Access & Connect to Your EBM Power BI Workspace – EBM Software

Catalyst uses an EBM-managed Power BI semantic model so your dashboards stay aligned with cube refreshes and row-level security. You’ll build in Power BI Desktop, publish to the EBM workspace, and (optionally) embed in Catalyst.

✅ You need a Power BI Pro or PPU license to publish or share to a workspace (unless your content is in a Premium capacity).

Before building Power BI dashboards with Catalyst data, you need proper access to your EBM workspace and the right tools installed. This guide walks through the prerequisites, access verification, and connection steps.

Prerequisites Checklist

Requirement	Details	Action
Power BI License	Power BI Pro or Premium Per User	Check at app.powerbi.com/account or start a 60-day trial
Power BI Desktop	Latest version from Microsoft Store	Download here
EBM Workspace Invitation	Email invitation from EBM via Microsoft Entra	Request access, accept invitation, and confirm access
Microsoft 365 Account	Work or school account (same as Catalyst login)	Ensure you know your credentials

Note for End Users: Viewers of embedded dashboards in Catalyst do not need Power BI licenses—only report creators do.

Understanding Your Data Access

Your Catalyst data flows through a controlled pipeline that ensures security and consistency:

Critical: Always connect to the EBM-managed semantic model, not directly to the data lake or AAS cubes. This ensures:

Consistent naming and structures
Automatic security inheritance
Synchronized refresh schedules
Catalyst permission alignment

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│       Data Ingestion            │
│        (ERP/Manual)             │
└────────────────┬────────────────┘
                 │
                 ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│      Azure Data Lake            │
│       (Standardized)            │
└────────────────┬────────────────┘
                 │
                 ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│         AAS Cubes               │
│      (In-app/Excel)             │
└────────────────┬────────────────┘
                 │
                 ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│      EBM Semantic Model         │
│         (Power BI)              │  ← You connect here
└────────────────┬────────────────┘
                 │
                 ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│       Your Reports              │
│      & Dashboards               │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

Installing Power BI Desktop

Download from the Microsoft Store
Install and launch the application
Click Profile icon → Sign in
Select Sign-in options
Choose Sign in to an organization
Enter ebmsoftware.com when prompted
Sign in with your Microsoft 365 work credentials
If prompted to "Sign in to all apps, websites, and services on this device," select No, this app only.
Verify you can access Home → Get Data → Power BI Datasets

💡 Tip: Keep Power BI Desktop updated regularly. Outdated versions are the most common cause of authentication issues.

Finding Your EBM Workspace

Your organization has a dedicated workspace under the EBM tenant. The workspace name follows this pattern:

EBM [Your Organization Name]

Method 1: Power BI Service (Web) — For Quick Verification

Steps:

Navigate to app.powerbi.com
Sign in with your work account
Click Workspaces in the left navigation
Scroll to the bottom
Expand From External Orgs
Locate your workspace (e.g., EBM Software – Acme Corp)
Click to open—you'll see tabs for Reports, Dashboards, and Semantic Models

Best for:

Confirming access is active
Viewing published reports
Verifying dataset visibility
Quick report testing

If workspace doesn't appear:

Verify you're signed in with the invited account
Clear browser cache and retry
Try creating a temporary report to force registration
Contact EBM Support to confirm invitation status

Method 2: Power BI Desktop — For Report Development

Steps:

Open Power BI Desktop
Click Profile icon → Sign in
Select Sign in to an organization
Enter ebmsoftware.com
Sign in with your work credentials
Select No, if prompted to "Sign in to all apps..."
Go to Home → Get Data → Power BI Datasets
Search for your organization's semantic model
Click Connect—fields appear in the Fields pane

Best for:

Building new reports
Editing existing reports
Testing visualizations
Publishing to workspace

Authentication Notes:

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

Connecting to Catalyst Datasets

Once you've verified workspace access, connect to your data:

Connection Process

In Power BI Desktop: Home → Get Data → Power BI Datasets
Locate your EBM-published dataset (e.g., "Acme – Financials (EBM)")
Click Connect
The Fields pane populates with available tables and measures
Expand dimensions to explore (Company, Customer, Item, Period, Scenario, etc.)

Connection Mode

Your dataset uses a shared live connection managed by EBM:

No data gateway configuration needed
No manual refresh schedule required
Data automatically aligns with Catalyst updates
Security rules inherit from Catalyst

⚠️ Do Not: Connect directly to the data lake or AAS cubes. Using the EBM semantic model ensures your reports stay synchronized and secure.

Verification Checklist

Before proceeding to report building, confirm:

☐ Power BI Desktop is installed and updated
☐ You can sign into Power BI Service at app.powerbi.com
☐ Your EBM workspace appears under "From External Orgs"
☐ You can access Power BI Datasets in Desktop
☐ Your organization's semantic model is visible
☐ You can successfully connect to the dataset
☐ Fields populate in the Fields pane

Common Access Issues

"Workspace Not Found"

Solutions:

Ensure you accepted the EBM invitation email
Log out completely and sign back in
Verify you're using the correct work account
Check that you're looking under "From External Orgs"
Contact EBM Support to re-issue invitation

"Dataset Won't Connect"