Building a Data Platform

How We Slashed Cloud Costs & Delivered Faster Insights for a Manufacturer
– A Real AWS Migration Story

Balance technical wins with business impact

The TASK

Right Architecture and Platform for Current and Future needs (Client’s Perspective)
Avoid Paying for features we didn’t need – licensing overhead for unused advanced analytics.
Data residency
Core datasets—including machine telemetry, ERP, and quality data—remained on-premises due to latency, compliance, and integration constraints. While we aimed to leverage the scalability and elastic compute capabilities of the cloud, our architecture intentionally avoided full data migration or continuous replication, opting instead for a hybrid model that minimized data movement.
Slow reporting
– Traditional reporting approach required each report to be pre-planned and developed in advance, often needing significant developer effort to reflect changes in data.

Approach

Data Warehouse vs Data Lake vs Data Lakehouse
Landing Zone First – Securely structured accounts, VPCs, and IAM roles *before* migration.
Serverless = No Waste – Glue (no clusters), Athena (pay per query), and QuickSight (scales with users).
Key Tip Manufacturers don’t need real-time everywhere—focus on ‘fast enough’ for the right data.

The Build: Minimalist but Powerful

- Connectivity : - Site-to-AWS VPN for factory data (no expensive dedicated lines).

-Client Example: "We pulled ."

- Data Prioritization – Only index what’s queried (Athena) to avoid runaway costs.

- *Manufacturing ___ Datasets We Started With:*

- ERP material consumption records

- Serverless ETL – Glue jobs to clean/transform data *only when needed* (no always-on Spark clusters).

- QuickSight + NLP – The game-changer for Decision makers:

- "Show me all batches with defects >2% last week" → No SQL needed TBD .

Results: Faster, Cheaper, More Flexible

- *Cost Savings:* "Reduced cloud analytics spend by 40% by ditching unused licenses."

- *Speed to Insight:* "Quality team now self-serves reports without IT."

- *Future-Proofed:* "Added new X data in days, not months."

5. Lessons for Other Manufacturers* (Actionable Takeaways)

- *Start with a "Cost Audit"* – Identify unused features in your current cloud stack.

- *Serverless > Over-Engineering* – Avoid Kubernetes/Spark unless you truly need them.

- *NLP is a Killer Feature* – QuickSight’s Q&A lets non-technical teams explore data naturally.

- *Landing Zones Prevent Chaos* – Even small factories need governance (tagging, access controls).

6. Audience Engagement: "How Would You Prioritize?"*

- Poll: "What’s your biggest data pain point—cost, speed, or usability?"

- Challenge: "Could you answer a shop-floor question in under 5 minutes today?"

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### *Why This Works for Manufacturers:*

•⁠ ⁠*No buzzwords* – Focuses on *real cost savings* and *shop-floor usability*.

•⁠ ⁠*Proves serverless works* – Glue/Athena/QuickSight is a legit stack for mid-size manufacturers.

•⁠ ⁠*NLP as differentiator* – Most manufacturers still rely on static dashboards or IT-run SQL.

Claude Research - Comparing Price Power BI vs Quicksight 2025

Power BI vs QuickSight: 2025 Pricing Comparison

Microsoft Power BI underwent its first major price increase in nearly a decade effective April 2025, AGOLUTION +2 while Amazon QuickSight introduced new AI-powered Pro tiers and simplified its reader pricing model. These changes significantly impact the competitive landscape, with QuickSight now offering more predictable costs for large deployments while Power BI maintains its position as the most affordable enterprise BI tool despite price increases. Microsoft Power BI The Register

Current pricing tiers and platform structures

Microsoft Power BI operates on a user-based licensing model with three primary tiers. Power BI Pro costs $14 per user per month (increased 40% from $10), AGOLUTION microsoft targeting content creators and analysts with 8 daily data refreshes, CEO Juice 1GB dataset limits, CEO Juice phData and 10GB storage per user. Microsoft Power BI +5 Power BI Premium Per User (PPU) at $24 per user per month (up 20% from $20) AGOLUTION microsoft provides advanced features including 48 daily refreshes, 100GB datasets, phData and AI capabilities. Microsoft Power BI +3 The enterprise Microsoft Fabric capacity pricing starts at $262.80 monthly for F2 tier, Microsoft scaling to $8,409 monthly for F64, Timextender with approximately 40% discounts available for annual commitments. Ronin Consulting LLC +3

