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Complete Guide to Power BI for Catalyst

Tom S
Updated

This comprehensive guide covers the complete Power BI integration workflow with Catalyst—from understanding data architecture to building, publishing, and embedding interactive dashboards. While this article provides end-to-end coverage, each major section is also available as a standalone guide for quick reference. Use this as your primary resource for understanding the full integration process, then bookmark the individual articles for day-to-day tasks.

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Overview

Catalyst integrates with Microsoft Power BI to deliver interactive dashboards built directly on your Catalyst data. This guide explains every step—from understanding how data flows through Catalyst to accessing workspaces, connecting datasets, building and publishing reports, and embedding them inside your Catalyst site.

About This Guide

This is a comprehensive tutorial covering the entire Power BI integration process. Each major section below is also available as a standalone article for quick reference:

Understanding the Data Lifecycle

Catalyst manages your data from ingestion to visualization through four tightly controlled stages. Understanding this flow helps you know where Power BI reports fit within the ecosystem.

The Four Stages

Stage What Happens Technology
1. Data Ingestion Data enters via ERP integrations or manual uploads, then standardized and stored Microsoft Azure Data Lake
2. Analytical Models Data organized into tabular models (cubes) for analysis Azure Analysis Services (AAS)
3. Power BI Semantic Model EBM-managed dataset that mirrors Catalyst cubes for Power BI Power BI Semantic Model
4. Visualization Reports built on semantic model, published and embedded in Catalyst Power BI Service + Catalyst

Why the EBM Semantic Model Matters

⚠️ Critical: Always Connect to the EBM Semantic Model

The EBM-published semantic model ensures:

  • Consistent structures and naming conventions
  • Automatic alignment with Catalyst security
  • Synchronized data refreshes
  • Prebuilt measures and hierarchies

Never connect directly to the data lake or AAS. Always use the EBM-managed dataset for your Power BI reports.

Summary: Excel and in-app Catalyst use AAS cubes. Power BI dashboards use the EBM-published semantic model that references those cubes and automatically inherits Catalyst permissions and row-level security.

💡
KNOWLEDGE CHECK

When building Power BI reports, what should you connect to?

Two Approaches: EBM-Built vs. Self-Built Reports

You can choose between having EBM build your reports or building them yourself. Both approaches use the same underlying data model and security framework.

🧩 EBM-Built Reports

What to Expect

  • Collaborative planning to define goals and visuals
  • EBM builds, formats, publishes, and embeds dashboards
  • Dashboards appear directly in your Catalyst site

Advantages

  • Professionally designed and fully supported by EBM
  • No technical setup required on your end
  • Automatically aligned with Catalyst data refreshes

Considerations

  • All changes must be requested through EBM Support
  • Less flexibility for quick iterations
  • Ideal if you want reliable, hands-off dashboards

🛠️ Self-Built Reports

What to Expect

  • EBM grants workspace and dataset access
  • You build in Power BI Desktop and publish to EBM workspace
  • You embed the finished report in Catalyst

Advantages

  • Full creative control over visuals, filters, and layout
  • Faster iteration on updates or new dashboards
  • Learn Power BI skills for future projects

Considerations

  • Limited EBM support for Power BI design or DAX
  • You're responsible for maintaining your reports
  • Requires Power BI Pro license and time investment

💡 Tip: Even if you plan to build your own reports, notify EBM Support first. We'll verify that your workspace and dataset access are active before you begin.

🎯
SCENARIO

Your finance team needs a new profitability dashboard. They want it done right, but don't have Power BI experience. What approach would you recommend?

Choose the option that best fits this scenario:

Getting Started: Access and Licensing

Before building reports, ensure your prerequisites are in place.

1. Power BI License

User Type Required License Purpose
Report Creators Power BI Pro (or Premium Per User) Build, edit, and publish reports
End Users (Viewers) No license required View embedded reports in Catalyst

To check your license:

  1. Go to app.powerbi.com/account
  2. View your account type under "License type"
  3. If needed, start a free 60-day Pro trial

2. Install Power BI Desktop

  1. Download from the Microsoft Store
  2. Install and sign in with your Microsoft 365 work account (same as Catalyst)
  3. Keep Power BI Desktop updated—outdated versions cause authentication issues
  4. Confirm you can access Home → Get Data → Power BI Datasets

⚠️ Common Mistake: Using an outdated Power BI Desktop version. Always update to the latest version before troubleshooting connection issues.

3. EBM Workspace Access

Each client has a dedicated EBM Power BI workspace under the EBM tenant. Access is granted through Microsoft Entra External ID (Azure AD B2B).

You'll find your workspace under:

Workspaces → From External Orgs → EBM [Your Organization Name]

If your workspace doesn't appear:

  1. Check your email for the EBM invitation and accept it
  2. Sign out and back into Power BI with your work account
  3. Try accessing from both Power BI Service (web) and Desktop
  4. Contact EBM Support to confirm access was granted
🔍
MYTH BUSTER

"Everyone who views Power BI reports in Catalyst needs a Power BI Pro license."

Accessing Your EBM Power BI Workspace

There are two ways to access your workspace: Power BI Service (web) for viewing and verification, or Power BI Desktop (app) for building and publishing reports.

