What is Azure Analysis Services?

Azure Analysis Services is a fully managed platform as a service (PaaS) that provides enterprise-grade data models in the cloud. Use advanced mashup and modeling features to combine data from multiple data sources, define metrics, and secure your data in a single, trusted tabular semantic data model. The data model provides an easier and faster way for users to perform ad hoc data analysis using tools like Power BI and Excel.

Built on SQL Server Analysis Services:

Azure Analysis Services is compatible with many great features already in SQL Server Analysis Services Enterprise Edition. Azure Analysis Services supports tabular models at the 1200 and higher compatibility levels. Tabular models are relational modeling constructs (model, tables, columns), articulated in tabular metadata object definitions in Tabular Model Scripting Language (TMSL) and Tabular Object Model (TOM) code.

Supported data sources:

Tabular models in Azure Analysis Services support a wide variety of data sources from simple text files to Big Data in Azure Data Lake Store.