What is Power BI data source connectivity?

< 1 min read

Power BI data source connectivity refers to how Power BI connects and pulls data from different systems.
In my project, we connected Power BI to SQL Server, Excel files, and a REST API.
There are two main modes: Import and DirectQuery.
Import mode loads data into Power BI memory for faster reporting.
DirectQuery keeps data in the source and fetches it live when users open the report.
We used Import for historical sales dashboards and DirectQuery for live order tracking.
Gateway was configured to connect on-premise database with Power BI Service.
Credentials and permissions were managed using service accounts.
This allowed scheduled refresh without manual data extraction.
It ensured business users always viewed updated data in dashboards.

Power BI Essentials