Power BI Embedded add-on
Find out everything you need to know to use the Power BI Embedded add-on
The Power BI Embedded Add-On enables seamless integration of Power BI reports and dashboards directly into your application. This add-on allows you to provide interactive data visualizations, empowering users with data-driven insights without leaving your platform. The add-on utilizes Power BI Embedded capacities or Microsoft Fabric capacities to manage the performance, scaling, and cost-effectiveness of embedding Power BI content. With this add-on you can:
The add-on simplifies access to reports and analytics by embedding them directly in the user interface of your solution. Some of the features it enables include:
Interactive Reports: Users can view and interact with embedded Power BI reports and dashboards.
Row-Level Security (RLS): Dynamic or static rules can be applied to ensure users only see the data they are permitted to access.
Capacity Management: Manage capacity usage to automatically activate or deactivate it according to your usage needs, thus generating much greater cost savings.
Seamless User Experience: Provides an integrated experience where users can engage with data without needing to switch between multiple tools.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces the need for individual Power BI Pro licenses, as the usage is based on processing power (capacity), which can be shared among users.
Add-on Requirements
Power BI Capacity
Power BI Embedded requires dedicated capacity to handle the embedded reports and dashboards. The Capacity allows you to share your Power BI content with users who don't have a Power BI or Microsoft license you are paying for a dedicated amount of computing resources vs. a specific number of users. With a capacity-based license There are two main types of capacity that you can choose from:
Power BI Embedded Capacity (A SKUs): These SKUs (A1 to A6) are specifically designed for embedding Power BI reports and dashboards in applications. This type of capacity is primarily used for external-facing apps where customers or external users access the reports.
Microsoft Fabric Capacity (F SKUs): Fabric capacities are more broadly designed to support a range of Microsoft services, including Power BI, as well as other services such as Azure Synapse. They are useful when you have internal users and are running multiple workloads that require data analytics, transformation, and storage within the same environment.
Good to know: To begin with, we recommend using Microsoft Fabric Capacity, which has a 60-day trial available. However, if your organization has a very large volume of reports and accesses, contact our team to make a more accurate analysis of the necessary capacity.
Power BI Pro License (For Admins)
Administrators or developers working on the solution will need at least one Power BI Pro license to create and manage the reports built into the solution.
Dedicated Power BI Workspace
A dedicated Power BI workspace is required to store and manage the reports and dashboards that will be embedded in our application. This workspace serves as a container for datasets, reports, and dashboards specific to the embedded solution.
Microsoft Fabric Capacity Metrics App
To effectively monitor and manage the performance of the Power BI Embedded add-on in Genuz, it is essential to install the Microsoft Fabric Capacity Metrics App in the dedicated Power BI workspace. This app provides critical insights into capacity usage, performance metrics, and overall health of the embedded analytics environment.
Setting up and Installing the Power BI Embedded Add-on
To install the Power BI Embedded add-on, you must configure your Azure cloud, your Power BI and your Genuz using the following steps:
Registering the application in Azure
Registering your application in Azure Active Directory (AAD) is essential for creating an identity for your app and enabling it to authenticate and interact with Azure services.
Navigate to the Azure portal and select Azure Active Directory from the left sidebar.
Click on App registrations, then select New registration.
Enter the application name (e.g., Genuz Analytics Manager) for easy identification.
Redirect URI: Input the development URL of your application. This URI is critical for redirecting users after authentication.
Important: Record the Application (client) ID and Directory (tenant) ID—these will be needed later for configuration in your application.
Generating the access key for the application
Create a client secret acts like a password for Genuz application. It is used to authenticate API requests securely.
In the registered application, go to Certificates & secrets.
Click on New client secret, provide a description (e.g., "Power BI Secret"), and choose an expiration period (1 year is often recommended).
Click Add. Copy the generated secret value immediately, as it will not be shown again. Store it securely.
Creating a user group for the Service Principal
Creating a user group simplifies the management of permissions for the service principal to use in Power BI workspace and API access, allowing you to grant access to multiple users or applications collectively.
Navigate to Azure Active Directory > Groups > New group.
Choose Security as the group type and enter a name (e.g., "Power BI Embedded Service Principal").
Optionally, add any users who will need access to the service principal.
This group will be useful for managing permissions later on.
Granting access to the Power BI API in Microsoft Graph
To interact with Power BI resources programmatically, your application must have the correct permissions set in Azure AD.
In the registered application, go to API Permissions.
Click Add a permission -> APIs my organization uses and search for "Power BI Service".
Select Delegated permissions and enable the permissions:
Capacity.ReadWrite.All
Dashboard.ReadWrite.All
Dataset.ReadWrite.All
Report.ReadWrite.All
Workspace.ReadWrite.All
After adding permissions, be sure to click Grant admin consent for [Your organization] if necessary.
Subscribing a Power BI capacity
Power BI Embedded Capacity provides the resources needed to render reports. It’s important to choose the right pricing tier based on your expected load and performance requirements.
In the Azure portal, go to Create a resource > Power BI Embedded.
Click Add, select the appropriate pricing tier based on your anticipated usage, and configure other settings as needed.
Once created, take note of the capacity name and resource ID, as you’ll need these for configuration later.
Good to know: You can also activate the Microsoft Fabric Trial capability for 60 days through Power BI. To learn more, check out the link below.
Setting permissions in Power BI Admin
Admin permissions in the Power BI Service are essential for managing workspaces and ensuring that your application can access the necessary resources.
In the Power BI Service, navigate to Admin portal > Tenant settings.
Ensure settings related to embedding content and API configurations are enabled. This includes allowing service principals to use the API and access reports.
Allowing the workspace to the Service Principal
Granting the service principal permissions ensures it can access the dedicated workspace where your embedded reports will reside.
In the Power BI Service, navigate to the dedicated workspace you created for embedded reports.
Click on Settings > Permissions > Add user.
Enter the service principal’s application ID or the user group you created earlier. Assign it a role (e.g., Member or Admin) that allows it to read and manage reports and datasets within the workspace.
Installing the Power BI Embedded Add-on on Genuz
Now equipped with the Tenant ID, Client ID, Access Key and Workspace ID information, you can install Power BI Embedded on Genuz.
In the Genuz administration area, go to Settings -> Add-ons.
In the available add-ons area, search for the "Power BI Embedded Add-on" and click Install.
In the installation window that appears, enter the Tenant ID, Client ID, Access Key and Power BI Workspace ID and click the Next button.
Wait for the installation process to complete, and click Next.
Confirm the number of imported reports, set the Workspace update frequency and click Finish.
Done! With this step-by-step guide, you will now be able to access your Power BI reports in Genuz.
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