Is there a way for instant refresh of PBI report?

[pthapa]

Hello all,

I have a qeustion came up from the client. Is there a way in Power BI service that when a user gets to the workspace (report), the data is refreshed instantly ?
Normally in SSRS reports, when user opens the report; the report will refresh at the same time however not sure if we can have similar experience in Power BI service.

Besides the user going into the semantic model and clicking on the 'Refresh now' button; is there an alternate/better way to do it. Clicking on the refresh now button is not always user friendly for all users.

Any guideance or tips would be helpful.

Thanks,

pthapa

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hello,GilbertQ ,thanks for your concern about this issue.

Your answer is excellent!
And I would like to share some additional solutions below.

Hi,@pthapa .I am glad to help you.

I am glad to help you.
According to your description, you want to achieve near real-time refresh of reports on Power BI Service.
I think Power BI RestAPI as well as Power Automate are good options.
You can try to use both together to create an automated process that triggers dataset refreshes at regular intervals to ensure that report data is updated in a timely manner. Implement an automated refresh process,, without the need for human manual clicks.

Even though I'm not very good with APIs, I found the following relevant information, which I hope you find helpful.
URL:
Enhanced refresh with the Power BI REST API - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Datasets - Update Refresh Schedule - REST API (Power BI Power BI REST APIs) | Microsoft Learn
Refresh Power BI semantic model with Data workflows - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn
How to Refresh Power BI Dataset Using Power Automate (process.st)
 

GilbertQ suggested using Direct Lake mode can also achieve similar effects of real-time refresh. direct lake mode allows Power BI to load data directly from the data lake, greatly improving the efficiency of data loading!

You can choose the appropriate way according to your actual situation, I hope my suggestion is helpful to you.

I hope my suggestions give you good ideas, if you have any more questions, please clarify in a follow-up reply.

Best Regards,

Carson Jian,

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

[pthapa]

Hello @GilbertQ 
Appreciate for sharing such helpful tips, I would look forward to utilize these features and excited to learn all these  in the coming days.

Thanks again for your time.

pthapa

[GilbertQ]

Hi @pthapa 

You could use at looking direct like within Microsoft Fabric, which will allow the user to always see the latest version of the underlying data in the power BI report.

Learn about Direct Lake in Power BI and Microsoft Fabric - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn