Power BI Embedded: Process Explained

Power BI Embedded is more than a reporting tool. Do you know how it connects to the daily choice between making something in-house or buying it externally?

I will help you understand. To begin with, every business faces this decision at some point. Research shows that 57% of companies outsource at least one business process. In manufacturing, smart make-or-buy strategies can cut costs by nearly 15%. These decisions go beyond money. They influence efficiency, innovation, and long-term growth.

Think of software, spare parts, or even support services. Do you build them with internal teams, or do you source them from outside? Making the wrong decision can be extremely expensive. Studies reveal that poor sourcing choices cost U.S. companies billions each year. That is why visualization tools matter. With Power BI report builder, data becomes easier to understand. Complex cost models turn into visuals that leaders can act on with confidence.

Excel still plays a strong role in quick calculations. Yet many businesses now combine spreadsheets with smarter analytics. Power BI datasets can merge multiple data sources into a single view, making comparisons faster and more reliable. Numbers no longer sit in isolation. They form patterns that guide decisions.

Clarity drives strategy. A Power BI KPI dashboard can highlight whether producing in-house improves margins or if outsourcing frees valuable resources. When combined with Power BI Embedded, decision-makers gain real-time insights across teams. That is how a simple make-or-buy question transforms into a powerful advantage.

Let me take you through this concept…

What is Power BI Embedded?

Definition: Power BI Embedded is a Microsoft service that allows developers to integrate interactive reports and dashboards into their applications. It provides users with insights without leaving the app they are working in.

Businesses use Power BI Embedded to share data-driven stories with clients or teams. With Power BI Pro, organizations can collaborate and securely manage shared content. Developers can also connect multiple data sources and create a Power BI data model that supports real-time decision-making. Companies value the flexibility and scalability it offers.

Why Use Power BI Embedded Report?

Have you noticed how users expect insights to be simple, fast, and right where they work? A Power BI embedded report makes this possible by bringing analytics directly into your app or portal. Instead of moving between tools, teams see the data they need in the same space where they make decisions. Let us look at why using Power BI embedded reports can be a smart choice:

• Enhanced user experience: Users interact with live dashboards inside applications they already use. Reports load quickly and feel integrated, making data exploration a natural process.
• White-label analytics: Companies can present professional dashboards under their own branding. Clients see insights that look native, which builds trust and improves engagement.
• High security and governance: Reports follow strict Power BI best practices to control access. Sensitive information is protected while ensuring the right people see the right data.
• No individual licensing needed: Organizations save costs because users do not need separate Power BI licenses. Reports remain fully functional, and access is simplified for large groups.

When to Use Power BI Embedded?

Have you ever struggled to share insights with clients or teams without forcing them to leave your application? That is where Power BI Embedded shines. It integrates analytics directly into your software, making data an integral part of everyday workflows. With Power BI cloud, scaling and managing reports is effortless.

Here are four scenarios where using Power BI Embedded makes sense:

• Customer portals: Share interactive dashboards with clients inside your app. They get real-time insights without leaving the platform.
• Internal applications: Teams view key metrics and trends while using tools they are already familiar with. This enhances adoption and accelerates decision-making.
• SaaS products: Enhance your software with built-in analytics. Users benefit from data-driven features without needing separate BI tools.
• Deployment and testing. Integrate dashboards during development and use the Power BI deployment pipeline to manage updates. This ensures reports are consistent and accurate across environments.

How to Purchase Power BI Embedded?

Thinking about adding embedded analytics to your app? Buying Power BI Embedded is simpler than it sounds. You get dedicated capacity that keeps reports and dashboards running smoothly. This approach gives control, flexibility, and cost-efficiency, especially if you know your expected user load.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Sign in to your Azure Portal.
2. Create a new resource and select Power BI Embedded.
3. Pick a capacity SKU, from A1 to A6, based on your anticipated user load and report requirements.
4. Assign the capacity to a workspace in the Power BI Service.
5. Monitor usage regularly and adjust the capacity to ensure efficient processing.

Explaining Power BI Embedded Pricing

Power BI Embedded helps developers add Power BI reports and analytics directly into their applications. It lets you give users a branded, personalized experience without leaving your product. This can make your software more engaging and valuable.

