Create a Power BI Report with Multiple Data Sources

Question

I have a scenario where I need to combine data from multiple sources, including an Excel file with historical data and an SQL Server database with current data. Is it possible to merge and visualize data from these different sources in a single Power BI report?

Answer 1

Can I Create a Power BI Report with Multiple Data Sources?

As a short answer: Yes, Power BI allows you to combine data from multiple sources, including Excel and SQL Server, into a single report.

Steps:

• You can connect to both sources by going to Home > Get Data in Power BI Desktop.
• Choose the appropriate connectors for Excel and repeate the previous step for SQL Server.
  
• Once connected, load the data from both sources into the Power BI model. You can load them into separate tables in the data model.
• If there are common columns (e.g., a Customer ID in both Excel and SQL Server data), you can create a relationship in the Model view.
• You can also merge tables using join operations or append queries if the data is structured similarly in Power Query.
• After combining the data, you can create visuals that display data from both sources in a single report.

This way, you can visualize and analyze data from both Excel and SQL Server in a unified Power BI report.

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