Interview with Marcus Wegener, Power BI Expert

In this Expert Speaks section of my blog, I have been publishing interviews of the industry leaders and experts in marketing, sales, or digital marketing.

COVID-19 has changed the way businesses use to operate and there is a surge in IT jobs. IT professionals are not only getting multiple offers or freelancing opportunities but are also getting the flexibility to explore and switch to something new.

I came across multiple people switching from java developer to full-stack developer, from BI Analyst to Power BI Consultant, from manual tester to automation test lead and so on.

But on the contrary, many have lost their jobs too.

By considering the overall scenario, I thought of not restricting Expert Speaks interview series to just sales and marketing experts. Every expert has a story and certain tips for the beginners.

This is the first Expert Speaks interview with a Power BI expert. Microsoft Power BI is a highly sought BI tool in the market these days and it becomes extremely important to understand more about it from an expert.

In this Expert Speaks interview, a Power BI expert & super user, Marcus Wegener shares his story and wonderful tips for everyone who wishes to become an expert in this field.

Before beginning with the interview, let me give a quick introduction of Marcus Wegener.

Who is Marcus Wegener?

Marcus Wegener is a Microsoft Business Intelligence Expert and a Power BI Super User. He has 15+ years of experience in IT.

He has pursued Software Development by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Dortmund.

Marcus is also a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert. He has worked in several big German companies and loves databases.

Interview with Marcus Wegener, Power BI Expert

#1. Tell us about your journey so far

My journey began with my training as an application developer at one of Germany’s largest telecom companies.

After my 2.5 year apprenticeship, I worked for this company as an external full-stack developer for almost 7 years.

Here I was able to acquire a very broad knowledge of techniques and methods at the level of large enterprises. During this time I decided to focus my knowledge on the area of Business Intelligence and to pursue a corresponding career change.

I was fascinated by the idea of providing data and analysis in such a way that decision-makers can make better and sustainable decisions.

After a 1.5 year employment as an in-house BI developer at a large German hygiene paper manufacturer, I changed to KUMAVISION AG. KUMAVISION AG is one of the world’s largest implementation partners for Microsoft Dynamics.

I have been working here for 8 years as a Microsoft Business Intelligence expert and love to inspire our customers with the possibilities. In the last 1.5 years, I have been active in various communities, especially to share knowledge about Power BI.

#2. How did you learn Power BI?

I actually grew into the topic of Power BI.

From my time as a full-stack developer, I have very good SQL and database knowledge. As a BI developer, I have extended this knowledge with knowledge of DWH architectures, ETL processes, and analytical databases.

With the introduction of PowerPivot and the Tabular Model, we have repeatedly tested the possible applications and expanded our knowledge in this field. I love learning close to practice and would advise everyone to learn from real problems and grow with their own challenges.

#3. Top 3 free resources to learn Power BI

There are many good and free learning resources on the internet, but I’ll give you my top 3.

1. Guy in a Cube – The Power BI YouTube Channel, where you can find a good video for almost any question. The videos are very entertaining and show Power BI from different perspectives. Here you can always find new ideas or techniques and through the live events, you can bring in your own topics.
   
2. SQLBI – The two Italians Marco Russo and Alberto Ferrari provide very high-quality learning content, much of which is also free. A must for all those who want to better understand and master the technical side of Power BI.
   
3. Power BI Community – The goal of the Power BI Community is that we all learn from each other. Here you can post your own questions or solve the real-world challenges of other members, together with the community.

#4. What is the future of Business Intelligence?

I think the future of business intelligence is to make the analysis of data available to all employees in the organization.

Insights need to lead to actions faster and that is why it is so important to integrate business intelligence into the business process and make it available where the decisions are made.

#5. What makes Microsoft Power BI different from Tableau, Google Data Studio and other players?

It’s the entire Microsoft ecosystem. I don’t think any other player in the market delivers as complete a business ecosystem as Microsoft.

From hosting like in Azure Cloud, Office applications like Office 365, ERP and CRM solutions like Dynamics 365, and low\no-code solutions like PowerPlatform. Everything fits together to create the solution you need to take your business to the next level.

#6. What are the top 3 skills needed to make an awesome career in BI?

I firmly believe that the key to an awesome career lies in soft skills.

1. Communication – Always try to communicate, people need to know what you can do and what you need. Listen to what people tell you and question what you hear. Share your successes and failures and inspire others to follow and support you.
   
2. Openness – Always try to be open and deal with a wide variety of people. Question your own insights and attitudes and try to learn from the experiences of others. It is much more fun to work in a team than as a lone wolf.
   
3. Technical understanding – If you understand the technical context, you can easily draw conclusions about requirements and problems, even without knowing everything in detail. This skill also helps you learn and understand new things faster.

#7. How do you spend your free time?

I am married with two young children who ground me and enrich my life with a family life. I love movies, video game and small technical projects, like home automation.

But I also like to be active in different communities because I think it’s a give and take and it helps me to always be up to date.

#8. If given a chance to restart your career from scratch, what would you love to be? Why?

I’m really glad that’s not possible, because it would require me to make a lot of difficult decisions again and probably the outcome wouldn’t be any better.

I love creative and technical work and would always choose a job in this field again. But I am always ready to change something if I strongly believe that it is necessary.

#9. You are a super user in Microsoft Power BI community. Tell us more about it.

The Microsoft Power BI community is a great place to discuss and read about Power BI challenges from around the world. Everyone can participate and make their own contribution to move the community forward.

Members who have made a certain number of contributions in a season (half a year) will be invited to the Super User Program.

The Super User Program gives you the opportunity to work with Microsoft to help shape the community and network with community experts from around the world.

#10. One message to the young professionals who are Power BI enthusiasts

Don’t get too comfortable and take risks because you are still young, flexible and unattached. These are characteristics you would want to have in your old age, when you have to take responsibility for more than your life.

You can’t know everything, because knowledge is infinite. So share your knowledge and challenge it to get feedback. Become part of the community, because the community is more than the sum of its parts.

And always remember, “Mistakes are often the best teachers” and “Done is better than perfect”.

#11. As you know, Expert Speaks is an initiative to interview experts like you to help and inspire people. Would you like to nominate your favorite 3 experts for this interview series?

There are certainly many experts that come into question, but I’ll try to create a good mix from my area of interest.

1. Eva Murrary – She does so many great things related to Tableau, data visualization, community building, etc. She is co-leading #MakeoverMonday, the largest global social data project, which you should definitely check out, as well as all her other contributions.
   
2. Amit Chandak – He is one of my Power BI Super User colleagues and is a creator of an incredible number of contributions in and out of the community. He usually tops the leaderboard in the Power BI community and has published almost 200 videos about Power BI on YouTube. So it’s worth checking out.
   
3. Cassie Kozyrkov – Data Science is on everyone’s lips and she really excels in this field. Just take a look at one of her recorded sessions on YouTube and you will understand what I mean.

Conclusion

Thank you so much Marcus. The information shared by you is invaluable. I hope it will benefit to all the Power BI Enthusiasts who land up on this blog.

Dear Readers, if you have any further queries on Power BI then feel free to connect with Marcus Wegener on LinkedIn.

Also if you have any expert in mind, let me know his/her name in the comments below and I would surely explore the possibility of interviewing him or her.

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