After many months of Public BETA and multiple version updates, we are excited to announce the general availability of Autodesk Data Connector for Power BI. With this release, this connector is now available for production use on live projects.
What is the Autodesk Data Connector for Power BI?
The Autodesk Data Connector for Power BI allows access to granular design data inside of Power BI. This connector supports Autodesk Data Exchange as a data source which allows subsets of design/model data to be shared seamlessly between various applications.
The video below shows the entire process of creating a Data Exchange and using that to quickly and efficiently create a Power BI dashboard.
Why should you use it?
“With the Autodesk Data Connector for Power BI, we have unlocked the ability to analyze 3D model element data like never before. BY automating model publishes, model-based progress tracking and 4D visualization workflows, project teams are already seeing multiple hours in time savings every week”
James Mize, Project Technology Manager, CRB Group
Project execution requires many teams focused on specific trades/disciplines to work together in a coordinated fashion. In recent years, project teams have become more diverse and geographically distributed. Providing right information at the right time to various teams is critical to ensuring on-time and under-budget project delivery.
Every organization creates reports/dashboards that provide real-time information about various milestones within the project. However, correlating various project activities with design/model data has been a consistent challenge.
The Autodesk Data Connector for Power BI now provides a seamless way of interacting with model data within Power BI. By using Autodesk Data Exchange as a data source in this connector, BIM Managers and VDC Managers can
- Easily pull in granular design data within Power BI and combine it with multiple other data sources to create accurate dashboards/reports. Project teams can get an accurate picture of project progress, productivity, quality and cost leading to Improved stakeholder management.
- Provide visual references to specific design elements using the built-in 3D-viewer promoting better collaboration and decision making across the entire team
- Distribute these reports to multiple team members (Eg. Project Coordinators) resulting in improved project coordination.
- Inform the wider project ream of design updates/changes using the auto-update feature of Autodesk Data Exchange. This ensures that field supervisors are not relying on static architectural plans and prevents future rework
Examples of reports that can be created
- Take all 'beams' from a building design and combine it with 'installation status' from field crews to get a real-time view of progress.
- Combine 'material' information with elements within the building design to predict material consumption/usage. Procurement teams can use this information to understand how much material to order..and when.
- Correlate ‘assets’ information from Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) with specific elements within the model for multiple projects to correlate documentation and field conditions with original design.
How do you get started?
- Create a Data Exchange within Autodesk Construction Cloud as part of any project.
- Any user with ‘project administrator’ rights on an Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) project can create a Data Exchange.
- For more information on various ways to create a Data Exchange, please visit the Data Exchange information page and the Data Exchange help page.
- Install Power BI desktop
- You will need administrator rights to the machine to install Power BI
- Browse to the Autodesk App store and download the Autodesk Data Connector for Power BI on the same machine
- You will need administrator rights to the machine to install this connector
- If checked, a sample Power BI dashboard will launch as part of the installation process.
- Leverage your own Data Exchange within existing dashboard widgets or create your own!
For more documentation on how to use this connector, please visit the Autodesk Data Connector for Power BI help page.
Please visit the ‘Get Started with Autodesk Data Exchange’ page for a comprehensive list of tutorial videos that explain the entire process in detail.
Check out the Autodesk Data Exchange information page to explore how Autodesk is solving the problem of data interoperability between multiple applications.
How can you get involved?
Interact with us on our Roadmap and keep an eye out for more updates, new capabilities, and improved features! For questions and support needs for this connector, please email dataexchange.customer.support@autodesk.com.
For general information, questions and community-based support, head over to the Cloud API's, SDK's, and Data Exchange Connectors community.
We are always eager to learn about all the great things that are being created using Autodesk solutions. If you have used the Autodesk Data Connector for Power BI to create unique data combinations and want to have them featured in our Success Stories, then please submit your solution idea via this form.