The cost of using Power BI Embedded depends on the type and number of nodes you choose. Each node comes with different amounts of virtual cores and RAM, where pricing varies based on these combinations. This allows you to scale resources according to your needs and budget:

Node Type	Virtual Cores	Memory	Price
A1	1	3 GB RAM	$1.0081/hour
A2	2	5 GB RAM	$2.0081/hour
A3	4	10 GB RAM	$4.0242/hour
A4	8	25 GB RAM	$8.0565/hour
A5	16	50 GB RAM	$16.121/hour
A6	32	100 GB RAM	$32.2506/hour
A7	64	200 GB RAM	N/A
A8	128	400 GB RAM	N/A

What are Power BI Embedded Examples?

Ever wondered how businesses bring data to life inside their apps? Power BI Embedded examples demonstrate how analytics can be seamlessly integrated to provide users with real-time insights. These embedded solutions transform raw numbers into interactive visuals, enabling faster and smarter decision-making. Here are examples where Power BI Embedded shines:

• Customer dashboards: Deliver personalized dashboards inside your app. Users see metrics that matter to them without switching platforms.
• Retail analytics: Track sales, inventory, and trends in real time. Power BI advanced features help spot patterns that drive smarter merchandising.
• Healthcare reporting: Share patient data and operational metrics securely. Embedded analytics improves efficiency and supports better outcomes.
• Project management insights: Teams can visualize project progress, risks, and resources in one place. Power BI cross-filter direction ensures that data updates instantly across all visuals.

How to Create Power BI Embedded Analytics in Power BI?

Creating Power BI Embedded analytics is a step-by-step process that brings your reports and visuals directly into your applications. It involves designing the reports, setting up dedicated capacities, and integrating the visuals through Azure and Power BI services.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Build your report in Power BI Desktop.
2. Publish the report to a dedicated workspace in the Power BI service.
3. Link the workspace to an Azure Power BI Embedded capacity.
4. Generate an embed token using REST APIs.
5. Use the JavaScript SDK to integrate the report into your application.

While Power BI provides strong analytics embedding, combining it with ChartExpo can enhance your visuals further. ChartExpo is a no-code visualization tool that offers advanced chart types and creative designs not available natively in Power BI. It is ideal for embedded analytics where impactful, clear visuals make a difference. This combination ensures your users get insightful and visually compelling reports within your app.

Example

Consider we have the following data for a Multi Axis Line Chart. We want to visualize it and glean valuable insights from the visualization. Follow the steps below to make your data sing insights:

Month	Report Views	Load Time (s)	Azure Cost ($)
Jan	1,200	3.5	900
Feb	1,450	3.2	1,050
Mar	1,800	2.9	1,250
Apr	2,000	2.7	1,400
May	2,300	2.5	1,550
Jun	2,800	2.4	1,700
Jul	3,200	2.3	1,850
Aug	3,500	2.1	2,000
Sep	3,700	2	2,150
Oct	4,000	1.9	2,300
Nov	4,300	1.8	2,450
Dec	4,700	1.7	2,600

Power BI Login:

• Log in to Power BI.
• Enter your email. Click the “Submit” button.

• You are redirected to your Microsoft account.
• Enter your password and click “Sign in.”

• Choose whether to stay signed in.

• Once done, the Power BI home screen will open. First, you need to add data to your report and click on the “Paste data into a blank report”.

• Paste the data table above into a blank table, name it, and click on the “Load” button.

• To build a Multi Axis Line Chart, you will initially have to import an add-in or Power BI visual through App Source. You will find the Visualizations panel on the right side of your Power BI dashboard.
• Select “Get more Visuals”.

• Search ChartExpo and select the Multi Axis Line Chart.

• Click on the “Add” button.

• After that, you can select the “Multi Axis Line Chart” icon in the visualization panel.

• To add the Multi Axis Line Chart visual, click on the chart icon, and choose the dimension and measures:

• Open the Visualization properties and go to License Settings. Enter your ChartExpo key to remove the watermark and make your chart look excellent.

• Now, after applying the key, the watermark is removed from the chart. Our chart will look like the image shown below:

• If you notice in the chart, the months on the x-axis are not in the specific order as we have in our data. To make data in sorting order from Jan to Dec, follow the steps below:
• Create a new table.

• Enter data manually, name it, and click on the “Load” button.

• A new data table named “Sort Order” will be created. Moreover, a relationship will be established between this table and the main data table, as illustrated below.

• Open “Table View”, select the “Sort Order” table, select the “Month Column”, and set the sorting order column.

