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Row-Level Security in Power BI with Dynamics 365

Post Author: Joe D365 |

Power BI offers a suite of security features to help restrict data. One way to do this is with Row-level security. Row-level security (RLS) with the Power BI Desktop can be used to restrict data access for specific users, filtering data at the row level, and defining filters within roles.

In today's blog, we'll go over how to set-up this feature in Power BI and an example of how you can use it in Dynamics 365.

What you will need:

  • Power BI Desktop
  • Dynamics 365 Organization linked with Power BI Service

In this example, we're going to be using an Excel file composed of 10,000 fictional Orders, across multiple companies, located on the West and East Coasts. Our goal is to have a single Dashboard viewable within Dynamics 365 that displays the records appropriate per role.

Our starting point will be the image below, all orders put into a simple Orders Dashboard.

row-level security

Defining Roles within Power BI Desktop

1. Select the Modeling tab.

2. Select Manage Roles.

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3. Select Create.

4. Provide a name for the role.

5. Select the table to apply a DAX expression.

6. Enter the DAX expressions. This expression should return a true or false.

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7. Select Save.

Viewing a Role within Power BI Desktop

Once your role has been created, you can view the results of the role by executing the following steps:

1. From the Modeling tab, select View as Roles.

row-level security

2. The View as Roles dialog allows you to change the view of what you are seeing for that specific user or role.

row-level security

3. Select the role you created and then select OK to apply that role to what you are viewing. The reports will only render the data relevant for that role.

row-level security

Compared to the image we saw earlier; the difference is clear:

row-level security

We are now ready to assign the role to a new user.

Assigning Roles in Power BI

1. Navigate to the Power BI service.

2. Go to DATASETS and click on the ellipses to the right of the name.

3. Click on SECURITY.

row-level security

4. Enter the name of the user or group you want to apply Row-level security to.

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5. Click Add.

6. Click Save.

Now that we have a working Power BI Dashboard with Row-level Security applied, let's look at how it renders in Dynamics 365.

1. From the Dashboard, add a new Power BI Dashboard and select the Dashboard you published to the Power BI service.

Note: if you are not presented with the option to create a new Power BI dashboard within Dynamics, you may need to enable Power BI on the Reporting tab in System Settings.

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2. Share the Dashboard with any user or team who will need access.

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That's it! Maximizing the report in CRM as Power BI and CRM administrators, you'll be able to view the Dashboard with the entire data set.

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If you sign in as a Standard User and view the same Dashboard, we get different results from Row-level security in Power BI. From this screen, we can also leverage Power BI to dig into the data appropriate to their role.

row-level security

Row-level security in Power BI gives you the ability to restrict data at the row level based on true or false statements for users or groups. Leveraging the compatibility of Dynamics 365 with Power BI, we can use Row-level security to show users within CRM only the rows appropriate to their role.

You can achieve the same results by putting your data into CRM and using CRM Security Roles, however, here are a few reasons you might want to use this method instead:

  • Not wanting to store data in Dynamics 365 due to storage space or business decisions.
  • Needing to manage one Dashboard instead of multiple ones per user/ team within Power BI.
  • Business doesn't want to run an integration between the data warehouse and Dynamics 365.
  • Not wanting to modify existing security roles or business unit security in Dynamics 365.

In the situations above, Row-level security with Power BI offers us an option to present the clearest information with reduced administrative overhead to Dynamics 365 Administrators. To learn more about Power BI, check out our Power BI Showcase.

Happy D365'ing!

Joe CRM
By Joe D365
Joe D365 is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 superhero who runs on pure Dynamics adrenaline. As the face of PowerObjects, Joe D365’s mission is to reveal innovative ways to use Dynamics 365 and bring the application to more businesses and organizations around the world.

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