March 2025 Updates for Power BI

This month witnesses a host of new features and improvements designed to enhance your data analysis and visualisation experience.  

Some of the highlights include Desktop start-up performance improvements, Copilot generated DAX queries using user-created hierarchies, create semantic models in Direct Lake storage mode, and improved language understanding for data questions and ad hoc calculation support for data questions.

The full list of updates is as follows:

General

• Desktop start-up performance improvements
• Upgrade Power BI Desktop

Copilot and AI

• Get a Copilot summary directly from your Teams message with a single click
• Copilot in Power BI to write DAX queries in DAX query view updates
• Improved language understanding for data questions
• Ad hoc calculation support for data questions

Reporting

• Better storytelling with Data annotations in Power BI for PowerPoint (Preview)
• Copy report object name
• Referenced column highlights for visual calculations (Preview)
• Enhancements to Reference Lines
• Category enhancements for new card (Preview)
• Introducing style presets to visuals
• Insights category for business users in the OneLake catalog    

Modelling

• Create semantic models in Direct Lake storage mode from one or more Fabric artifacts in Power BI Desktop
• TMDL view support for Direct Lake semantic models (Preview)
• Updates to semantic model version history (Preview)
• Edit your data model in the Power BI Service – updates (Preview)
• Live edit of semantic models in Direct Lake mode with Power BI Desktop – updates (Preview)
• Use notebooks with your semantic model (Preview)
• Access the Azure Analysis Services migration tool from your workspace
• Table View improvements
• Distribution, discovery and consumption: CI / CD for Org Apps (Preview)
• Introducing new customisation options for organisational applications (Preview) – Combined Navigation 

Data Connectivity

• Improvement in Snowflake connector (Preview)

Mobile

• View reports linked to a semantic model directly from Power BI Mobile

Visualisations

• Drill Down Combo PRO by ZoomCharts
• Sunburst Chart by Powerviz
• Attribute Control Chart by Nova Silva.

As always, we'll be detailing these updates in our May newsletter.  Please remember we have virtual / online training in Power BI which you can find out more about here.  If you are not already a subscriber, why not sign up at the bottom of any SumProduct web page?  And don't forget to download the latest version of Power BI Desktop here too.