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frankherfert
Advocate I
Advocate I

When to expect stable services?

Our company is using the powerbi.com services sind december last year.

So far it feels like we had more days with problems than without any issues.

 

Some days the desktop client cant connect to the server without error messages, sometimes it connects but endlessly loops the uploading-icon, sometimes it manages to upload the file but its not possible to open dashboards or reports (as multiple users currently report), sometimes just one out of five reports can be uploaded, sometimes it causes problems with the browsers cache resulting in outdated reports or errors just for some users, and so on.

The worst error we had so far was one report causing the users browser to crash. We sent everything to the MS support but no answer for weeks.

 

I know the powerbi.com services are fairly new but they are out of the beta phase and we as well as many other users do pay money to use them.

Our controlling team is regularly blamed by the management for reports that dont work or seem to be outdated. We now reverted to just updating the desktop files and sending our screenshots of the pages.

 

Does anyone know when the users can expect stable services? Are these frequent problems caused by new features/hardware and expected to end soon or will this continue? 

If downtime occurs one day per month thats acceptable but multiple days per week without any info for the users is not.

 

Other services offer some maintenance info to inform users whats going on. Even a pop-up like "We are experiencing issues for the update service. Please try again at 11am" or "Maintenance for updating live servers goin on between 4am and 6am CET" would be wonderful.

 

 

I dont like to rant but it just gets frustrating and I would rather hope for improvements than switch to another product.

----------------------------------------------------
New to DAX/Power BI. Not a native speaker.
9 REPLIES 9
JasonDunbar
Resolver I
Resolver I

There's definitely room for improvement in areas of communication.

 

Some time ago I opened a ticket regarding the issues experienced with the report embed API. Of course, I realise that back then it was still in a 'preview' status, but the poor Microsoft engineer handling the case was obliged to continue checking in with me (I assume due to service level agreements) only to tell me he has no news for me.

 

Several weeks went by without any feedback as to why we were experiencing the issue or what we might do to fix them. At a minimum I might have expected a 'Could you try this please?' or at minimum a 'Bear with us, we know about it, we're working on it'.

 

Eventually it did appear to be resolved and I closed the case. 

____________________________________________________
My other computer is an Azure data centre.

I second that as well . Have been microsoft Partners for Years and have been advocating their BI solutions ever since ProClarity . Power BI v 2.0 got us very excited and we went all out and convinced our customers to adopt that qucikly . Now with the stability issues specially on refresh issues , is really putting our credibility into question here . 

 

 

 

CM000n
Frequent Visitor

Absolutely true!

 

It's a shame when you look how many service problem related posts popped out here over the last few weeks. And still no offcial statement Smiley Sad

djnww
Impactful Individual
Impactful Individual

The Power BI support page does keep you informed of any larger issues, particularly since the last update when there were quite a few problems.

 

I have lodged a number of service tickets over the past few months and have always received feedback within 24 hrs. In fact, the Power BI team keeps asks me for more info and screenshots. Compared to the old Microsoft, Tableau and Qlik, I have to say that The Power BI team has better response times. As much as I'd like to complain, kudos should be given to them for being service driven. 

 

Getting back to topic, yes, I agree with the technical issues. I attended a PowerBI user group hosted by Microsoft themselves. The main speaker actually told everyone "If you want a stable solution, then PowerBI is not for you'. He then said 'If you want innovation, and a BI product that will grow exponentially and superceed its competition in a short period of time, then PowerBI is for you'. I agree with both statements.

I suppose most of the community members love PowerBI as a product and innovation and see its big potential. And of course, the work of the PowerBI team is much acknowledged and admired.

 

However, when there is a problem, it has to be faced in order to be solved. These days PowerBI clients did have big problems with the service and the support. And at least in my country, the PowerBI end users are C-level managers, not just business analysts. And I think the quickest way the current early adopters of PowerBI to stop using it is to address the CEOs concerns with the explanation  "If you want a stable solution, then PowerBI is not for you"

 

@djnww,I really hope the official position of Microsoft to be different from the one of your main speaker. We need fast growing AND stable PowerBI product. 

djnww
Impactful Individual
Impactful Individual

The Microsoft speaker was referring to his own experience to date and was being honest.

PowerBI is only a year old and is growing rapidly. They will need to strike a balance between stability and enhancements. This will happen once the product has reached maturity.

It is interesting that others have a different experience with the helpdesk. I am from Australia.
6ftNordicExport
Regular Visitor

Seconded.

 

When it works it's beautiful but the fact that I haven't been able to go one day without critical errors when updating for a week and a half is seriously hurting my credibility as a Power BI advocate in my company. My CEO checks our dashboards daily and I can't keep on saying there is a unspecified problem with the service. If I see another dialog with "internal service error" I will scream...

 

Please MS communicate around this a bit better?

JPC3
Advocate I
Advocate I

I agree wholeheartedly. 

 

Invevitably, end users and senior management like the interactivity of the reports and can see endless possibilities in implementing and using immediately.  Wiser, more technical, heads though are quick to point to the limited support mechanisms in place and the increasing instability of the web portal.

 

If we cannot easily refresh and distribute reports then we cannot encourage end users to migrate their reporting mindsets.  Long loading times and undocumented crashes are simnply going to turn off our internal clients who will continue to user our older, more stable, on premises SSRS solution.

 

John

FrantisekRehor
Regular Visitor

I have exactly the same feelings and questions on my tongue...

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