Senior-led analytics delivery across the UK
Power BI & Microsoft Fabric consultancy for UK mid-market organisations
Build reporting your leadership team can trust, on a data foundation your organisation can own. Hopton delivers governed Power BI and Microsoft Fabric work across the UK through fixed-scope phases, named specialists and clear commercial boundaries.
Bring the reporting problem, the systems involved and the decision you need to make. A senior consultant will recommend the simplest credible next step and tell you if Hopton is not the right fit. Response within one working day.
62+
organisations supported
70%
average reduction in reporting time
£127k
average cost recovered per engagement
Fixed-price
delivery, no timesheets
Figures based on completed engagements. Outcomes vary by scope, source systems and organisational readiness.
Who Hopton is for
A specialist partner for organisations with real reporting complexity
Hopton's strongest fit is a UK mid-market organisation that needs more than a dashboard developer but does not want a large consultancy layer between the problem and the people doing the work.
Good fit
- Leadership does not consistently trust the current numbers.
- Board, finance or operational reporting depends on manual spreadsheets.
- Power BI has grown without clear models, ownership, security or release controls.
- Several ERP, CRM, operational or external sources need one governed view.
- A legacy BI tool must be rationalised and retired.
- Fabric is being considered and the organisation wants an honest decision before buying more platform.
- The client can provide business owners who will validate definitions and outcomes.
Probably not the right fit
- The requirement is a few hours of isolated visual formatting with no wider ownership.
- The buyer wants every old report copied without reviewing use, logic or value.
- No business owner is available to define or sign off important measures.
- The supplier is expected to promise a Fabric architecture before source systems and use cases are understood.
- Lowest hourly rate is the only selection criterion.
A short first conversation is enough to establish fit. If the issue needs another specialist, an internal fix or a simpler route, the useful answer is to say so early.
How to choose well
What to ask a Power BI or Fabric consultancy before appointing it
Buyers should be able to test delivery quality before signing a large build. Ask for specific answers to the following questions.
- 1
Who will actually deliver the work?
Meet the proposed architect, lead developer and delivery owner, not only the salesperson.
- 2
How will measures be agreed and signed off?
A dashboard cannot resolve an undefined business metric by itself.
- 3
When will you recommend against Fabric?
A credible Microsoft consultancy should be able to explain when Power BI or a simpler data layer is enough.
- 4
How are scope and price controlled?
Outputs, exclusions, dependencies, milestones and responsibilities should be visible before Build.
- 5
How is reporting continuity protected?
Migration and major change may require parallel running, reconciliation and explicit cutover approval.
- 6
What remains after handover?
Models, definitions, architecture, security, releases and ownership should be documented for the client.
- 7
What first-hand evidence is relevant?
Look for named cases with similar data shapes or delivery problems, not a logo wall without context.
What we can take responsibility for
From reporting design to the data foundation underneath it
Power BI consulting
Reports, dashboards, semantic models, performance, security, adoption and support for a dependable Power BI estate.
Explore Power BI consulting services →Microsoft Fabric consulting
Architecture, data engineering, lakehouse or warehouse delivery, OneLake governance, Direct Lake and capacity planning.
Explore Microsoft Fabric consulting →Data platform and warehouse
Cloud data-platform design and engineering where the reporting layer needs a reliable, reusable foundation.
Explore data platforms and warehouses →Business Central analytics
Power BI and Fabric reporting for Dynamics 365 Business Central, including extraction choices, history and multi-entity reporting.
Explore Business Central analytics →Data strategy and leadership
Roadmaps, operating models and senior data leadership when the organisation needs decisions and ownership before tooling.
Explore data strategy and leadership →Analytics Acceleration Programme
Hopton's Establish, Build and optional Continuity route for governed delivery with visible phases and responsibilities.
See the delivery programme →Power BI and Fabric are related, not interchangeable
When Power BI is enough and when Fabric becomes useful
Power BI is the reporting and semantic layer. Fabric adds a broader data platform. Many organisations need Power BI; not every organisation needs Fabric.
| Requirement | Power BI-first route | Power BI with Fabric route |
|---|---|---|
| Focused management or departmental reporting | Usually appropriate | Only if the data foundation demands it |
| One or two reliable sources | Often enough | Not automatic |
| Several ERP, CRM and operational sources | Possible with a suitable curated layer | Often useful |
| Governed historical data independent of source systems | Limited | Strong fit |
| Shared engineering, analytics and data-science workloads | Not the full answer | Strong fit |
| Real-time, notebooks or machine learning on the same platform | Limited | Strong fit |
| Existing Microsoft estate is unreliable | Diagnose first | Do not add Fabric until the root causes are understood |
Use the free decision tool for an initial view. If the choice affects an ERP modernisation, material capacity spend or a multi-year roadmap, use the independent Reporting Modernisation Assessment before Build.
Start by removing the biggest uncertainty
Four clear ways to begin
Free 30-minute scoping call
Use this when the problem is clear enough to describe but you do not yet know what type of engagement is appropriate. The call establishes fit and the next evidence needed.
