Where do I save my data?

[darmstrong]

I am very new to Power BI so I apologise for an undoubtedly basic question but, where do I save the data I am using to generate reports/dashboards so select number of users can update the raw input data and others can easily view the end reports/dashboards just using a browser.

From my research into this there appears to be lots of ways to do this but in a slightly different way e.g. Sharepoint list, excel files in Sharepoint, One Drive, local server with access to premium capacity etc. I just want to define the best approach before I start to generate numerous reports for teams and realise I have used the wrong method. I am not up to speed with all the jargon so I would really love a basic, plain language answer for a complete noob like me! 😁

There are 2 scenarios here but I will start by confirming our setup. We use Office 365 (for business), I have Power BI Pro license and I have access to premium capacity. (I believe this is everything I need to make this happen!).

1st scenario, I would like to use spreadsheets to generate reports internally for the colleagues in my local office. Everyone should be able to see the reports but a couple of people should be able to update the spreadsheet(s) behind as things change. I want to use spreadsheets for the raw data so it is easy for others to update them.

2nd scenario, I would like to use spreadsheet/csv files but I must be able to share the reports with external clients. External clients don't need access to the input data but ideally local colleagues can.

The key issue in both scenarios is sharing reports/dashboards with users so they can be easily viewed/consumed e.g. through a web browser, and they don't need any additional software, licenses etc

Many thanks!

[v-piga-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @darmstrong ,

For your first scenario, if you want to share your report for your coworker in your organization, you could create an app workspace and add your coworker in the app workspace. Then they could have access to your content and edit them. 

For your scecond scenario, if you want to share the content to the external user, you could share the report or dashboard directly with Share button. Please check if you have the permission to share with external user firstly. You could check under Tenant settings.

In addition, we also could share the app with external user, the detail steps please refer to this document.

In addition, we could refresh the dataset in power bi service via data gateway if your data source is on-premise.

If your data source is online, you don't need to configure the data gateway.

If you still need help, feel free to ask.

Best Regards,

Cherry