In this article, we will walk you through the process of setting up a service principal for PowerBI in Microsoft Azure, and connecting it to OptiSigns.
- Creating an Entra App in Microsoft Azure
- Enable PowerBI Service Admin Settings
- Authenticating OptiSigns via Service Principal
- Getting PowerBI onto a Screen
Using a PowerBI service principal with app registration is a preferred option for companies with strict information security rules that don't want to use individual user accounts for PowerBI integration.
This reduces headaches in situations when:
- There is a position or permission change of a user and authentication needs to be performed again by a different user.
- A prolonged authentication token period cannot be set for individual users, and you will need to reauthorize and refresh the token every couple of months.
Using a PowerBI service principal, the authentication tokens are associated with a registered app instead of a user. This allows you to set a longer validity time for the authentication token and avoids more frequent re-authorization. Using service principal with App registration for Power BI integration is supported well with OptiSigns.
| NOTE: This feature is only available to customers on an Enterprise plan. |
Create an Entra App in Microsoft Azure
An Entra app will be responsible for handling identity and access management for your service principal. In order to create one, you’ll need to login to Microsoft Azure with a viable Microsoft account.
Once at the Azure portal, search for “app registrations,” then select App Registrations from the list that appears:
Create a New Registration.
On this screen, type a name for the app, then leave the other settings as default. These can be changed or altered at any time.
Once done, hit Register.
Enable PowerBI Service Admin Settings
Follow this link to the PowerBI Admin Portal.
Once there, click Tenant Settings. Then, scroll down to Developer Settings.
Enable the Embed Content in Apps Settings, as below:
In this example, we’ve set this embed to apply permissions to the entire organization. However, you can restrict access to specific security groups based on your needs. These security settings can be changed as per your requirements.
Next, Enable Service Principals can Use Fabrics API, as below:
Like before, we’ve applied this step to the entire organization. Just like the last step, you can restrict access to specific security groups based on your needs.
Add the Service Principal to a Workspace
Now we need to assign service principal access to the workspaces you want to show in your PowerBI reports.
In the admin portal, click Workspaces. You’ll want to go to the workspace you want to assign service principal access to. Click the workspace, then hit Access.
Add the service principal you created in the last step as a member of the workspace.
Authenticating OptiSigns via Service Principal
In order to authenticate your PowerBI on OptiSigns via service principal, you’ll need four pieces of information:
- Name of the service principal
- Application (client) ID
- Directory (tenant) ID
- Application (client) secret
Since we’ve already created an Entra app in Azure, we already have access to the first three pieces of information. These can be found under App Registrations back in Azure.
In this example, the values have been blurred, but on your Azure portal, these should be visible.
The only piece of information you won’t have is the client secret. To get that, click Manage → Certificates & Secrets → Client Secrets → New Client Secret
Next, set the Description and Expiry, then click Add.
The Value present is the last piece of information you need.
Now, head into the OptiSigns app. Click your Profile name → More → Integrations.
A screen like the one below will appear. Click Add Azure Service Principal.
When the popup appears, collect the information mentioned above from Microsoft Azure and input it into OptiSigns. The values match up like this:
Once all the information is input correctly, hit Save. Now your Service Principal is saved to the OptiSigns portal.
Getting PowerBI onto a Screen
Now we’ll need to configure your PowerBI asset in OptiSigns for use with your screens.
In the OptiSigns portal, go to Files/Assets → Apps → PowerBI
Check Use Service Principal and select the service principal you set up in the last step, or whichever service principal you want to use.
Finally, input the URL of whatever report you want to share. Name the app whatever you like, then hit Preview to view your report.
Hit Save, then this PowerBI app will exist as an asset. It can be pushed to any of your screens individually, scheduled, or added to a Playlist.
That’s all!
If you have any additional questions, concerns or any feedback about OptiSigns, feel free to reach out to our support team at support@optisigns.com.