Its developer, ESRI, is a leader in geospatial software and spatial data with its ArcGIS family of products. There are also four custom visuals available to import alongside two “develop your own” options.ĪrcGIS Maps for Power BI was released in Preview back in September 2016. With the introduction of the ArcGIS Map and Shape Map, there are now four native maps that you can access directly in Power BI Desktop without having to import them. Alternatives like that can sometimes work, but distortion often comes into play, or it requires a large number of points to make the geography recognizable. Like last year, I have intentionally left out methods such as plotting latitude and longitude on a scatterplot with or without an image background, or using SandDance. With the introduction of numerous mapping changes in Power BI since then, I felt it best to provide an update as of June 2017.Īs I mentioned in last year’s post, each mapping method could have advantages in different circumstances. The following list is not a ranking, but I have included the newer maps toward the top. Last year, I wrote a post entitled 5 Ways to Create Maps in Microsoft Power BI. Get the free Exploring Maps in Microsoft Power BI whitepaper from BlueGranite, and view the companion webinar: There are now many more than 10 ways to create maps in Power BI.
