Alteryx vs. Power Automate & Power Query

[hansgruber]

Our IT org is resisting my efforts to expand Alteryx footprint in our Finance department. Their argument is that Power BI + Power Automate can do everything Alteryx can with regard to data blending/preparation. I'm a 5-year Alteryx user and I've made the argument that Alteryx and Power BI are different tools for different purposes. While it's "technically" possible to do all the data blending/preparation within Power BI, I've found Alteryx to be far superior in terms of speed, flexibility, and ease-of-use (i.e. time-to-value) - particularly when data preparation goes beyond "simple" use cases. I understand Microsoft is now positioning Power Automate as the "go-to" tool for data preparation in Power BI, but I'm skeptical that Power Automate can accomplish the same things, in its current (early) form, as Alteryx. My limited experience with MS Power apps is that they can be great in solving smaller problems, but as you approach larger scale and complexity - not sure the Power Apps quite compare to what Alteryx offers.

Would be great to get perspectives from Alteryx users who have some experience with Power Automate - is it really a viable "alternative" right now? Are there specific reasons, or features you would point to one way or the other from your experience? Trying to get my IT folks to understand that Alteryx and Power BI are great complementary products vs. the latter "replacing" the former.

Thank you for your insights!

[BrandonB · Accepted solution]

You are spot on with Alteryx handling complex processes, having great flexibility, and improving analyst time to value which are all incredibly important.

Part of IT's job is to make sure that software in your company isn't redundant which can happen when people see two "Data Prep" technologies. Just because a bike and a rocket are both technically vehicles doesn't mean that they are the same. Alteryx goes far beyond "Data Prep" which is why feature comparison is likely too narrowly focused on Alteryx capabilities. Your business requirements are definitely going to be important when communicating why you need Alteryx. What is also important is the time that it takes to create a deliverable in both systems and the impact that the additional time has on your stakeholders that receive your deliverables. What is the true business cost of working in a technology that isn't a good fit?

Alteryx also does a great job with the data investigation and discovery side of things. This is especially important for analysts who are asked an open ended question and need to try a variety of different approaches in order to find the right answer. It becomes just as much of a problem solving framework as it is used to create a final deliverable.

Hopefully these are some helpful points to ponder. We want those who work with data to have the technology they need to deliver the greatest business impact!