R with Power BI: Import, Transform, Visualize and Share

Power BI, Microsoft's data visualization and reporting platform, has made great strides in the past year integrating the R language. This Computerworld article describes the recent advances with Power BI and R. In short, you can:

• import data into Power BI by using an R script
• cleanse and transform other data sources coming into Power BI using R functions
• create custom charts in a Power BI dashboard using the R language, like these maps
• share R scripts with others for use with Power BI in the R Scripts Showcase
• create dashboards with Power BI desktop and R on your local machine, and share them with others using Power BI Online

Power BI desktop is completely free to download and use, and includes all the features you need to create visualizations, reports and dashboards. (Publishing to Power BI online requires a subscription, though.) Power BI desktop and R are both included in the Data Science Virtual Machine, so that's another easy way to get started.

Sharon Laivand from the Power BI engineering team recently gave a webinar showcasing the capabilities of Power BI and R. Fast-forward to the 29-minute mark to see how to create a report incorporating R-based calculations and graphics, and then share it with others (even people who don't have R installed!) using Power BI online. 

For more information about Power BI, visit powerbi.microsoft.com.