Centralized Dataflow Management with Controlled Access in Power BI

[hnereson12]

I would like a way to centrally manage all my dataflows in a single Premium workspace and link them to other Premium workspaces without granting users access to the source workspace.

Currently, the only way to allow users to consume these dataflows is by adding them to the master workspace, which defeats the purpose of access controls. Ideally, workspace admins should be able to link dataflows across Premium workspaces without exposing the entire source.

This would improve governance, security, and ease of maintenance by ensuring:

• A single entry point for each table in dataflows.

• Users only see what they need, not the full master workspace.

• Easier updates, since all dataflows are in one place rather than scattered across multiple workspaces.

Is there any planned enhancement for this, or a workaround that doesn't require duplicating dataflows?

Thanks!

[v-nmadadi-msft]

Hi @hnereson12 ,
We are following up once again regarding your query. Could you please confirm whether you have raised ideas forum with Microsoft?

If the issue has been resolved, we kindly request you to share the resolution or key insights here to help others in the community. If we don’t hear back, we’ll go ahead and close this thread.

Should you need further assistance in the future, we encourage you to reach out via the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum and create a new thread. We’ll be happy to help.

Thank you for your understanding and participation.

[v-nmadadi-msft]

Hi @hnereson12 ,
These are the currently available workarounds to your issue, if the fail to meet your requirement then I would suggest to share a suggestion in ideas forum with the specific feature that you require Fabric Ideas - Microsoft Fabric Community, where the product team actively monitors user feedback. Ideas with strong community support are more likely to be considered for future implementation. Posting there helps ensure your request reaches the right audience and contributes to shaping the product roadmap.

Thank you

[v-nmadadi-msft]

Hi @hnereson12,

As we haven’t heard back from you, we wanted to kindly follow up to check if the solution provided by the community members for the issue worked. If our response addressed, please mark it as Accept as solution and click Yes if you found it helpful.

Thanks and regards

[hnereson12]

Still no one has actually provided a solution. It seems like there is no solution to this that meets my requirements... Is there a valid solution in Fabric F64 license?

[v-nmadadi-msft]

Hi @hnereson12,

We really appreciate your efforts and for letting us know the update on the issue.

I’ll continue exploring alternative solutions in the meantime feel free to keep using the Fabric Community Forum for additional support and guidance.

Thank you

[v-nmadadi-msft]

Hi @hnereson12,

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If our responses has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.

Thank you.

[hnereson12]

The previous responses encouraged me to look into the Fabric offerings. It does look like there is a lot more functionality within Fabric. I still do not fully know if I can give users access to linked dataflows (gen1 or gen2) in their own workspaces without giving them access to my master workspace. ie. I only want them to have access to tables 1 & 3 in DF1 and tables 2 in DF2. But they need to have access to the actual tables to build new reports.

[v-nmadadi-msft]

Hi @hnereson12,
In Dataflow Gen1, you can create dataflows that link to specific tables from other dataflows. By creating a new dataflow in the user's workspace and linking only the required tables from your original dataflow, you can control access to specific data. However, be aware that users must need access to the original dataflow's workspace for this method to function correctly, which could pose a challenge in your scenario. ​
source for the above point: Link tables between dataflows - Power Query | Microsoft Learn

If you find this post helpful, please mark it as an "Accept as Solution" and consider giving a KUDOS. Feel free to reach out if you need further assistance.
Thanks and Regards

[v-nmadadi-msft]

Hi @hnereson12,

May I ask if you have resolved this issue? If so, please mark the helpful reply and accept it as the solution. This will be helpful for other community members who have similar problems to solve it faster.

Thank you.

[hnereson12]

@lbendlin Yes DF Gen 1! And we are getting Fabric in a couple months. Is this an option in Fabric or another solution?

And yes, sorry "single source of truth" was a poor choice of words since the actual source of truth lives outside of Power BI service. I am trying to avoid multiple versions of the same table living in various workspaces. This is a data quality nightmare. I have users who build reports from various parts of the business and only need access to specific dataflows.

[lbendlin]

Buckle up, it will be quite a ride.  Read up on the differences between DF Gen1 and DF Gen2, and read about the medallion architecture that Microsoft would like you to use (doesn't mean you have to but it is worth knowing about).

[lbendlin]

Are these DF Gen1 ?  How much are you willing to consider Fabric ?  

A dataflow is not suitable to be a single source of truth, it's more akin to the bronze layer in a data lake or data warehouse.