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Q&A for end users

If you are interested in the Power BI ecosystem, visit also our partner site www.powerbimap.com, which offers a detailed database of solutions, partners and success stories specifically around Power BI.

Status (beta)

At moment, AzureAnalyticsMap has beta status, this means not all features have been released and the data is not complete yet. As the partner site www.powerbimap.com has been released some months earlier, the list of webinars and the number of detail entries is focused on Power BI at moment, which will change quickly.

What is the difference between the Browser and the AzureMap?

The AzureAnalyticsMap browser is an interactive tool offered on the website and includes ALL participants of the ecosystem. It allows visitors to select, browse, sort and search intuitively by vendor, product and success story. The data in the browser is collected top-down from different sources and combined with data from the questionnaire completed by the vendors themselves. BARC only corrects obviously false or misleading information.

The AzureAnalyticsMap is a static PDF, showing the analysts’ view of the ecosystem – at a certain point of time for a certain region. It integrates the most important and most visible vendors based on analyst research. The team defining the AzureAnalyticsMap comprises experts from different markets across the world including the United States, Europe and Asia. The map is updated on a regular basis throughout the year. The 2021 versions for German speaking countries, North America, Middle East and Benelux are currently being prepared.

What does the website offer?

The website consists of three innovative browser objects: Solutions, Service Partners and Success Stories. Depending on the data you provide, you will be visible in one, two or all three browser objects. Additionally, the website includes a (non-technical) blog about market developments in the Azure Analytics ecosystem and an overview of webinars around the Azure products. How is the Service Partner browser structured? The Consultant browser allows you to sort, select and search consulting vendors by multiple criteria such as country (home country as well as countries in which services are delivered), service offering, further Microsoft competencies, other BI products supported and many more.

How is the Success Story browser structured?

The Success Story library allows visitors to search customer stories by name, country, industry and region. In all browser objects the search function is a powerful way to filter whatever you like. Just type some letters in the search box and try filter by region, technology or any other term.

What are the criteria for being included in the AzureAnalyticsMap (analyst’s view)?

The main criteria for software add-ons are status at Microsoft (Power BI certified, Co-selling), innovation and quality of the product, depth of Microsoft integration and market visibility (presence in marketing, partnerships, #of customers, #of success stories). For service partners, the criteria are status at Microsoft (especially Data Platform and Data Analytics certification), #of success stories, market visibility (presence in marketing, speaker engagements, community engagements) and special expertise.

Who is behind the project?

The AzureAnalyticsMap is an initiative of BARC, the best known BI software market analyst in Europe. Each year, BARC publishes “The BI & Analytics Survey”, the largest independent survey on the use of BI systems worldwide (formerly known as “The BI Survey” or some people also still know it under its initial name “The Olap Report”). The 2020 edition will mark its 20th anniversary. Stefan Sexl, chief editor of AzureAnalyticsMap, is a fellow of the BARC Institute and former co-founder of one of the major European Microsoft BI and Power BI consultancies. Additionally, a network of experts around the world with long-time experience in the Microsoft BI market space will be providing their expertise. For North America – the largest software market in the world (and the market with the highest number of Azure partners) – we are honored to welcome Donald Farmer, former “face of Microsoft BI” in Redmond, as our partner and main contributor for the future development of AzureAnalyticsMap.

Does AzureAnalyticsMap have official status at Microsoft?

No, this is an independent activity, although Microsoft has become a main sponsor of the project. That is why vendors without official partner status can also be included. We see ourselves as a platform that adds significant value to the ecosystem and consider AzureAnalyticsMap as complementary to the market overviews provided directly by Microsoft. Feel free to contact maps@bi-survey.com if you have any further questions.
Donald Farmer PowerBIMap North America Linkedin Stefan Sexl PowerBIMap Europe Linkedin Norman Manley PowerBIMap Benelux Linkedin Wasseim Al Zouabi PowerBIMap Middle East/Asia Linkedin