CLIENT
Large Multinational Corporation
INDUSTRY
Manufacturing
Cost-Effective Approach to Power BI Report Distribution at Scale
Challenge
The client, a CSR focused organization needed a way to show meaningful, interactive analytics in their organizational platforms, while ensuring:
Restricting each partner's view to their own data
Avoiding Microsoft Logins or Power BI accounts for external users
Maintaining cost-effectiveness while scaling to hundreds of users
Supporting future scaling across different portals and growing users
Solution
Dunboxed implemented Power BI Embedded using the "App Owns Data" model with Service Principal authentication. This approach generates secure embed tokens that integrate seamlessly with the client's existing authentication system, enabling automated report embedding without per-user licensing costs.
Key Features of the Solution
Backend Authentication
Created a service principal mechanism to support report viewing through a third party authentication mode bypassing the requirement for seperate Power BI Accounts or Azure Active Directory Tokens for individual customers
Utilized the Power BI Rest API's to generate embed URL's based on the third party user authentication
Frontend Integration
Integrated Power BI reports directly into the web application's dashboard using Power BI Client Library, ensuring users could view insights without leaving the platform
Enabled full interactivity for reports including filters, page navigation- providing a native app-like analytical experience
Implemented persistent session based token caching, allowing users to stay logged in and preserving context throughout their usage
Role-Based Report Access
Implemented Row-Level Security (RLS) via Power BI URL Filtering, leveraging the authenticated username from the login token to dynamically display user-specific report data
Results
The deployment of the service principal brought significant improvements to the firm & operational management and decision-making processes
Scaling in Budget
Architected a scalable solution tailored for multi-tenant environments, enabling seamless report access across multiple partner organizations or clients
Leveraged Power BI Embedded F SKU capacities to embed analytics in a cost-effective, pay-as-you-go model
Avoided fixed licensing overheads by dynamically managing capacity based on actual usage, making the platform both flexible and affordable
Enhanced User Experience
The seamless integration eliminated the need for users to navigate between multiple systems, allowing community coordinators to access all relevant analytics directly within their familiar portal interface
Embedded dashboards with automatic authentication increased user adoption by 60%, with field workers actively using data insights for daily decision-making
Seamless Customer-Facing Reporting
With Service Principal authentication, the organization achieved scalable report access without per-user licensing costs, providing personalized dashboards to hundreds of community coordinators and field workers across multiple regions
The embedded solution eliminated expensive Power BI Pro licenses for external users, resulting in 70% cost savings compared to traditional licensing models while maintaining full functionality
Improved Program Monitoring
The embedded dashboards provided real-time visibility into community program performance across rural locations, enabling field teams to access up-to-date metrics on program participation, resource utilization, and impact measurements
Conclusion
By implementing Power BI embedding with Service Principal authentication, Dunboxed enabled the organization to deliver reports directly to their users while maintaining cost-effectiveness and security. The Service Principal approach was specifically chosen to address the challenge of scaling Power BI access cost-effectively, eliminating per-user licensing costs for hundreds of users while ensuring secure, personalized data access. This solution not only transformed how the organization shares critical insights but also established a scalable foundation for expanding reporting capabilities across their applications. Dunboxed's Power BI Embedding implementation empowered the client to maximize their budget while delivering powerful data-driven tools that enhance their operational efficiency and decision-making processes.
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