Metis BI on the Road: Power BI Consultancy, Governance and Real Client Conversations

I haven’t posted in two weeks. Here’s why.

I’ve been quiet for a couple of weeks, but there is a good reason. I was away from my regular office, out on the road, and while I was away the team kept things moving. In fact, while I was away, we closed two new deals. That probably says more about where Metis BI is right now than anything else I could write.

We have also brought in another person to support delivery, because the work is there and we want to do it properly. Not rushed, not messy, properly.

Around the same time, we were also named by Clutch as one of the Top Microsoft Power BI Consultancies in the United Kingdom for 2026. I do not usually make a big thing out of badges or rankings, but combined with the new deals, the extra delivery support and the conversations we are having with clients, it does feel like another small sign that we are moving in the right direction.

So what was I doing? A bit of a tour really. Manchester, Leeds, York, a quick stop in Northampton, and then back to London.

Power BI governance keeps coming up for a reason

Leeds was for the Power BI, Analytics and Fabric User Group, where I presented on Power BI Governance: The Foundations Matter More Than Ever. I have spoken there before, but what stayed with me this time was the questions afterwards. Proper questions. The kind that show people are not just chasing the next shiny feature, but are thinking about definitions, ownership, trust, adoption, governance, and how Power BI actually delivers value.

It is a topic we are seeing more and more in our Power BI consultancy work, especially as organisations start thinking more seriously about Microsoft Fabric, AI and trusted reporting.

Across every stop, the same themes kept coming up in conversations with prospects. Yes, AI is front and centre. Yes, Microsoft Fabric is getting a lot of attention. Yes, everyone wants to understand what is changing. But underneath all of that, people are still asking the same fundamental questions. How do we trust the numbers? How do we stop every team building their own version of the truth? How do we govern Power BI properly? How do we build reporting that actually supports decisions? How do we make sure our investment in Power BI gives us a return?

That is the bit that does not change. And honestly, it backed up what I have been saying for years from previous experience. The technology moves fast, but the foundations still matter.

This is the work we do at Metis BI every day as a Power BI consultancy and Microsoft Power BI partner. We help organisations put the right Power BI governance, reporting foundations, semantic models and Microsoft Fabric thinking in place, so people can actually trust what they are looking at.

Real conversations still matter

Manchester and London were more about the people who already trust us. Existing clients, face-to-face conversations, hearing how things are landing, what is working, what is not, and where they want to take things next.

What I liked about the trip was that it was not just “business development”. It was delivery, community, client relationships, sales conversations and proper market feedback all happening in the same two-week window.

It reminded me of something simple: an hour in a room can do more for a relationship than a month of emails.

Remote working has given us a more balanced life, and I am grateful for that. But there is still something about meeting people properly that makes everything feel more real. I think there are two reasons for that.

First, since Covid, remote became the norm, so when you do get the chance to sit down with people face to face, it feels more valuable.

Second, AI. I am not knocking it. We use it, and we help clients use it well. But let’s be honest, a lot of what we see online now is AI-generated noise. LinkedIn posts, blogs, consultancy content, all sounding the same. I think because of that, people are craving real conversations again.

That is really what these two weeks were. More rooms, more conversations, more clients who trust us, and more signs that Metis BI is moving in the right direction. The deals, the new hire and the Clutch recognition are the headline, but the quieter signal underneath is the one I care about most: the fundamentals we have built Metis BI on are exactly what the market keeps asking for.

Back at the desk now, and plenty more to share soon.