5 Brutal Truths About Power BI: How Can a $10 License Uncover Million-Dollar Inefficiencies?

Read time: 2.5 minutes

1. Most Reports Are Wasted:

• 68% of enterprise data goes untapped, never used for analysis.

• Thousands of dashboards get built, but only a fraction influence decision.
  (Source: Secoda, 2024)

2. Bad Data = Bad Decisions:

• Poor data quality costs the U.S. economy approximately $3.1 trillion annually.

• A polished dashboard on dirty data is just lipstick on a pig.
  (Source: Techment, 2025)

3. Dashboards Don’t Guarantee Action:

• Only 26% of companies have the ability to scale analytics beyond proofs of concept.

• Leaders admire visuals but often fail to act.
  (Source: BCG, 2024)

4. Self-Service Isn’t Free:

• Inefficiencies cost businesses up to 30% of annual revenue.

• “Democratized BI” without guardrails creates duplicate, conflicting reports.
  (Source: Reckon, 2024)

5. Culture Eats Dashboards for Breakfast:

• Data-driven organizations are 3× more likely to improve decision-making in a big way.

• Tools don’t drive adoption... culture and leadership do.
  (Source: Analytics Vidhya, 2025)

Key Takeaways:

• Most Power BI reports add noise rather than value.

• Bad data equals expensive mistakes.

• Dashboards without action are corporate wallpaper.

• Self-service BI needs governance to avoid chaos.

• Culture, not tools, determines success.