Anaylize in Excel and Premium Capacity Resources issues

[Khristian]

Hi every one, does some of you have faced this kind of problem? Tips and advices are welcome

1.- I have a workspace in premium capacity share with almost 5 contrys.

2.- The 70% of the users of my reports use Analyze in Excel Tool.

3.- Global PBI Admins has reported that Analyze in Excel is not recommended because impact the capacity in Cu (s).

4.- Why users in pro license does not have that issue in others workspaces.

5.- Why Analyze in Excel impact the capacity premium.

6.- If the decision is block powerbi in Analyze in Excel whats is the path for explote semantic models acordding with individual neccesites? powerbi service, desktop could impact the capacity premium?

Some suggestions?

[rajendraongole1 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Khristian -  Please find the below answers:

1. Why does Analyze in Excel impact Power BI Premium capacity?
When users utilize Analyze in Excel to connect to a dataset in Power BI, each Excel connection generates direct live queries to the Power BI service. This querying behaves similarly to Power BI visuals but can generate high query volumes, especially if users are refreshing data or performing complex analyses in Excel. This can increase load on the Power BI Premium capacity (measured in Capacity Units or CU), impacting performance for other users or workloads within the same Premium workspace.

2. Why don’t Pro users in non-Premium workspaces experience this issue?
In non-Premium workspaces, datasets are not tied to a dedicated Premium capacity but are instead hosted on Microsoft’s shared resources, which distribute the load across multiple users and servers. With Power BI Premium, you’re effectively reserving dedicated resources for the workspace, so all queries—Analyze in Excel or otherwise—consume capacity from that allocation. If usage is high, it can lead to performance bottlenecks.

3. Alternatives to Analyze in Excel in Power BI Premium
If blocking Analyze in Excel is necessary due to capacity constraints, here are some alternatives for users to still access and analyze data from Power BI:

Power BI Service: Encourage users to perform analysis directly in the Power BI service by using reports and dashboards. They can use filters, bookmarks, and custom visuals for detailed analysis, which distributes the load more efficiently on the Premium capacity.

Power BI Desktop: Users can import the dataset directly into Power BI Desktop for detailed analysis. While it requires some setup, it allows them to work with the semantic model offline and reduces the load on Premium capacity. They would need to refresh manually or schedule regular data imports.

Paginated Reports: For users who need more detailed or custom reports, Paginated Reports (supported in Premium) offer another approach. Paginated Reports can access the same data models and are more efficient for large exports or detailed reporting scenarios, as they run in a different query environment.

4. Suggestions for managing Analyze in Excel usage
If fully blocking Analyze in Excel isn’t feasible, here are some strategies to help manage its impact on Premium capacity:

Educate Users: Inform users about the impact of Analyze in Excel on capacity. Encourage them to limit refresh frequency and only refresh data in Excel when absolutely necessary.

Capacity Monitoring: Use Power BI’s capacity metrics app to monitor CU usage, especially during peak times. This can help identify specific users or datasets that cause the most load and allow you to provide targeted guidance or adjustments.

Dedicated Capacity for High-Impact Workloads: If certain countries or departments have high usage, consider creating a dedicated capacity for their workspaces. This will prevent other users from being affected by their workload.

Consider Hybrid Architecture: For large, complex data models, consider a hybrid architecture where Power BI Premium handles reports and dashboards, while Azure Analysis Services or SSAS handles intensive querying (such as through Analyze in Excel).