How to connect to SQL Server in Power BI

SQL Server acts as a secure, high-performance backbone for business data, ensuring Power BI has accurate and up-to-date information to analyze. This integration helps businesses quickly uncover insights, monitor operations, and make data-driven decisions that drive growth and efficiency.

Following are the steps to connect SQL Server in Power BI:

1. Open Power BI Desktop

2. From the Home ribbon, click Get Data → Select SQL Server from the data source list.
   

3. In the dialog box, enter the following details:

1. SQL Server Name (e.g., ServerName\Instance or just ServerName).

2. Database Name 

3. Choose the Data Connectivity mode:

1. Import (loads data into Power BI)

2. DirectQuery (queries data live from SQL Server)

Note- This example is for Windows Credentials. If you are using SQL Authentication then you need to enter SQL Server UserName & Password to connect to database

Write Query for a table.

4. Click Ok then you will see data from the table

5. Click Load  to load the data directly.

6. Power BI will also show a navigator that lists available tables and views. We can pick any table or view to see & load the data