Amazon QuickSight offers more granular user types across two main editions. Standard Edition costs $9 per user monthly (annual) or $12 monthly for authors only, Amazon Web Services with no reader sharing capabilities. Amazon Web Services +2 Enterprise Edition provides Authors at $18 monthly (annual) or $24 monthly, Amazon Web Services while Readers cost a fixed $3 per user monthly AWS +3 - a significant simplification from the previous variable pricing up to $5 monthly. AWS The platform's newest Author Pro tier costs $50 monthly and Reader Pro costs $20 monthly, Amazon Web Services AWS both including Amazon Q generative BI capabilities, plus a $250 monthly account enablement fee for Amazon Q features. AWS +3

Per-user cost analysis across user types

Content creators face different cost structures between platforms. Power BI requires Pro licenses ($14 monthly) for all creators, AGOLUTION microsoft while QuickSight Authors cost $18-24 monthly Amazon Web Services depending on billing frequency. AWS Amazon Web Services However, QuickSight's Author Pro at $50 monthly AWS includes advanced AI capabilities AWS that would require Power BI's PPU tier at $24 monthly AGOLUTION microsoft plus additional Azure Cognitive Services costs.

Report consumers represent the largest cost differential. Power BI requires Pro licenses ($14 monthly) for all viewers in shared capacity environments, AGOLUTION microsoft though Premium capacity (F64+ or P1+) eliminates per-user costs for consumers. Microsoft Microsoft Learn QuickSight's fixed $3 monthly reader pricing Amazon Web Services +2 provides significant savings for large viewer populations, AWS Amazon Web Services especially compared to Power BI's previous requirement for Pro licenses for all users.

Administrative users follow creator pricing in both platforms - Power BI Pro/PPU for administrators AGOLUTION microsoft versus QuickSight Admin roles billed as Authors ($24 monthly) or Admin Pro ($50 monthly) AWS with additional account management capabilities. AWS Amazon Web Services

Additional costs and hidden expenses

Storage costs vary significantly between platforms. Power BI Pro includes 10GB per user with additional storage requiring Premium capacity, phData while PPU provides 100TB total storage. phData QuickSight includes 10GB SPICE storage per author with additional storage at $0.38 per GB monthly Amazon Web ServicesAmazon Web Services - more granular but potentially more expensive for data-heavy workloads.

Data refresh limitations create operational costs. Power BI Pro permits 8 daily refreshes, CEO Juice requiring PPU or Premium capacity for 48 daily refreshes. phData O'Reilly QuickSight provides unlimited refreshes in Enterprise Edition without additional charges, though data transfer costs apply for cross-region scenarios.

Premium features add substantial costs. Power BI's AI capabilities, paginated reports, and large models require PPU ($24 monthly) or Premium capacity. AGOLUTION microsoft QuickSight's machine learning insights are included in Enterprise Edition, AWS but Amazon Q capabilities require Pro user roles ($50 Author Pro, $20 Reader Pro) plus $250 monthly account fee. Amazon Web Services +2

Volume discounts and enterprise pricing structures

Microsoft offers several enterprise advantages. Microsoft Fabric reserved pricing provides approximately 40% annual discounts, Timextender Data Mozart while Enterprise Agreement customers maintain current pricing until renewal. Microsoft Power BI +3 Organizations with Microsoft 365 E5 subscriptions ($57 monthly) receive Power BI Pro at no additional cost, Microsoft Power BI +5 creating significant bundling value for comprehensive Microsoft ecosystem users.

Amazon's volume pricing focuses on capacity-based models for large deployments. Reader session pricing starts at $250 monthly for 500 sessions, Amazon Web Services scaling to $258,000 annually for 1.6 million sessions with per-session costs dropping to $0.16. Amazon Web Services +3 Annual capacity commitments provide 20-36% savings compared to monthly billing, while multi-account billing through AWS IAM Identity Center offers consolidated enterprise management. AWS

The enterprise break-even analysis shows Power BI Premium capacity becomes cost-effective for organizations with 500+ active viewers, Timextender Data Mozart while QuickSight's capacity pricing benefits deployments with occasional or embedded user scenarios.

