure Synapse Analytics SQL
• Azure Analysis Services database
• Azure Database for PostgreSQL
• Azure Blob Storage
• Azure Table Storage
• Azure Cosmos DB v1
• Azure Data Explorer (Kusto)
• Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2
• Azure Data Lake Storage Gen1
• Azure HDInsight (HDFS)
• Azure HDInsight Spark
• HDInsight Interactive Query
• Azure Cost Management
• Azure Cosmos DB v2 (Beta)
• Azure Databricks
• Azure Synapse Analytics workspace (Beta)
• Azure Time Series Insights (Beta)

Online Services Data Sources

The Online Services category provides the following data connections:

• SharePoint Online List
• Microsoft Exchange Online
• Dynamics 365 Online (legacy)
• Dynamics 365 (Dataverse)
• Dynamics NAV
• Dynamics 365 Business Central
• Dynamics 365 Business Central (on-premises)
• Azure DevOps (Boards only)
• Azure DevOps Server (Boards only)
• Salesforce Objects
• Salesforce Reports
• Google Analytics
• Adobe Analytics
• appFigures (Beta)
• Data.World – Get Dataset (Beta)
• GitHub (Beta)
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator (Beta)
• Marketo (Beta)
• Mixpanel (Beta)
• Planview Enterprise One – PRM (Beta)
• QuickBooks Online (Beta)
• Smartsheet
• SparkPost (Beta)
• SweetIQ (Beta)
• Planview Enterprise Architecture
• Zendesk (Beta)
• Asana (Beta)
• Assemble Views
• Autodesk Construction Cloud
• Automation Anywhere
• Automy Data Analytics (Beta)
• CData Connect Cloud
• Dynamics 365 Customer Insights (Beta)
• Databricks
• Digital Construction Works Insights
• Emigo Data Source
• Entersoft Business Suite (Beta)
• eWay-CRM
• FactSet Analytics
• Palantir Foundry
• Funnel
• Hexagon PPM Smart® API
• Industrial App Store
• Intune Data Warehouse (Beta)
• Planview Projectplace
• Product Insights (Beta)
• Profisee (Beta)
• Quickbase
• SoftOne BI (Beta)
• Planview IdeaPlace
• TeamDesk (Beta)
• Webtrends Analytics (Beta)
• Witivio (Beta)
• Viva Insights
• Zoho Creator

Other Data Sources

The Other category provides the following data connections:

• Web
• SharePoint list
• OData Feed
• Active Directory
• Microsoft Exchange
• Hadoop File (HDFS)
• Spark
• Hive LLAP
• R script
• Python script
• ODBC
• OLE DB
• Acterys : Model Automation & Planning (Beta)
• Amazon OpenSearch Service (Beta)
• Anaplan
• Solver
• BitSight Security Ratings
• BQE Core
• Bloomberg Data and Analytics
• Celonis EMS (Beta)
• Cherwell (Beta)
• CloudBluePSA (Beta)
• Cognite Data Fusion
• Delta Sharing
• Eduframe (Beta)
• EQuIS (Beta)
• FactSet RMS (Beta)
• FHIR
• Google Sheets
• Information Grid (Beta)
• Jamf Pro (Beta)
• Kognitwin
• MicroStrategy for Power BI
• OpenSearch Project (Beta)
• Paxata
• QubolePresto (Beta)
• Roamler (Beta)
• SIS-CC SDMX (Beta)
• Shortcuts Business Insights (Beta)
• SingleStore Direct Query Connector 1.0 (Beta)
• Siteimprove
• Socialbakers Metrics 1.1.0 (Beta)
• Starburst Enterprise
• SumTotal
• SurveyMonkey
• Microsoft Teams Personal Analytics (Beta)
• Tenforce (Smart)List
• Usercube (Beta)
• Vena
• Vessel Insight
• Wrike (Beta)
• Zucchetti HR Infinity (Beta)
• Blank Query

Connect to a Data Source / Get Data

There are different methods to connect to a Data Source. Some of them are as follows :

Method 1: Click on Direct Icons as per your data source from Home Tab > Data (If you know your data type)

Method 2: Click on Shortcut Icons as per your data source from Canvas (If you know your data type)

Method 3: Click on “Get Data” from Home Tab. A drop down list will appear with various data source options. You can choose from options E.g. Excel

Method 4:

1. In the Home tab, click on the “Get Data Icon” button.

2. A window will appear with various data source options. Select the data source that contains the data you want to load into Power BI Desktop. You can choose from options Eg. Excel.

3. Then Click on Connect.

Method 5:

1. Click on “Get Data” from Welcome Screen.

2. A window will appear with various data source options. Select the data source that contains the data you want to load into Power BI Desktop. You can choose from options Eg. Excel.

3. Then Click on Connect.