Forum Discussion
Where does the excel file data go?
Hi,
We're new to Power BI, and when we got its non-free version we understood we could build a Dashboard with data from an Excel file, thinking that as it was a local excel file, the data would never leave our own servers, is this a correct assumption?
I have doubts now because as I'm reviewing the "guided learning" section, in the part of working with an Excel file it does ask if I want to upload it or import it...and both things sound the same to me, could somebody please explain the difference?
- is my data "going somewhere else other than my own server" when doing either one of these options? and if that is the case, is it going to the cloud?
- what if I need a dashboard with sensitive/confidential information? there's no way to keep it local? how could we do that?
The other part that made me concerned is that if we "Publish" the dashboard in order to share it, it'd be in the internet, so that sounds to me like anybody could access it, is this correct?
I'm sure most of you will understand our concern, we do want to exploit Power BI but we also want to know that our data is going to be accessed only by internal staff.
Thanks a lot in advance!
Brenda
12 Replies
We're new to Power BI, and when we got its non-free version we understood we could build a Dashboard with data from an Excel file, thinking that as it was a local excel file, the data would never leave our own servers, is this a correct assumption?
No. The file will be uploaded to Azure when you publish to the Service. The Power BI Service is a SaaS solution, and as such will store anything that you import into a desktop file or directly into the Service via the "Get Data" section. Full security white paper listed here will describe all actions, and level of security
I have doubts now because as I'm reviewing the "guided learning" section, in the part of working with an Excel file it does ask if I want to upload it or import it...and both things sound the same to me, could somebody please explain the difference?
Upload will load your Excel file, Import will pull the data into Power BI from the Excel file. Both methods are still pushing your data into the cloud.
- is my data "going somewhere else other than my own server" when doing either one of these options? and if that is the case, is it going to the cloud? Yes, Yes
- what if I need a dashboard with sensitive/confidential information? there's no way to keep it local? how could we do that?
There are a couple methods. One is Direct Query - which allows you to query a SQL database, either on Premises, or in Azure. The other is Live Connection - This allows you to directly query a SSAS instance (Tabular or Multidimensional)
Both these solutions will only query the data, all your data stays on your servers and is not pushed to the cloud.
The other part that made me concerned is that if we "Publish" the dashboard in order to share it, it'd be in the internet, so that sounds to me like anybody could access it, is this correct?
If you "Share" a dashboard, your end consumers will be authenticated via your Azure AD. You can share outside the company, but there are admin level settings to prevent that. Other features like "Publish to the Web" would expose your data, but that can also be restricted by admins, and isn't currently available for Direct Query/Live Connections.
The long and short is you need your data in a database or model in order to keep it on your servers using Power BI. Otherwise it will be pushed into Azure. I would read the security document to understand the current levels of security provided, or explore these other options if your data is not to be pushed to the cloud.
(side note) - When you work with the Power BI Desktop, all your data is in your servers. It is only when you push to the Service that imported data is sent to the cloud.
Thanks Anonymous,
So, from your side note:
"(side note) - When you work with the Power BI Desktop, all your data is in your servers. It is only when you push to the Service that imported data is sent to the cloud."
Does this mean that if I start working in Power BI Desktop, use the GetData option to see info from an Excel file, that data is still not in the cloud? if that's the case, I could create a Dashboard in Power BI Desktop, save it in a Internal Network Drive and have somebody else from the organization open it if I want to share it with that person?
If this could work, what would be for us the use of the non-free middle version? the one that doesn't support the on-premises databases...I'm sorry if I still don't get it, but the Power BI where I am signing in and the Power BI Desktop look so similar to me. If we need to handle mostly confidential information, we should only stay either in the free version or the on-premises version, would that be correct?
If the free version could work for us, if I update from time to time the Excel file to used, within the same Internal Network Drive, when somebody opens the Power BI Desktop to see the dashboard, it should open with the updated file, right?
Thanks a lot again!
Brenda
Does this mean that if I start working in Power BI Desktop, use the GetData option to see info from an Excel file, that data is still not in the cloud? Yes
if that's the case, I could create a Dashboard in Power BI Desktop, save it in a Internal Network Drive and have somebody else from the organization open it if I want to share it with that person? Yes/No - The Desktop only creates reports. Dashboards are created in the Service only.
The Desktop is free. The subscription is for using the Service
The Desktop is the download. It allows you to model and build reports.
The Service also has the same report building capability, and it is where you can build dashboards and share.
The problem with only using the desktop is that you can't build dashboards, and any file you share can be modified by an end user. It would be the equivalent of just passing around an Excel file. So you can't connect and use Mobile devices etc as those are only tied into the Service/Dashboards.
There is a complete on premises solution coming with SSRS 2016, where you will be able to load your Desktop files to an SSRS server, but I don't know all the details or restrictions yet. SQL 2016 will release June 1st, 2016. I know I'm throwing alot at you, but there are a bunch of different options.
Hi,
Thanks a lot for the information you provided however I also have the similar kind of problem statement and was hoping if you can help me out. In your reply you mentioned 2 ways to connect in case I don’t want to publish my data on cloud and you also mentioned you will do some more research for the same. Can you please let me know if you got any more information. The problem statement I have is that I don’t want to expose my data on cloud and wants to keep it on my own servers/database.
Thanks in advance for your help!
