getting started -Signing Up

[LourensW]

Hi guys & gals

I'm new to PowerBI so please excuse my ignorance.

To get started & learn PowerBI can I download, create and publish reports on my name, not my companies name? This will be for me to learn and find out limitations and then to see if I implement it in my company, before going to the managers saying please buy Office 365 or add me to it if you already have it 🙂

If I need to register it to a company email - this means that the company needs Office 365 and I need to be allowed to use PowerBi in there subscriptions, is this correct?

I've read about Tenants - will the Tenants for the company be created and set-up when you first configure Office 365, then you add Power BI as a subscription and a PowerbI Tenant is created alongside the Office 365 Tenant?

I apologise for the multiple questions, I just need to get my facts right before proposing this to the business. I also need to know what is required at a management level as well.

I've watched videos and read blogs on how to create dashboards and am excited to get started, I just need to know what is needed to get it installed and able to publish for demos etc.

Thanks for your help
Lourens

[GilbertQ · Accepted solution]

Hi there,

We are all here to help. And when the first person signs up for Power BI via a Company email address, what it does in the background is it creates an Office 365 tenant (which you will not have to pay for), as well as an Azure Active Directory. If you company is already using for example Exchange Online this would have already been created.

You do not require to have Office 365 to use Power BI or sign up.

Once everything has been configured (All automated by Office 365) you will then be able to start using Power BI. There will also be an option to configure a Global Admin for the Office 365 Admin center, where you will be able to administer user settings and some basic Office 365 settings. They do provide details on how to get this completed.

I hope that this answers some of your initial questions?

[LourensW]

Thanks for your response Guavaq,

So yes, you have confirmed that you do need a company email address but you dont need Office 365.

Its a shame that we cannot play with it using our personal Microsoft account!

Thanks again for your input