Tag: Admin Portal

Data Visualisation, Fabric Administrator, Fabric Capacity, Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service

Microsoft Fabric: Unlocking the Secrets to Mastering Shared Semantic Models – Part 2 – Implementation

This blog series complements a YouTube tutorial I published earlier this month, where I quickly covered the scenario and implementation of shared semantic models in Microsoft Fabric. However, I realised this topic demands a more detailed explanation for those who need a deeper understanding of the processes and considerations involved in one of the most common enterprise-grade BI scenarios.

In organisations with strong security and governance requirements, implementing shared semantic models is vital to ensure seamless and secure access to data. These organisations often split roles across various teams responsible for productionising analytics solutions. Typically, they have strict Row-Level Security (RLS) and Object-Level Security (OLS) implemented in their semantic models. The goal is to enable two key groups within the organisation:

  • Report Writers: They must access the semantic models securely. This means having sufficient permissions to create reports while ensuring access is restricted to only the relevant objects and data.
  • End-Users: They need access to trustworthy and relevant information without dealing with underlying complexities. All the heavy lifting should be managed behind the scenes.

The first blog laid the groundwork by covering all the essential core concepts necessary for successfully implementing this scenario. It also provided a clear explanation of the roles involved in the process.

Blog Series Overview

Initially, I planned to cover everything in one post. However, the scope turned out to be too large, so I split it into two parts to ensure clarity and avoid overwhelming readers. Here’s what the series includes:

By the end of this blog, you will apply the understanding from the previous post to a real-world scenario, managing secure access to shared semantic models in Microsoft Fabric, and implement the solution step-by-step.

If you prefer a video format, check out the tutorial on YouTube:

For those who enjoy diving into the details, let’s get started!

Continue reading “Microsoft Fabric: Unlocking the Secrets to Mastering Shared Semantic Models – Part 2 – Implementation” →
Fabric Administrator, Fabric Capacity, Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service

Microsoft Fabric: Unlocking the Secrets to Mastering Shared Semantic Models – Part 1 – Core Concepts

Microsoft Fabric: Unlocking the Secrets to Mastering Shared Semantic Models - Part 1 - Core Concepts

Managing and optimising shared semantic models in Microsoft Fabric, with a focus on securing access, is essential in today’s data-driven world. These models are the backbone of an organisation’s analytics, providing consistent and scalable insights across teams. Whether you’re an experienced professional or just starting with Microsoft Fabric, understanding how to manage access to shared semantic models is key to delivering impactful insights.

This blog focuses on the core concepts that are vital for building a strong foundation. These concepts are pivotal for a correct and successful implementation of shared semantic models. Without a solid grasp of these basics, it can be challenging to navigate the complexities of advanced configurations or ensure secure and efficient use of semantic models within Microsoft Fabric.

I originally planned to cover this topic in one blog, but it turned out to be too much for a single post. Splitting it into two parts allows me to explain everything clearly without making it overwhelming. Here’s what the series covers:

By the end of this blog, you’ll understand the basics of managing and optimising secured access to shared semantic models in Microsoft Fabric.

If you prefer a video format, check out the tutorial on YouTube:

For those who enjoy reading the details, keep scrolling!

Requirements

Before diving into the implementation of shared semantic models in Microsoft Fabric, it’s important to understand the prerequisites. This process has specific licensing and role requirements, which are outlined below:

  • At least Power BI Pro license: This is the minimum required license because Workspace functionality is available only with a Pro or higher license. For large semantic models you will required Power BI Premium Per User (PPU) or a Fabric Capacity.
  • Microsoft Fabric Administrator role: Necessary for configuring semantic model discoverability in the Admin Portal.
  • At least Workspace Member role: Required to set permissions on the semantic models.
  • At least Workspace Contributor role: Needed to assign users and security groups to RLS (Row-Level Security) and/or OLS (Object-Level Security) roles.

Ensure that you have the proper licenses and roles assigned before starting the implementation to avoid any disruptions or limitations in managing shared semantic models.

Continue reading “Microsoft Fabric: Unlocking the Secrets to Mastering Shared Semantic Models – Part 1 – Core Concepts” →
Data Visualisation, Dataflows, DAX, Power BI, Power BI Desktop, Power BI Embedded Capacity, Power BI Governance, Power BI Paginated, Power BI Premium Capacity, Power BI Service, Power Query, Self-Service BI

Power BI 101, What Should I Learn?

