Real-Time Intelligence: Fabric Capacity is mandatory and more expensive than our current solution?

[ceciliacdn]

It has been announced that:
"Creation of streaming models remains enabled until October 31st, 2027. After that date, the creation of new real-time semantic models will no longer be supported , including push semantic models, streaming semantic models, PubNub streaming semantic models, and streaming data tiles."

With the retirement of the real-time streaming feature, Fabric Real-Time Intelligence functionalities will replace it using Eventstream and Eventhouse to utilize real-time data. This change requires us to upgrade to a Fabric capacity.

Current Solution

Currently, we are using Power BI Pro licenses along with real-time streaming models to create Power BI reports, real-time dashboards, and share content with other Pro users. This includes:

• Power BI Dashboards: Tiles connected to real-time streaming datasets have continuous auto-refresh/real-time updates without the need for manual refreshes.
• Power BI Reports in the Service: These reports have a minimum auto page refresh interval of 5 minutes, or users must manually click "refresh" to see the latest data.

Since this solution is distributed to approximately 50 users, the pricing model based on the cost of Pro licenses per user has been beneficial. However, I anticipate that transitioning to Fabric capacity will likely increase costs.

Replacement: Fabric Real-time Intelligence

After testing the Fabric Trial Capacity, it appears there are two options for achieving real-time data visualizations with continuous auto-refresh (no manual refresh required):

• Using Power BI Reports with auto page-refresh set to one-second intervals or change detection.
• Leveraging Fabric's Real-Time Dashboards.

I have identified the following downgrades/limitations with the transition:

1. Power BI Dashboards: These will no longer provide live updates unless Power BI Reports are configured with auto page refresh set to one-second intervals or change detection. Compared to the Pro solution, which has a 5-minute refresh limit, this represents an upgrade; however, it comes at an additional cost with the Fabric capacity. Furthermore, I am unable to test this functionality with a Fabric Trial capacity.

2. Fabric Real-Time Dashboards: While Fabric's Real-Time Dashboards (based on KQL queries) support continuous real-time refresh, they have significant limitations:

   • These dashboards cannot be added as content in the Workspace App.
   • Currently, the only way to share them is through an Org App, which is still in preview.
   • The Org App cannot be accessed via the mobile or tablet app.
   • Additionally, the customization options are limited and not as visually apealing.
3. Cost Increase: Transitioning to Fabric capacity is mandatory and more expensive than our current solution, which is based solely on Pro licenses per user.

HELP - I have a some questions I am trying to clarify 😊

• When we transition to a full Fabric Capacity, will the settings allow us to change the auto page refresh interval to 1 second?
• From what I understand, users will no longer need Pro licenses, as Fabric capacity would enable sharing content with free users. However, it seems Fabric capacity itself would be more expensive. Is that correct?
• If that is the case, is upgrading to Fabric Capacity and Real-time Intelligence the only way to continue using real-time features with Power BI?
• How does the pricing of Fabric Capacity compare to Premium Capacity and using only Pro licenses? Is there a way to limit the Fabric capacity cost to be similar to the Pro license per user model, since we are only dealing with 30-50 users?

___________________________________________________________

Backbround 

Current Lineage View - Real-time streaming dataset to Live PowerBI Dashboard and only using Pro users to share content:

New Lineage View - Fabric Real-time Intelligence with PowerBI: From Eventstream -> EventHouse -> KQL Database. Fabric capacity is required. 

Example of a Fabrics Real-Time Dashboard:

Fabric Real-time Dashboards (just a quick note—not a pretty example) currently lack options for customizing the appearance of tables, titles, cards etc. AND cannot be added to a Power BI App, only available to be added to Fabric's Org App - which cannot be accessed from a tables/phone app:

Links:
Announcing the retirement of real-time streaming in Power BI | Microsoft Power BI Blog | Microsoft P...

Real-time streaming in Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn (Retired solution)
Create a Real-Time Dashboard - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn (New Real-time Intelligence functionality within Fabric)

[v-ssriganesh]

Hi @ceciliacdn 

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.

[ceciliacdn]

Hi @v-ssriganesh,

Thank you for your input and suggestions—they were helpful. I have accepted your response as the solution.

As you suggested, I will consult with a Microsoft representative to explore potential solutions. If I am able to resolve the cost-related issue, I will update this post with the details, which I hope will assist other community members as well.

[v-ssriganesh · Accepted solution]

Hi @ceciliacdn, 
Thank you for reaching out with your query to the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

Your detailed inquiry regarding the transition to Fabric Real-Time Intelligence and the related changes in licensing and functionality, here are the steps to address your concerns:

• With full Fabric Capacity, you can set the auto page refresh interval to 1 second, improving from the 5-minute minimum in Power BI Pro. Detailed information on managing Fabric capacity and auto page refresh settings is available in the official Microsoft documentation: Manage your Fabric capacity - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn
• Licensing Model With Fabric Capacity, users don't need Power BI Pro licenses to access shared content. However, Fabric Capacity is more expensive than the current Pro license model. This may result in higher overall costs. For more details on Microsoft Fabric concepts and licenses, refer to the documentation: Microsoft Fabric concepts - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn
• To continue using real-time features with Power BI after the current streaming models are retired, upgrading to Fabric Capacity and Real-Time Intelligence is necessary. For more information, visit the Real-Time hub documentation: Real-Time hub in Microsoft Fabric documentation - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn
• Fabric Capacity pricing is generally higher than Premium Capacity for 30-50 users. It doesn't align with the Pro license model due to different pricing structures. Consider speaking with a Microsoft representative for potential options or discounts. For pricing details, check here: Microsoft Fabric - Pricing | Microsoft Azure

If this helps, then please Accept it as a solution and dropping a "Kudos" so other members can find it more easily.
Thank you.

[ceciliacdn]

Hi again @v-ssriganesh ,

I have an additional question that I hope you might be able to answer:

Is the limitation preventing me from testing the auto page refresh setting at 1 second due to the Trial capacity?

[GilbertQ]

Hi @ceciliacdn 

What you could potentially do is to output the data from your event stream to a lakehouse and then connect a power BI directlake to the lake house files, which would then show and use as previously done.

[ceciliacdn]

Hi @GilbertQ 

Thank you for your suggestion. I’ve identified my real issue. We only have the Fabric Trial capacity, and I’m not sure if I am a Capacity Admin. The issue may be that the 'auto page refresh' setting cannot be changed to 1 second while we are only using a Trial - and therefore I am not able to test it.

Based on that information, I have now updated my post. Do you have any new thoughts on it?

Kind regards,
Cecilia

[GilbertQ]

Hi @ceciliacdn 

You should chat to your Capacity Admin as you can lower the setting to 5 seconds as far as I am aware?

[ceciliacdn]

Hi @GilbertQ 

Thank you. I will try reaching out to a Capacity Admin. However, if the limitation is due to the trial capacity, I will contact a Microsoft representative to explore the possibility of testing the solution.