Organizations using OBIEE have started sensing a vacuum due to the absence of self-service data visualization capabilities in these platforms.

With the introduction of self-service BI platforms like Power BI in recent years, organizations using OBIEE are looking for a way to integrate these modern viz. tools with OBIEE.

The IT teams usually evaluate the ODBC option for integrating OBIEE with Power BI. Oracle provides the Oracle BI Server ODBC driver for connecting to OBIEE data sources.

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the pros and cons of using Oracle BI Server ODBC Driver for connecting Power BI to OBIEE.

Pros and cons of Oracle BI Server ODBC Driver

The Oracle BI Server ODBC driver provides the advantage of enabling users to connect to OBIEE DSNs from Power BI and to experience self-service data visualization for uncovering hidden insights out of OBIEE data.

However, on the flip side, the key fields must be exposed in OBIEE RPD in business and presentation layers for each folder/table that is to be analyzed in Power BI. Hence, using the Oracle BI Server driver demands to re-engineer OBIEE.

Allowing the users to have access to all data (instead of only what each user needs for his/her analysis) is not a good practice from the security aspect.

Further, the driver is not reliable when connecting from Power BI, and its performance is poor. The users also will require technical assistance to connect to data sources, as getting the driver to work consistently is difficult. This disadvantage defeats the purpose of self-service altogether.

Therefore, Oracle BI Server ODBC Driver is not the right choice for connecting Power BI to OBIEE as its cons far outweigh its pros.

Features required for effective Power BI to OBIEE integration

Before you choose the right Power BI to OBIEE connector, it is essential to check if the connector provides the features mentioned in the 5 must-haves of Power BI to OBIEE connectors.

If you’re looking for alternatives to the Oracle BI Server ODBC Driver, check out the blog post – 3 Options for connecting Power BI to OBIEE.