This is the second part of my new series of Power BI posts named Power BI 101. In the previous post, I briefly discussed what Power BI is. In this post, I look into one of the most confusing parts for those who want to start learning Power BI. Many people jump straight online and look for Power BI training courses which there are plenty out there. But which one is the right training course for you? Let’s find out.

What do you want to gain from learning Power BI?

Regardless of attending paid training courses or being a self-learner, the above question is one of the most important questions you might ask yourself before going to the next steps. The answer to this question dictates the sort of training you must look for. Your answer to the preceding question can be one or none of the following:

  • I am a graduate/student looking at the job market
  • I am a business analyst and I want to know how Power BI can help you with my daily job
  • I am a database developer and I want to learn more about business intelligence and data and analytics space
  • I am a non-Microsoft Business Intelligence developer and I want to start learning more about Microsoft offerings
  • I am a system admin and I have to manage our Power BI tenant
  • I am a data scientist and I want to know how I can use Power BI
  • I am just ciourious to see what Power BI can do for me

As mentioned, your answer might not be any of the above, but, thinking about your reason(s) for learning Power BI can help you to find the best way to learn and use Power BI more efficiently. You can spend time and money taking some online courses and get even more confused. You don’t want that do you?

So, whatever reason(s) you have in mind to learn Power BI, most probably you fall into one of the following user categories:

Think about your goal(s) and what you want to achieve by learning Power BI then try to identify your user category. For instance, if you are a student thinking of joining an IT company as a data and analytics developer, then your user category is most probably a Power BI Developer or a Contributor.

To help you find out your user category let’s see what the above user categories mean.

Power BI Developers

The Power BI Developers are the beating hearts of any Power BI development project. Regardless of the project you will be involved with, you definitely require to have a certain level of knowledge of the following:

  • Data preparation/ETL processes
  • Data warehousing
  • Data modelling/Star schema
  • Data visualisation

To be a successful Power BI developer you must learn the following languages in Power BI:

  • Power Query
  • DAX

Depending on the types of projects you will be involved in, you may require to learn the following languages as well:

  • Microsoft Visual Basic (for Paginated Reports)
  • Python
  • R
  • T-SQL
  • PL/SQL

As a Power BI developer, you will write a lot of Power Query and DAX expressions. Most probably you require to learn T-SQL as well. The following resources can be pretty helpful:

Continue reading “Power BI 101, What Should I Learn?” →
Excel, Power BI, Power BI Publisher for Excel, Power BI Service

Analyse Power BI Data in Excel

A while ago I wrote a blog post about Power BI Publisher for Excel. Today I want to explain some new features added to the publisher. In this post you learn how to analyse Power BI data in Excel. Using the new Power BI Publisher for Excel, not only can we pin an Excel range or chart to a Power BI dashboard directly from Excel, but also we are now able to easily connect to a Power BI service, select any group workspaces and analyse a desired report or dataset.

Requirements

  • Desktop versions of Microsoft Excel 2007 and later
  • Download and install Power BI Publisher for Excel
  • Power BI Publisher for Excel add-in will be enabled by default after you install it, however, if you don’t see the “Power BI” tab in the ribbon in Excel you can enable it from File –> Options –> Add-ins –> COM Add-ins –> tick Microsoft Publisher for Excel.

Enable Power BI Publisher for Excel

Connect to and Analyse Power BI Data in Excel

Analyse Power BI Service Reports or Datasets in Excel (From Power BI Service)

Previously we could analyse Power BI data in Excel directly from Power BI service by:

  • Log in to Power BI Service
  • Clicking ellipsis button of a desired dataset and clicking “Analyse in Excel”

Analyse Power BI Data in Excel from Power BI Service

  • Clicking ellipsis button of a desired report and clicking “Analyse in Excel”

Analyse Power BI Reports in Excel from Power BI Service

  • Doing either way, it downloads an “odc” file that could be opened in Excel.

Analyse Power BI Data in Excel from Power BI Service Enable Data Connection

  • Now you can analyse the data in Excel using pivot tables and pivot charts.

Analyse Power BI Data in Excel

Continue reading “Analyse Power BI Data in Excel” →