Data sources

Data source connectivity is one of the strengths of Power BI, due to the vast list of standard data source connectors included in Power BI Desktop. In addition, numerous industry standards such as Open Data Protocol (OData), Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), and Object Linking and Embedding Database (OLE DB) are supported. The breadth of data connectivity options is further bolstered by the ability for developers to create custom Power BI data connectors for a specific application, service, or data source.

Although a Power BI dataset can connect to multiple sources ranging from Azure Synapse Analytics to a text file, solution architects and developers should strive to build solutions on a single, well-supported source such as a data warehouse database system that already contains the necessary data integrations as well as reflects data integrity constraints and quality processes. Power BI datasets that connect to several distinct sources, and particularly to less...