Distributing Power BI Content Securely Using Apps

PL-900 By islever Editorial Last updated

Describe Power Apps capabilities and use cases

Short answer

B Publish a Power BI app to bundle and securely distribute curated dashboards and reports to specific audience groups.

Question

You create a set of dashboards and reports for a project team that combines data from different sources in Power BI. Some of the data is considered sensitive.
You need to distribute the dashboards and reports securely to the team.
What should you create?
  1. a custom data connector
  2. a published app Correct Answer
  3. a Microsoft flow
  4. a Power BI workspace

Key Takeaways

Apps are for distribution and consumption; workspaces are for collaboration and authoring. Confusing the two leads to incorrect governance choices.

Learn how to securely distribute Power BI dashboards and reports using published apps to restrict access and hide underlying data.

Common mistake: Option D (Workspace): Users often select a workspace because it handles permissions, but workspaces grant collaborative access to edit and view underlying data, rather than secure, read-only distribution of packaged content.

Expert Analysis

The scenario requires distributing a set of dashboards and reports to a project team while maintaining security for sensitive data. In the Power BI service, the mechanism designed specifically for bundling and distributing curated content is the Power BI app.

While a workspace (Option D) serves as the collaborative environment where content is developed and managed, it is not the distribution endpoint itself. Workspaces define roles (Admin, Member, Contributor, Viewer) that control who can edit or manage the workspace. Distributing via a workspace would grant users access to the underlying datasets and potentially allow them to modify content, which violates the requirement to securely distribute static dashboards and reports without exposing the raw data or editing capabilities. As noted in community discussions, workspaces are for creation and collaboration, whereas apps are for consumption and distribution.

A custom data connector (Option A) is a development tool used to import data from external sources into Power Query; it does not facilitate content distribution. A Microsoft flow (Option B, now Power Automate) is an automation tool for workflows and processes, unrelated to the delivery of analytical reports.

Publishing an app allows you to bundle specific reports, dashboards, and datasets from your workspace and publish them to specific audience groups. The app consumer view hides the underlying data model and development tools, ensuring that users can only interact with the visualizations as intended. This aligns perfectly with the need to share insights securely with a team without exposing sensitive backend structures.

Official Reference

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-create-distribute-apps

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Exam Strategy

When a question asks about 'distributing' or 'sharing' finished content to a broad or specific audience, look for 'App'. When it asks about 'collaborating', 'editing', or 'managing' development assets, look for 'Workspace'. Always distinguish between the authoring environment (Workspace) and the consumption interface (App).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a Power BI Workspace and an App?

A workspace is a collaborative area where creators build and manage reports, datasets, and dashboards. An app is a bundled, curated collection of content published from a workspace, designed for consumers to view without accessing the underlying data or editing tools.

Can I control who sees my Power BI App?

Yes. When publishing an app, you can assign it to specific security groups or users within your organization. This ensures that only authorized individuals can access the distributed content.

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Community Votes

B
70%
A
7%
D
23%

70% of anonymous learners picked answer B. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 76 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 30 of 76

