Microsoft says the following regarding Power BI Embedded for internal use.
"Power BI Embedded is only intended for external use and may not be used within internal business applications. In order to embed Power BI content for use in internal business applications, you should use the Power BI service, and all users consuming that content must have a valid Power BI Free or Power BI Pro user subscription license." Quote Found here: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/power-bi-embedded/
In the Power BI governance white paper the difference between the "Hybrid Implementation: Custom Application Integration" method and the "Hybrid Implementation: Public Website" option is that the former has a "Custom Application" that lives "on-premises" and with the later the application is moved to "cloud services" and re-titled "public website".
I think a "public website" is a website accessible from the internet. But it does not preclude requiring authentication. So if I go with public website but only allow authenticated individuals to view reports can I then use Power BI Embedded?
How is an internal application defined vs an external application by MS?
Is the distinction technical (web accesssible vs not accessible from web(intranet)) or is the distinction business/spirit driven (i.e If it is meant primarily to be used by individuals within the organization then it must be considered an internal application even if publicly accessible)?
I hope the answer is: If it is accessible from the internet power BI Embedded can be used even if the app is meant to only allow access to our corporate users.
For internal apps I must have a pro license and lose the ability to embed reports in an app that are interactive. Users must click through and be redirected to power bi services.
I am not trying to get around paying for pro user licenses. I am instead interested in having the technical/design freedom to render in the browser a branded app with other content available along side the power BI content that refreshes in browser. The URL must be our domain. It does not matter to me (yet) whether the app lives in azure or on premises. But if putting it in Azure makes it external and gives me Embedded I will do that. The redirect to Power BI Service is not the controlled experience we are looking for.
If I make the app available on the internet and require authentication against Azure AD can I use Power BI Embedded?
Other than a slightly elevated security concern (Azure uses ssl by default) what is wrong with deploying a Power BI dashboard meant for corporate users to a web app, authenticating against AD and having the Power BI embedded experience? Any insights on pros and cons of internal vs. external and how MS differentiates? Thanks for any help
