Forum Discussion
Advocate IIPower BI Template Licence Protected
Hello,
I want to sell my .pbix desktop file to multiple company. Is there any way to protected by licence or something to protected my property?
In other words, If another one wants to use my file, They MUST have a licence from me?
Any suggestion please?
Thanks
Mostafa
13 Replies
- Baskar
Resident Rockstar
Power BI Desktop is totally free version . I think u know that very well.
so we can't security for that dude . sorry.
i suggest u go with live connection, the reason is without the source conection no one can access your data right ?
That is the security we have in Desktop upto my little knowledge .
- tringuyenminh92
Memorable Member
Hi Baskar,
I got your point, but his intention is commercialization his layout/desgining of reports. I'm thinking this idea is possible in custom visual perspective cause i know Narratives Science company that they are selling one custom control in MS Azure Marketplace MS Azure Marketplace
MrPowerBIProplease check this approach by build up custom visual instead of content pack or you could create idea to request this feature for content pack.
v-sihou-msftMicrosoft Employee
For commercialization of your design, you may consider build it into solution template. For more details, please see: Accelerate Power BI deployments with solution templates.
For any questions related to Power BI Solution, you can post it on its community: https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Power-BI-Solution-Templates/Welcome-to-the-Power-BI-solution-template-community/td-p/35627
Regards,
- BhaveshPatel
Super User
Unfortunatly not.
- v-sihou-msft
It's not supported to secure offline .pbix file. It can be accessed by any user.
Regards,
- PBIdashboards
Post Patron
One practical option if you want to monetize PBIX templates without building your own licensing layer: flexaintel...com has a creator program where you upload the template, they handle distribution and payment, you keep 80% revenue. Useful if you've already built industry-specific templates and just need a marketplace. Otherwise, the standard approach for protection is using DirectQuery to a live data source you control — buyers get the layout but not the data.
- DataTako
Resolver IV
Hi Mostafa,
Hard truth first: you can't protect a raw .pbix. Once someone has the file, they've got your whole model, your DAX, the lot, and there's no license that locks that down. So the answer isn't protecting the file, it's not giving them the file. You sell access, not the pbix.
The way that actually gives you "they need a license from me" is embedding, app-owns-data. You host the report in your own tenant and capacity, and each customer logs into a portal to see it. They never get the file, and you control the switch: they pay, they're in; they stop, you cut them off. That's the model you're describing. The other option is a template app through Partner Center, but there they run it in their own tenant on their own licenses, so you don't hold the tap the same way.
The honest bit on embedding: normally you build the plumbing yourself, a capacity, embed tokens, and tenant isolation so customer A never sees customer B. If you're technical, the powerbi-client SDK gets you there. There are managed products that do it out of the box (DataTako's one), but for a solo seller with a few customers that's probably more than you need right now, so I'd start by rolling a small embed yourself and only pay for a product once the infra becomes the actual headache. And put a proper contract/EULA around it either way, that's your real legal protection.
So: don't sell the file, sell embedded access, start DIY, upgrade later if it grows.
Paco
Helping data analytics leaders distribute their reports
