Managing Change: 5 Considerations for Driving Business Users to Adopt Fabric and Power BI

Adopting new technologies is crucial for pushing modern businesses forward. However, tools like Microsoft Power BI and Fabric only deliver value if users actually engage with them. Getting people on board requires careful planning and execution, which often gets overlooked in digital transformation efforts. Change management and enablement efforts can be the difference between highly utilized reports that drive business forward, and another tool that is left unused.

While Fabric and Power BI are relatively user-friendly, simply deploying reports without supporting enablement efforts can result in “Swiss-cheese adoption”. We will have pockets of individuals in the organization that are adopting and thriving with their new reports and tools, while others lag. In these situations, it is factors outside of your implementation project that determine success like an individual’s adaptability, knowledge, and motivation, or the enthusiasm (or resistance) of their manager. 

A deliberate, intentional approach to user enablement is crucial for driving widespread adoption. It not only drives viewership to your reports and dashboards but can foster a culture of data-driven decision making. While the following five key considerations won’t guarantee a smooth transition or instantly create a data-driven culture, they’re a great starting point.

1. Active & Visible Executive Sponsorship is Essential

An executive sponsor is a senior leader who champions the migration and deployment initiative, providing strategic direction by securing and allocating resources and ensuring alignment with broader organizational goals. According to the Prosci annual benchmarking report, active and visible executive sponsorship is the primary determinant of a change initiative’s success. A leader who demonstrates commitment and engagement set the tone for the entire organization, and widespread buy-in is nearly impossible without it.

While senior leaders are often busy and the deployment of Power BI or Fabric is not likely to be their sole priority, it is vital that they remain visibly active to the user groups to drive adoption. You don’t need your executive sponsor attending every meeting, but leading a kickoff and providing communications are good ways to highlight their involvement. It’s also important to note that users are unlikely to engage with tools that senior leaders do not utilize themselves. Therefore, sponsors must champion the change by demonstrating the desired behaviors and communicating changes throughout the organization, integrating them with broader objectives. The executive sponsor must drive the “why” behind the deployment of new technology.

One of the most successful—and initially challenging—change initiatives I supported involved a Fortune 500 company in the food and beverage industry upgrading its data infrastructure, including a migration to Power BI. The change significantly impacted franchise operations, presenting two key challenges: (1) the initiative was driven by Corporate, which had limited control and visibility over franchises, and (2) the new dashboards introduced a drastically different user experience for a non-technical audience accessing data across varied devices.

Despite these hurdles, adoption exceeded expectations within the first two weeks, and support tickets were lower than with previous IT rollouts. A major driver of this success was strong executive sponsorship. Corporate leaders consistently communicated the “why” behind the change and had earned the trust of key franchise stakeholders. Their visible, active leadership created the momentum that even the best training alone could not have achieved.

2. Understand How Your Users Operate Today

Understanding how end-users currently access and utilize data is an essential but often overlooked step. We should begin by thoroughly analyzing how and when people use data, focusing on making it more accessible and interpretable to the business. We must gather feedback from our intended report users through various methods such as surveys, interviews, and observations to identify what works well and where the new analytics platform can add value. This initial understanding helps in tailoring the new system to meet the users’ needs effectively. Finding and highlighting some simple but effective use cases will encourage business users to at least experiment with our new solutions.

Involving users in the planning process fosters a sense of ownership and creates future change champions. When users feel included and valued, they are more likely to support and advocate for new systems. This participatory approach not only enhances the relevance and usability of the analytics platform but also helps in identifying potential challenges and areas of improvement early in the planning and testing stages.

3. Change Happens at the Individual Level

Organizational adoption is realized one person at a time. Prosci’s ADKAR methodology outlines five stages individuals undergo during change: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement. It emphasizes managing individual transitions to ensure successful adoption and sustainability. This model is particularly useful in addressing the unique needs and concerns of each user. While that bottom-up approach may seem tedious, it is what drives the organizational change we are likely seeking with our new data analytics platform.

We must also recognize that individuals experience these stages differently. For instance, a new employee who used Power BI at their previous employer may have the knowledge but lack in desire due to past experiences. Conversely, a tenured employee who values data-driven decision-making may have the awareness and desire but lack the knowledge and ability without proper training.