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Use Power BI data from different regions in your Power Apps solution

Headshot of article author Maya Movshovitz

Earlier this year, we made it easy to manage Power BI components inside a Power App solution and to embed Power BI reports inside apps. We did this so that users would be able to explore their data and uncover insights in the apps they were already working on. 

One condition of the earlier release was that in order for solution operations to succeed, both the Power Apps environment and the Power BI workspaces it’s integrating with had to be in the same geographic region. But in today’s increasingly globalized world, you’ve no doubt felt the need to use this integration also in cases where you manage Power BI and Power Apps in two different regions. 

Today we’re excited to announce that we’ve now made it possible to use the capabilities of the Power App Solutions/Power BI integration even when the Power Apps environment and the Power BI workspaces it’s integrating with are located in different geographic regions. 

So how do you enable cross-geo operations, and when is this relevant to you?  

This Power Apps Solutions/Power BI integration is controlled by two admin feature switches – one in the Power Platform admin center and the other in the Power BI admin portal. Both switches are enabled by default. Both switches must be enabled to allow cross-geo operation. 

Working with Power Apps solutions, you can add Power BI report and dataset components from Power BI workspaces to a solution. If the report or the dataset you selected to add to your solution is in a different geography than the environment you are trying to move it to, it is called a cross-geo operation. Another example is when the dedicated target environment workspace (that was created automatically while adding the first Power BI component to the solution), is not located in the same geography as the Power Apps environment. 

In both above cases, instead of blocking the operation as before, now an informational message will appear that notifies you that you are performing a cross-geo operation and lets you know exactly between which geographic regions the report and dataset data will be moved. Then, if you choose to continue, you can add the Power BI component to your solution just like any other. 

 

You’re notified when you select to add Power BI items from a different region than your environment

Note that while this feature opens up the possibility of using Power BI in Power Apps solutions, even if your environments and workspaces are located in different geographic regions, it always informs you about the possibility of report and dataset data movement. Try creating Power BI components from any environment to see the feature in action 

 

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