Power BI for operational purpose

[andi2333]

Hi all,

I understand that Power BI is a tool which is built for aggregating, transforming and visualizing data. 

However, what are the limitations of using Power BI as a kind of a database administration tool to alter master and transactional data? I am not even sure if this is possible, hence asking this question openly in this forum.

Thanks 

[andi2333]

Thanks @johnt75 , I was assuming the same. However, would you also be able to take me to the actual constraints which you see?

I would like to give you a practical example what we would like to do (on a high level):

1. we would load a range of product information (on article level) into PowerBI

2. on article level, we would then want to decide on a physical DC where this article should be stored. This should be selected from a dropdown (e.g. Germany Distribution Center, US Distribution center, etc.).

3. The selected information should be stored and exported to other systems.

Hope this makes the case a bit clearer.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi @andi2333,

Firstly, Power BI is not a database, it is a data visualization and analysis tool. It could connect to different data source but it is read only application. We couldn't change the data source by Power BI.

May I ask if you are trying to filter the data after connecting to it via Power BI and then distribute the filtered result data to other users.

As far as I know, you can try to create a table visual, then use slicer or filter to filter your table visual, and finally EXPORT the result and distribute it to other users. This is the more primitive method.

For reference: Export data from a Power BI visualization - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Or you can try RLS in Power BI. Row-level security (RLS) with Power BI can be used to restrict data access for given users. 

Row-level security (RLS) with Power BI - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

Row-level security (RLS) guidance in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Best Regards,
Rico Zhou

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[johnt75]

I think you would need to embed a Power App within a Power Report, and have that app store the data in some sort of backend, either Excel, Sharepoint or a proper database. There are videos out there about setting that sort of thing up.

[johnt75]

No, that's not possible using Power BI.