Is Power BI Desktop only for enterprise users?

  • I realize that this forum isn't for Power BI. I couldn't find a forum that is.

    So, here goes. I just updated Power BI on my laptop, where I've used it just to experiment occasionally. When I got into it, the first thing it did I want me to register, giving my company name, number of people at my company, etc. So, is Power BI only for enterprise developers? Can't a user use Power BI on their own, learning how to use it, etc. Perhaps doing some moonlighting work?

    Rod

  • My understanding is that Power BI Desktop is a free application that can be installed locally for use. However this cannot be used collaboratively, for that you need the Power BI Service and everyone that connects needs to be licenced.
    It is possible however to share a .pbix file with others to use, with the caveat that either they connect to their own data source, the report contains publicly available data (my most frequently used report collects data from the Premier League table) or if it is to be a sample report, contains anonymised data.
    I will admit to some trepidation as to how it complies with GDPR and  how data can be fully protected.
    HTH

    ...

  • That is a common "error" for must users of Power BI.
    Although it asks you initially to sign on, you can close that window as you do not need to sign-in to their service to use PBi Desktop.

    In terms of licensing.
    According to their terms those that publish the .pbix to their Power Bi server (Cloud) or to Power BI Report Server (on-prems or Cloud VM) do need to have a monthly license for Power BI Pro (around 10 Euro pm).
    If you use a Server option above the "consumers" of the presentation do not need to be licensed individually.
    Note that having SQL Server Enterprise with SA give you a license to use Power BI Report Server on-prem without additional costs.

    Using Power BI Desktop licensing terms are others - https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/desktop-eula/">Using Power BI Desktop licensing terms are others - https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/desktop-eula/
    Other than the above you can create any presentation you wish and send the file to others. Recipients in this case are required to have Power BI Desktop also - having a fully paid license will also cover this.

  • HappyGeek - Sunday, March 3, 2019 11:48 PM

    My understanding is that Power BI Desktop is a free application that can be installed locally for use. However this cannot be used collaboratively, for that you need the Power BI Service and everyone that connects needs to be licenced.
    It is possible however to share a .pbix file with others to use, with the caveat that either they connect to their own data source, the report contains publicly available data (my most frequently used report collects data from the Premier League table) or if it is to be a sample report, contains anonymised data.
    I will admit to some trepidation as to how it complies with GDPR and  how data can be fully protected.
    HTH

    Thank you for your reply. I wasn't sure how to handle it. When it popped up, asking me to fill everything in, there didn't appear to be any way to close that dialog box, i.e.: there was no Close button on the dialog box. I went through the process of trying to kill Power BI, and somehow during that process the dialog box went away. Not what I call a good way for someone to play around with Power BI to learn it.

    Rod

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