Free tier capabilities and limitations

Power BI Desktop remains completely free for local development, offering full report creation, 100+ data connectors, and advanced visualizations with the limitation of no sharing capabilities or cloud collaboration. SaaSworthy Microsoft The Power BI Service free license allows viewing shared content in Premium workspaces but prohibits content creation or publishing. Microsoft Learn

QuickSight provides a 30-day Enterprise Edition trial Amazon Web Services with up to 4 users accessing full platform capabilities PMsquare including Amazon Q features, SPICE storage, and dashboard sharing. Amazon Web Services +2 No long-term free tier exists, requiring paid subscriptions for continued usage - a significant difference from Power BI's perpetually free desktop tool.

Total cost of ownership considerations

Implementation costs vary dramatically by ecosystem. Power BI implementations range from $50,000-$200,000 for enterprise deployments with additional $150-$300 hourly consulting rates, while QuickSight implementations cost $30,000-$100,000 with $100-$200 hourly consulting rates. PeerSpot PeerSpot However, Microsoft ecosystem organizations benefit from existing Azure Active Directory integration and Office 365 familiarity, reducing training and implementation complexity.

Professional services pricing shows Microsoft Premier Support at $15,000-$100,000 annually versus AWS Enterprise Support at 10% of monthly AWS spend (minimum $15,000 monthly). PeerSpot Training costs favor QuickSight at $300-$1,000 per user compared to Power BI's $2,000-$5,000 per comprehensive user training. PeerSpot

Three-year TCO analysis reveals significant scale dependencies. Mid-size organizations (1,000 users) show Power BI total costs of $500,000-$800,000 versus QuickSight at $200,000-$400,000. However, large enterprises (10,000+ users) see Power BI become competitive with proper capacity planning, while QuickSight maintains advantages for embedded analytics and external user scenarios.

Recent pricing changes and market impact

Microsoft's April 2025 price increases represent strategic positioning. The 40% Pro license increase and 20% PPU increase AGOLUTION +2 reflect the first major pricing adjustment since Power BI's launch, Microsoft Power BI +2 driven by significant platform investments in AI capabilities and Microsoft Fabric integration. Microsoft Power BI +2 Customer reactions range from frustration to acceptance, with many exploring Microsoft 365 E5 bundles or considering alternative platforms.

Amazon's 2024 structural changes focus on AI integration and pricing predictability. The introduction of Pro user roles with Amazon Q capabilities AWS and simplified $3 monthly reader pricing (effective August 2025) AWS address previous customer concerns about variable session-based costs. Industry reception has been generally positive, with increased migration activity from other BI platforms to QuickSight.

Market dynamics show both platforms pursuing AI-first strategies. Power BI's pricing increases fund continued Microsoft Copilot integration, while QuickSight's Amazon Q investment targets natural language analytics. AWS Competitive pressure has intensified, with several organizations conducting platform evaluations following Power BI's price increases.

Strategic recommendations by organization type

Small organizations (1-50 users) should choose Power BI Pro at $14 monthly for creators AGOLUTION microsoft if already using Microsoft 365, or consider QuickSight Standard at $9-12 monthly Amazon Web Services for AWS-centric environments. Total monthly costs range from $140-600 for Power BI versus $90-600 for QuickSight depending on user mix.

Medium organizations (50-500 users) benefit from mixed licensing strategies. Power BI Premium capacity becomes cost-effective with 200+ viewers, while QuickSight's $3 reader pricing provides predictable costs for large viewer populations. AWS +2 Consider Microsoft 365 E5 bundles if broader productivity suite features are needed.

Large enterprises (500+ users) should evaluate Fabric F64+ capacity for Power BI (approximately $8,400 monthly) Timextender versus QuickSight capacity pricing models. QuickSight maintains significant cost advantages for embedded analytics and external user scenarios, AWS Amazon Web Services while Power BI offers superior integration for Microsoft-centric organizations.

Conclusion

The 2025 pricing landscape shows QuickSight emerging as the more cost-effective solution for large-scale deployments with occasional users, while Power BI maintains advantages for Microsoft ecosystem organizations CIO despite price increases. Decision factors should prioritize existing infrastructure investments, user adoption patterns, and long-term platform strategy rather than focusing solely on per-user licensing costs. Organizations should conduct detailed usage analysis including hidden implementation costs, training expenses, and ecosystem integration benefits to determine the optimal platform for their specific requirements.

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