Use Power BI Semantic Models for Your Golden Datasets to Make Your Job Easier

In this video, Nick Lee from Pragmatic Works dives deep into the concept of Power BI semantic models and explains how you can leverage them to create efficient and reusable datasets for your organization. A semantic model in Power BI serves as a "one version of the truth" for your data, helping to reduce maintenance efforts and simplify reporting processes.

What is a Power BI Semantic Model?

A semantic model, also known as a dataset or data model, is a way to centralize your data for consistency across reports. It holds key elements such as data tables, measures, relationships, and row-level security settings. By publishing a semantic model to the cloud, teams within your organization can access a shared, reliable data source for their reports.

Benefits of Using Semantic Models

• Centralized Data: Ensures all reports use the same data source for consistency.
• Reduced Maintenance: Only one dataset needs to be refreshed instead of refreshing multiple versions.
• Enhanced Security: Role-level security can be applied across the entire dataset.
• Cross-Workspace Usability: A single semantic model can be accessed by multiple workspaces, streamlining operations across different teams.

How to Publish a Semantic Model

1. Create your data model in Power BI Desktop by importing your data, creating relationships, and adding measures.
2. Go to File > Publish and select the workspace where you want to store your semantic model. Avoid using "My Workspace" as it limits sharing capabilities.
3. Once published, the dataset and the report will appear in the workspace, ready for use by others in your organization.

Connecting to a Semantic Model in a New Report

To use an existing semantic model in a new report, follow these steps:

1. Open a new Power BI report and select Get Data > Power BI Semantic Models.
2. Select the semantic model from your workspace. This will establish a live connection to the dataset, allowing you to build reports without importing data again.

Important Settings for Cross-Workspace Usability

If you want to use semantic models across different workspaces, you'll need to enable a specific setting in Power BI:

• Go to the Admin Portal > Workspace Settings.
• Enable the option to Use Semantic Models Across Workspaces.

Conclusion

Utilizing semantic models in Power BI is a highly efficient way to maintain consistency, reduce workload, and simplify self-service reporting. By centralizing your data, you ensure that your organization is always working with the same "golden dataset."

Don't forget to check out the Pragmatic Works' on-demand learning platform for more insightful content and training sessions on Power BI and other Microsoft applications. Be sure to subscribe to the Pragmatic Works YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on the latest tips and tricks.