Option 1: Power BI Service (Web)

Best for: Confirming access, viewing published reports, verifying dataset visibility, making simple filter edits

Steps to Access

  1. Go to app.powerbi.com
  2. Sign in with your work account (same one used for Catalyst)
  3. Click Workspaces in the left navigation
  4. Scroll to the bottom and expand From External Orgs
  5. Locate your workspace (e.g., "EBM Software – Acme Corp")
  6. Click to open—you'll see tabs for Reports, Dashboards, and Semantic Models

Option 2: Power BI Desktop (Application)

Best for: Building new reports, editing existing reports, testing before publishing

Steps to Connect

  1. Open Power BI Desktop
  2. Click your profile icon → Sign in → Sign in to an organization
  3. Enter ebmsoftware.com when prompted
  4. Sign in with your Microsoft work credentials
  5. If prompted to "Sign in to all apps, websites, and services on this device," select No, this app only
  6. Go to Home → Get Data → Power BI Datasets
  7. Search for your organization's semantic model (e.g., "Acme – Financials (EBM)")
  8. Click Connect—dataset fields appear in the Fields pane

Authentication Notes

  • Always choose Microsoft Account when prompted
  • If multiple accounts exist, select the one linked to Catalyst
  • After connecting, your EBM workspace appears under Workspaces → From External Orgs

Important: After entering your credentials, if prompted to "Sign in to all apps...", choose No. This keeps authentication scoped to Power BI and avoids potential conflicts with cross-tenant access to the EBM workspace.

Building Reports in Power BI

With your dataset connected, you can start building reports. This section covers the fundamentals—for detailed Power BI tutorials, use Microsoft's Power BI Learn Portal.

⚠️ EBM Support Scope: EBM can verify dataset health or refresh frequency but does not provide Power BI design support, DAX assistance, or visual customization guidance. Use Microsoft's resources for design help.

Best Practices

✅ Do This

  • Use prebuilt measures from the dataset
  • Limit to 5-8 visuals per page for performance
  • Apply default filters (e.g., current year only)
  • Use consistent naming for pages and visuals
  • Save frequently to avoid losing work
  • Test with realistic data volumes

❌ Avoid This

  • Creating redundant calculated columns or measures
  • Overly complex DAX without necessity
  • Too many visuals on one page
  • Generic names like "Page 1" or "Visual 2"
  • Ignoring performance warnings
  • Publishing without testing first

Managing Access and Security

Catalyst automatically applies your internal permissions and hierarchy-based security to embedded Power BI dashboards. You control access through two layers:

1. Navigation Access (Menu Visibility)

Controls who can see the visualization in Catalyst's menu.

  1. Go to Administration → User Groups
  2. Select the group that should have access
  3. Click Navigation Access tab
  4. Check the box for your visualization
  5. Click Save

2. Row-Level Security (Data Visibility)

Controls what data each user sees within the report.

  1. Enable Security on Hierarchies: Go to Administration → Manage Hierarchies and enable Security checkbox
  2. Create Security Groups: Go to Administration → User Groups and create groups for each security level
  3. Add Users to Groups: Assign users to appropriate groups based on their data access needs
  4. Refresh Cubes: After configuring security, refresh Catalyst cubes to apply changes

Testing Security: Use Catalyst's Impersonate User feature to preview exactly what a specific user will see. This verifies your security settings work correctly before rolling out to users.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Workspace Not Visible

  • Verify sign-in account matches EBM invitation
  • Check "From External Orgs" section under Workspaces
  • Clear browser cache and sign back in
  • Accept invitation email if not already done
  • Contact EBM Support to verify access

Authentication Loops

  • Sign out completely from Power BI Desktop and Service
  • Clear cached credentials: File → Options → Data Source Settings → Clear all
  • Use only one Microsoft account at a time
  • Update Power BI Desktop to latest version
  • Try InPrivate/Incognito mode to isolate browser issues

Dataset Not Refreshing

  • Verify Catalyst data refresh completed (check System Status page)
  • Confirm EBM semantic model refreshed (check timestamp in Power BI Service)
  • Don't add your own refresh schedule—EBM manages this
  • Contact EBM Support if misaligned

Getting Help

When to Contact EBM Support

Contact EBM Support for:

  • Workspace access issues or missing invitations
  • Dataset availability or connection problems
  • Data refresh delays or failures
  • Security configuration verification
  • Embedding reports in Catalyst
  • Hierarchy change coordination

Use Microsoft Resources For

Visit Microsoft Power BI Learn Portal for:

  • Power BI design and layout guidance
  • DAX formula help and examples
  • Visual customization techniques
  • Advanced Power BI features
  • General Power BI troubleshooting

📧 Submitting an Effective Support Request

When contacting EBM Support, include:

  • Your organization name and workspace name
  • Report name and when issue started
  • Specific error messages (screenshots helpful)
  • Steps already tried
  • Which users affected
  • Whether issue occurs in Desktop, Service, or Catalyst
🧠

Check Your Understanding

Quick recap of the key concepts from this guide

1 of 3

Where do you find your EBM Power BI workspace?

Power BI integration brings your Catalyst data to life, uniting governed enterprise data with customizable analytics. Whether your reports are EBM-built or self-built, the same data model and security apply — ensuring your insights remain accurate, secure, and always in sync with Catalyst. Start simple, validate early, and when in doubt, loop in EBM Support to ensure your workspace and dataset remain aligned.

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