• Now that custom sorting is set up, we’ll use the “Month” column from the “Sort Order” table instead of the “Month” column from the “Power BI Embedded Monthly Metrics” table, as shown below.

• The chart should now display with the custom sorting order applied on the X-axis.

• Now, we will enhance the chart’s appearance. To do so, we can modify the chart’s title to better align with the visualized data.

• Next, we will sort the data columns:

• You can change the data representation as well:

• Adjust the axis orientation to better suit your report layout:

• Next, we will change legend properties to set the shape type: Column, Box, Line, and Circle.

• Adjust bar width and opacity from “Common Chart Properties”:

• Next, add the $ sign with Azure cost and expand “Y Axis Properties”:

• The final look of the Multi Axis Line Chart is shown below:

Key Insights

• Report views rose to 1,200 in January compared to 4,700 in December.
• Azure costs showed steady month-over-month growth.
• Higher traffic improved load time from 3.5 seconds to 1.7 seconds.
• Greater usage led to optimized infrastructure and better performance.
• Power BI Embedded delivered scalability, cost efficiency, and simplicity.

How to Use Power BI Embedded?

Delivering insights only matters if they reach the right person at the right moment. And that is the promise of Power BI Embedded analytics. It allows businesses to integrate reports directly into apps and control how users interact with data. With smart filtering and monitoring, every report becomes more meaningful.

Here are four ways to make the most of it:

1. Start by signing in through Azure AD or a Master User account. This ensures secure access for your users.
2. Apply row-level security so each person only sees data that is relevant to them. This improves trust and accuracy.
3. Use the SDK to set filters programmatically. With Power BI cross-filter direction, visuals stay aligned and respond instantly to user choices.
4. Track user behavior with the Power BI deployment pipeline and usage stats. This helps refine reports and optimize performance.

To keep everything smooth, always follow Power BI best practices. Limit visuals per page, use DAX efficiently, and compress models where possible. With these steps, you get faster reports and happier users.

Pros and Cons of Power BI Embedded

Power BI Embedded provides businesses with a way to integrate reports directly into their apps. It saves time, reduces friction, and makes insights part of daily workflows. But like any technology, it comes with both advantages and limitations.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

Pros

• Seamless integration: Reports created with the Power BI report builder can be embedded directly into applications, making analytics feel built-in.
• Scalable performance: With Power BI cloud, you can scale capacity to match user demand without losing performance.
• Smarter insights: Power BI datasets consolidate multiple sources, enabling users to explore trends and patterns in one place.
• Engaging dashboards: Embedding a Power BI KPI dashboard provides users with real-time visibility into performance metrics.

Cons

• Pricing complexity: Understanding Power BI embedded pricing can be tricky, especially when user loads fluctuate.
• Development effort: Setting up and maintaining embedded solutions requires technical skills and ongoing monitoring.
• Limited customization: While powerful, embedded reports may not offer the same level of design freedom as fully custom-built analytics tools.

FAQs

What is Power BI embedded used for?

Power BI Embedded is used to bring interactive reports and dashboards directly into applications. It allows users to access insights without leaving the app. Businesses use it for real-time analytics, personalized dashboards, and data-driven decision-making within their software.

Is Power BI embedded still available?

Yes, Power BI Embedded is still available. Microsoft continues to support and update it. Businesses can embed interactive reports and dashboards into their applications. It remains a popular choice for delivering analytics and real-time insights within software platforms.

Wrap Up

Power BI Embedded empowers businesses to deliver advanced analytics and interactive data visualizations directly within their applications and digital platforms.

By embedding insights where users already work, organizations can improve data accessibility, enhance user experience, and drive faster, more informed decision-making.

Its scalable architecture, secure access controls, and real-time data capabilities make it an ideal solution for companies looking to turn complex data into meaningful insights without adding friction for end users.

With Power BI Embedded, developers and businesses can fully customize the analytics experience to match their brand and user interface, ensuring seamless integration and consistent user engagement. It supports a wide range of data sources, making it easy to combine, visualize, and analyze data from multiple systems in one centralized view.

Additionally, Power BI Embedded reduces operational overhead by eliminating the need for individual Power BI licenses for each user. Companies can deliver powerful, interactive analytics at scale, providing actionable insights to employees, customers, or partners while maintaining full control over data security and governance. This makes it a cost-effective and efficient solution for any organization aiming to become truly data-driven.