  1. Silnt 👍 39
    I just passed today 2/2023 with a 900, and I can say with 100 certainty that the correct answer is D, Workspace. The reason I can say that is because "Publish an app" wasn't even one of the available answers to choose.
  2. ZVV 👍 31
    >> If the dashboard is part of a set of dashboards and reports that you need to distribute to many colleagues, then publishing an app is likely the best choice.
  3. DAGiessenburg 👍 19
    Its a published app, but from a Power BI workspace https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-create-the-new-workspaces#distribute-an-app
  4. saado9 👍 13
    Wrong. Because its sensitive you must not give workspace access, just published app
  5. RahulKate 👍 10
    D) Create a new Workspace - In question its clearly mentioned that, some of data is sensitive and distribute the dashboards and reports securely to the project team (coworkers). Workspaces provide roles that determine what permissions your coworkers have. Use those roles to determine who can manage the workspace, edit or distribute content, or just view content. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-how-to-collaborate-distribute-dashboards-reports
Show 25 more comments
  1. puja3113 👍 9
    I would go with D because its only for internal team. You would create an published app for larger audience within your org.
  2. cgrumy 👍 8
    B is more correct than D, you need to create a workspace and then publish the app. in other words if you are able to publish the app the workspace should exist already. However if you select workspace there is still a step missing in achieving the end goal. make sense?
  3. DSM_LM 👍 7
    Q states that dashboard and reports should be "distributed". A workspace is for collaboration - which is not needed in this case. B is correct
  4. danialonso 👍 6
    The correct answer is D, ...because Power BI Workspace allows you to have control of who can access and what at all times, with granular security for each user, and since there is some sensitive data here, it would only be possible with Power BI Workspace
  5. test11101 👍 6
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-create-distribute-apps
  6. OiradOmixam 👍 5
    I believe that the option is correct. By following the provided link and reading carefully the question we can see in the page of the link the following statement: "If the report is better consumed with related reports or dashboards that you need to distribute to many colleagues, then publishing an app is likely the best choice.". It is true that almost all page is about workspace, but I would stick with B. a published app
  7. powerMaster 👍 5
    B is correct: "If the dashboard is part of a set of dashboards and reports that you need to distribute to many colleagues, then publishing an app is likely the best choice." Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-how-to-collaborate-distribute-dashboards-reports#embed-reports-in-secure-portals-or-public-web-sites
  8. svm_Terran 👍 5
    D. power BI workspace - In simple terms, a Power BI workspace is a place where you can work with your team in creating dashboards and reports. Before Power BI rolled out the new workspace, creating a workspace would automatically create an underlying, associated Office 365 group.
  9. PM2 👍 5
    B for sure If the dashboard is "part of a set of dashboards and reports" that you need to distribute to many colleagues, then "publishing an app" is likely the best choice.
  10. COMMON_MAN_SRI 👍 5 Answered B
    CORRECT
  11. ReddyBev 👍 4
    Agree - If you want to distribute official content to a large audience in your organization, you can publish an app from your workspace.
  12. kimalto452 👍 4
    You need to distribute the dashboards and reports securely to the team.>>>> workspace
  13. intentando 👍 3 Answered B
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-create-distribute-apps When the content in your workspace is ready, you can start the publishing process. You decide how many different audience groups you need. Then you choose which content you want to publish to each audience. You can create up to ten audience groups in one app.
  14. BethSantosBr 👍 3
    Distribute an app - If you want to distribute official content to a large audience within your organization, you can publish an app from your workspace. When the content is ready, you choose which dashboards and reports you want to publish, and then publish it as an app. You can create one app from each workspace.
  15. svm_Terran 👍 3
    Ans. is D. Distribute insights in an app Say you want to distribute your dashboard to a broad audience in your organization. You and your coworkers have created a workspace, then created and refined dashboards, reports, and datasets in the workspace.
  16. d365developer 👍 3
    Even if you publish the app the first step will be to create a workspace, so i'll go with D, (a power BI workspace). Reference: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-share-dashboards
  17. kty 👍 3 Answered B
    To distribute dashboards and reports securely to your project team that combines data from different sources in Power BI, you should create a published app
  18. d365developer 👍 3
    the question is asking what will you do to distribute the dashboards and reports, so B is correct (published app). (Please Ignore my previous answer)
  19. cattylau 👍 3
    an App is used for sharing content. a Workspace is used mainly for collaborating on content. so answer is Publish App
  20. Shradz93 👍 3
    just for sensitive data keyword my answer will be D workspace
  21. webcreator 👍 2 Answered B
    The correct answer is B. a published app. In Power BI, you can create a published app to distribute dashboards and reports securely. A published app is a collection of dashboards, reports, and datasets in Power BI that are bundled together and published to Power BI service or Power BI Report Server, where colleagues can consume it. You can specify permissions to restrict access, making it a secure way to share sensitive data. Please note that while a Power BI workspace (option D) is also a collaborative space where you can work with your colleagues to create collections of dashboards and reports, it doesn’t inherently provide the same level of secure distribution as a published app. Options A and C are not directly related to secure distribution of dashboards and reports.
  22. dciferit 👍 2 Answered D
    D. a Power BI Workspace Explanation: A Power BI workspace is a collaborative environment where you can securely work with your colleagues on dashboards and reports. You can control access to the workspace, ensuring that only authorized team members can view or edit the sensitive data. Workspaces allow you to group related reports and dashboards together and manage permissions at a granular level, which is crucial for handling sensitive data.
  23. EdrisKazemi 👍 2 Answered B
    B. a published app. This option allows you to securely distribute the dashboards and reports to the team by creating a Power BI app and publishing it to the team members. You can also set up access controls and permissions for the app, ensuring that only authorized team members can view and interact with the sensitive data.
  24. DSM_LM 👍 2
    B is correct: "you can create workspaces, places to collaborate with colleagues ... Then you can bundle the collection together into apps that you can distribute to your whole organization or to specific people or groups." https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-create-workspaces
  25. RanaW 👍 2
    B. a published app. If the report is better consumed with related reports or dashboards that you need to distribute to many colleagues, then publishing an app is likely the best choice. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-how-to-collaborate-distribute-dashboards-reports

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