Internet users are currently generating around 1.7 MB of data per second, and that amount is only set to increase. Brands who learn how to utilize that data have untold access to insights that include consumer habits, preferences, and trends. All of which can help to inform, shape, and prove the value of brand decisions. To take full advantage of this potential, an astounding 62,000 companies worldwide now utilize Microsoft's Power BI, a business intelligence and reporting platform that creates data visualizations across multiple cloud-based SaaS sources.

That's a step in the right direction for companies that are under increasing pressure to put data to good use. But, as data sets become more detailed and thus more nuanced, basic data oversight is no longer enough to ensure success. For that, brands need the ability to quickly deep dive into all elements of what a data set has to show. Power BI's Drill Through tool makes that possible at the click of a button. But what is Drill Through in Power BI, how does it work, and why does that matter?

What is Drill Through in Power BI?

Drill Through is a feature of both Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service that enables the creation of destination target pages based on specific data entities within existing reports. For instance, if a company was dealing with sales data across a set promotional period, drill through would enable the creation of additional click-through links that might outline information including specific store sales, peak performance times, and so on.

Without abandoning the initial report, Drill Through provides additional layers of analysis that can be accessed and hidden depending on their relevance. Drill Through also makes it possible to switch between reports while still analyzing the same data sets. This can lead to a deep level of actionable analysis that allows brands to quickly set data insights against a range of KPIs and requirements. A single Power BI report can become relevant to everything from sales to marketing KPIs, ensuring that data silos become a thing of the past.

Power BI Drill Through brings a wide range of benefits to company operations, which include:

• Increased efficiency
• KPI-specific actionable insights
• A broader understanding of departmental data crossovers
• Reports that can be easily explored and understood by third parties
• Reports that provide value across entire organizations

By effectively furthering the value of insights that Power BI brings to an organization, Drill Through enhances what businesses can do with their data, and the efficiency of their outcomes as a result of that. By adding holistic report layers, Drill Through also ensures cross-departmental use, as well as reports that can be reassessed at a later date per things like location-specific sales targets, time-specific promotions, and even the individual performances of each member of a team.

How Does Drill Through Work in Power BI?

Drill Through works by filtering existing report information based on a user's requirements and input. When setting up a Drill Through report, a user has an option to select a specific filter from a drop-down menu, which they can apply to whatever visualizations they're working on within this new drillthrough page.

Drill through can be applied in a few different ways, each of which works differently, including:

• Clickable target pages
• Drill through buttons
• Cross Report drill throughs

In each instance, a user will right-click a drill-through link to access new pages within a report, or even to analyze data across different relevant reports as required. Each of these Drill Through variations can be applied across two types of Drill Through filters, one of which can be locked to a report, and the other is passed to the target based on the page-level filters of the source page.

Double Your Drill Through Efficiency With PBRS

Power BI Drill Through simplifies how you handle and analyze your data sets. PBRS, our SSRS and Power BI Reporter Scheduler, can perfectly complement those benefits by providing brand-new levels of control over your insights.

PBRS easily integrates with Power BI and makes it possible to merge your reports to inform drill through pages, or draw correlations across a collaborative bank of services that significantly broadens your data horizons. With event-triggered reporting and automatic distribution to relevant parties, PBRS can also ensure that your drill through pages are relevant, well-seen, and more likely to lead to improvements.

Whether you're using drill throughs for your KPIs, sales pitches, or both, PBRS can add clout to your Power BI case. But, you don't need to take our word for it. Book your free PBRS trial today, and see the results for yourself!