Getting Started with Embedding Power BI within Infor CRM: Part Two

Infor CRM dashboards are a great foundation for day-to-day visibility within the CRM, but some organizations need interactive analytics with cross-system reporting, especially when decisions depend on data beyond CRM alone.

That’s where Microsoft Power BI comes in.

In Part Two of this blog series, we’ll stay high-level as we highlight what Power BI enables within Infor CRM and some things to consider when getting started with Power BI.

Why teams add Power BI on top of CRM

Power BI is designed for richer business intelligence, especially for managers and executive leadership who need flexibility, filtering, and deeper exploration. Compared to native CRM dashboards, Power BI supports:

• the ability to combine CRM data with other sources (ERP, spreadsheets, legacy databases, cloud apps) for example, orders, backlog, inventory, production, or quality data

• advanced filtering and drilldown (by plant, product line, customer, or time-period)

• multi-page reports with interconnected views, such as sales, backlog, fulfillment, and rework

• stronger visualization variety, including AI assisted visuals

This isn’t about replacing CRM dashboards. It’s about extending them for teams who need deeper insight, without forcing people to work out of spreadsheets or separate tools.

For manufacturing organizations, this often means connecting CRM data to ERP, production, quality, or inventory systems, so teams can see how pipeline, backlog, fulfillment, and operational performance relate to one another. Power BI is especially effective for operational reviews, sales-to-operations alignment, and executive visibility across plants or product lines.

If your organization is evaluating how CRM data connects to ERP and operational systems, a focused Power BI discovery session can help identify where embedded analytics will deliver the most value.

Power BI Online vs. Embedded

Power BI can be used through the Power BI portal (online), where teams collaborate in shared workspaces and manage reports centrally. That’s often ideal for smaller groups who don’t mind accessing reports in a separate destination or who don’t rely on CRM as part of their daily workflow.

For organizations where CRM is used daily, the most value often comes from embedding Power BI reports directly inside Infor CRM. When reporting is embedded, users:

• stay in the CRM interface and are more likely to access dashboards

• experience reporting as part of the workflow, not an extra task

• gain access to reports tailored to their role or responsibilities

Adoption tends to improve when reporting appears exactly where users already spend their time, when insights are available at the moment decisions are made.

A quick look at building out a report with Power BI

Power BI report development typically starts in Power BI Desktop, where teams:

• connect to data sources (such as SQL Server, ERP databases, files, cloud applications, or APIs)

• clean and shape data using Power Query

• model relationships between tables, which is especially important when working with ERP data, production hierarchies, or time-based performance metrics

• build interactive reports and publish them to the Power BI service for sharing or embedding

This approach helps reports remain consistent, reusable, and governed as they evolve.

Data refresh: real-time vs. near real-time

A common question is whether Power BI dashboards are “live.” The answer depends on how the report is configured:

• Import mode caches data in the semantic model and refreshes on a schedule (fast and widely used)

• DirectQuery runs queries directly against the source system (can feel live, but may involve performance trade-offs)

Both approaches can support timely reporting. The right choice depends on data sources, reporting scale, and how frequently information needs to be updated.

AI features that make reporting easier

Power BI includes features that reduce the effort needed to explore data, such as visuals that help explain what’s driving a metric or Q&A tools that let users ask questions in natural language (for example, “show customers by state” or “backlog by product line”). These capabilities are especially helpful when teams want insight without needing to pre-build every possible view.

Best practices: accuracy and security start upstream

Two final themes are important to keep in mind when getting started with Power BI:

• Data accuracy: Power BI can only report what it receives. Cleaning and standardizing data, especially within CRM and ERP systems, helps prevent downstream confusion and misalignment.

• Security: Access can be controlled at the workspace and report level, with additional safeguards applied to ensure the right users see the right data.

Power BI doesn’t just add dashboards; it adds a scalable reporting layer. For organizations ready to move from CRM-focused visibility to insight across multiple systems, Power BI can be a strong next step, especially when embedded back into Infor CRM to support real adoption and better decision-making.

If your teams are asking questions CRM dashboards can’t answer, it may be time to extend your reporting foundation.
A short Power BI discovery can help prioritize use cases, assess data readiness, and define the right approach for embedding analytics inside Infor CRM.

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