Book the scoping callPower BI Health Check
A two-week, fixed-price review for an existing Power BI estate covering models, refresh, workspaces, security, performance, capacity and sprawl. Output is a written, prioritised action plan.
Explore the Power BI Health CheckReporting Modernisation Assessment
A four-week, fixed-price assessment for legacy reporting, ERP change or an unresolved Fabric decision. The recommendation can be Fabric, an alternative or a phased route.
Explore the assessmentEstablish phase
Use this when the target outcome is understood and the organisation is ready to confirm architecture, priority outputs, responsibilities and a fixed Build scope.
See the Analytics Acceleration ProgrammeWhere we work
UK-wide delivery, with local pages where the working context differs
Hopton's published office is in Leeds. Work is delivered across the UK through planned on-site workshops and remote build delivery. These pages explain the relevant working arrangements and buyer context; they do not imply an office in every city.
Leeds and Yorkshire
Meet the Leeds-based team at Platform or arrange workshops across Yorkshire.
Power BI consultancy in Leeds →London
Senior workshops at client offices or suitable central London locations, with focused delivery between sessions.
Power BI consultancy in London →Manchester and the North West
Power BI and Fabric delivery for finance, manufacturing, distribution and multi-site operational reporting.
Power BI consultancy in Manchester →Birmingham and the West Midlands
Governed finance, ERP, multi-entity and operational reporting, with client-site workshops by arrangement.
Power BI consultancy in Birmingham →Elsewhere in the UK or Ireland, use the same national contact route. Do not create another city page simply to capture a place-name query.
Published client evidence
Power BI and Fabric work across different data shapes
Wasabi: 40+ restaurant P&Ls and operations in one trusted view
Hopton stabilised and rebuilt an underperforming estate across Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Azure and Business Central. The dependable platform is now extending into machine learning.
Read the Wasabi case study →Nationwide Hygiene Group: QlikView to Power BI without reporting loss
QlikView, SQL and Excel reporting moved to Power BI across old NAV and new Business Central data. The legacy platform stayed supported through the transition.
Read the Nationwide Hygiene Group case study →HCML: a twelve-section quarterly workforce review
Hopton built a governed, branded Power BI report for a senior audience, using custom Deneb visuals where standard charts could not communicate the required story.
Read the HCML case study →How engagements work
Defined phases, visible ownership and an honest handover
Establish
Confirm the decisions, sources, risks, target architecture, priority outputs, client responsibilities and acceptance criteria. Establish commonly runs for four weeks on a substantial programme; focused diagnostics have their own defined timing.
Build
Deliver the governed model, data platform and priority reports in working increments. Validate measures, security, performance and usability throughout. A substantial Build commonly runs for eight to twelve weeks after Establish, subject to scope and source access.
Continuity or handover
Choose ongoing support and controlled change, or a documented handover with trained owners. The client should know who owns the estate after go-live in either case.
Defined delivery is fixed-scope and fixed-price. Each proposal lists outputs, exclusions, milestones, named responsibilities, dependencies, travel assumptions and licensing separately. The purpose is clarity, not to hide uncertainty inside a day-rate estimate.
Common questions
Choosing a UK Power BI and Fabric consultancy
What size of organisation does Hopton work with?
Hopton's published focus is UK mid-market organisations, typically with 50 to 500 employees and a small internal data or BI capability. Fit depends more on reporting complexity, ownership and ambition than headcount alone.
Does Hopton work across the whole UK?
Yes. Hopton is based in Leeds and delivers across the UK and Ireland. Important discovery, architecture and go-live sessions can happen on site, while build and routine reviews can run remotely where that improves delivery efficiency.
Is Hopton a Power BI consultancy or a Microsoft Fabric consultancy?
Both. Power BI is the reporting and semantic layer; Fabric is the wider Microsoft data platform. Hopton can deliver either or both and should recommend Power BI without Fabric when the wider platform is not justified.
How much does a Power BI project cost?
Cost depends on source systems, data quality, model complexity, report scope, security, migration and the amount of business validation required. Hopton uses fixed-scope, fixed-price phases, with Microsoft licensing and third-party costs shown separately. A first call identifies the right scoping route rather than inventing a price from dashboard count.
How long does implementation take?
A substantial governed programme commonly begins with a four-week Establish phase followed by an eight-to-twelve-week Build phase. Focused dashboards, diagnostics or optimisations can be faster. Data access and timely measure sign-off often determine the actual schedule.
Can Hopton migrate from Tableau, Qlik, SSRS, Cognos or Excel?
Yes. Migration begins with an inventory and usage review, not automatic conversion. Essential reports and logic are rebuilt properly in Power BI, inactive content is retired with owner approval, and old and new reporting run in parallel where continuity requires it.
What happens after the first call?
Hopton will recommend one of four outcomes: no further work, a focused diagnostic, an assessment, or a scoped Establish phase. The recommendation should state what uncertainty the next step removes and what usable output the client receives.
Start with an honest conversation
Discuss your UK Power BI or Fabric requirement
Tell us what is not working, what systems are involved and what outcome matters. We will explain the likely route, what evidence is still needed and whether Hopton is a sensible fit.