What data sources can Power BI connect to?
Power BI Data Ecosystem
As of 2026, Power BI connects to hundreds of data sources. Whether your data lives in a simple spreadsheet, a massive cloud warehouse, or a custom internal API, Power BI acts as the bridge to visual insights.
📁 File Sources
- Excel Workbooks: The most common source.
- Text/CSV: For flat data exports.
- JSON & XML: For structured web data.
- PDF: Extracts tables from documents.
- SharePoint Folder: Auto-combines files in a drive.
🗄️ Databases
- SQL Server: DirectQuery or Import modes.
- Oracle & IBM Db2: Enterprise-grade connections.
- MySQL & PostgreSQL: Open-source favorites.
- SAP HANA: For high-performance business data.
- Google BigQuery: Now using high-speed ADBC.
☁️ Azure & Microsoft Fabric
- Azure SQL Database: Native cloud integration.
- Fabric Lakehouse: The modern data-hub.
- Azure Synapse: For big data analytics.
- KQL Databases: For real-time telemetry.
- Dataverse: Direct links to Power Apps data.
🌐 Online Services
- Salesforce: Objects and Reports.
- Google Analytics: Marketing performance.
- Dynamics 365: ERP and CRM data.
- GitHub: Track development velocity.
- ServiceNow: Incident and asset tracking.
🛠️ Advanced & Other
- Web: Scrape data from URLs.
- Python/R Scripts: For complex data cleaning.
- ODBC/OLE DB: Connect to anything else.
- Blank Query: Write custom M-code scripts.
Connection Strategies
Choosing how you connect is as important as what you connect to.
📥 Import Mode
Best for performance and flexibility.
Data is uploaded to the Power BI cache. Allows the full use of DAX and Power Query, but requires "Scheduled Refresh" to stay current.
⚡ DirectQuery
Best for real-time and massive datasets.
Power BI queries the source directly as you click. No data is stored in Power BI. Ideal for dashboards that need up-to-the-minute accuracy.
New for 2026: AI-Powered Connectivity
The connection landscape has changed with the rise of Generative AI.
Copilot Insights
Ask Copilot to connect and find relevant tables automatically across your data estate.
Fabric Direct Lake
Connecting to OneLake is now instantaneous with "Direct Lake" speed—no more importing.
Semantic Search
Connect directly to Vector Databases for RAG-based reporting and semantic exploration.
Master Modern Data Analytics
Learn how to architect enterprise-level data models. From basic Excel to complex Azure Fabric Lakehouses, our Power BI Bootcamp covers it all.
