Bea Amaya on 09 Nov 2017 23:03:23
Microsoft has a history of providing a runtime/viewer interface for it's product offerings (Access, PowerPoint, Word, Excel). Power BI is the PERFECT example of an application where such a product would greatly benefit the analytic community.
For example, I work in a company with 300 people. One of us (me) builds Access database solutions and thus holds a product license. Everyone else simply uses the MS Access Runtime program (free viewer version) to interact with the databases I build. Talk about a win! WIthout runtime we would simply avoid the program altogether. With runtime, users make great use of the program. But Microsoft also benefits by having a larger number of people familiar with the product and its power, and because of the possibility of users deciding to purchase the product in order to become developers.
Creating a runtime version of Power BI could cause an explosion in the use of this program, in the Power BI consultant community, and in the number of people that can provide justification to their own management to support product license purchases by first providing proof of the product's value to the organization.
Finger's crossed for this one!