Connecting Power BI to SQL Databases

A practical guide to integrating Power BI Desktop with local PostgreSQL and cloud-hosted Aiven databases - including data modelling and why SQL still matters. Table of Contents Introduction: Power BI and SQL Databases Connecting to a Local PostgreSQL Database Connecting to Aiven Cloud PostgreSQL Loading Tables and Creating Relationships Why SQL Skills Matter for Power BI Analysts 1. Introduction: Power BI and SQL Databases Microsoft Power BI is one of the leading business intelligence platforms in use today. It enables organisations of all sizes to transform raw data into interactive dashboards, reports, and visualisations that help decision-makers act on evidence rather than intuition. From tracking monthly sales performance to monitoring operational KPIs in real time, Power BI sits at the centre of how modern businesses consume their data. Power BI is available in several forms. Power BI Desktop is the Windows application used to build reports and data models. Power BI Service is the