Training and Community Support
We provide foundational resources to help users get started with Power BI and Microsoft Fabric, including:
- Introductory role-based training materials, in Workday Learning (coming soon)
- Community of Practice sessions
- Governance guidance and best practices
- General platform support and consultation
- Performance benchmarking (coming soon)
The Community of Practice is the primary forum for sharing knowledge, asking questions, and learning from peers across the University.
Additional free training and learning resources are also available through Microsoft Learn, including role-based learning paths, tutorials, and hands-on Power BI training: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/powerplatform/power-bi
Gateway Connections and Data Access
Requests for new gateway connections, data integrations, or specialized refresh configurations are reviewed on a case-by-case basis due to varying technical requirements.
To discuss a new connection or data access need, please contact the DA team directly. For questions or concerns with existing connections, check the Azure status page first: https://azure.status.microsoft/en-us/status and then contact DA Staff if there is no known outage.
Licensing
Power BI and Fabric licensing requirements vary by role.
- Viewers generally do not require a Pro license when content is published within supported Fabric capacities, and appropriate permissions are granted.
- Builders, developers, and content creators require an appropriate Power BI Pro license.
Users interested in obtaining a license should submit a request through the University's software and licensing process. See https://isc.upenn.edu/documentation/brokered-products-portfolio for more information and work with your LSP.
Power BI Workspaces at Penn
Penn supports two types of Power BI workspaces: Pro and Fabric. Understanding the distinction between them helps set expectations for how Power BI content is hosted, licensed, and supported at the University.
Pro Workspaces
A Pro workspace is the default workspace type for Power BI at Penn. Pro workspaces are well-suited for individual developers and analysts, small teams, department-specific reporting, and sandbox or experimental development.
Pro workspaces are a good fit when the content:
- Serves a limited or departmental audience
- Uses small to medium semantic models
- Operates on standard refresh schedules
- Has minimal performance or scalability requirements
- Is not broadly shared across schools, centers, or administrative units
Users accessing Pro workspaces must have an assigned Power BI Pro license. Workspaces should remain in Pro unless there is a demonstrated technical, business, or institutional need that aligns with the University's objectives for Fabric usage.
Fabric Workspaces
A Fabric workspace is a Power BI workspace assigned to the University's Microsoft Fabric capacity. Fabric provides enhanced performance, scalability, and sharing capabilities beyond what is available in a standard Pro workspace.
Fabric capacity is a shared enterprise resource and is allocated where it provides measurable value — it is not the default path for all Power BI content.
Fabric workspaces are appropriate for content that involves:
- Large or complex semantic models
- Frequent data refreshes or high user concurrency
- Large report audiences
- Executive, institutional, or compliance reporting
- Cross-functional or enterprise-wide reporting solutions
- Performance or scalability requirements that exceed Pro capabilities
Workspace Migration
The Power BI Support Team proactively reviews workspace inventory, usage metrics, and capacity data to identify workspaces that are strong candidates for migration to Fabric. Migration is not automatic, and Fabric capacity is allocated based on demonstrated need aligned with the University's Fabric objectives.
*Additional guidance on the migration process will be published here as our support model continues to mature.*
Support Boundaries
The DA team focuses on platform enablement, governance, training, licensing, and shared data assets.
The following services are not currently offered:
- Dashboard or report development for departments
- Custom report design services
- Dedicated application development
Departments seeking report development assistance are encouraged to leverage internal resources or participate in the Community of Practice for guidance and peer support.
