Introduction

  • 3 minutes

In the digital workplace, data analytics should be a part of the user's natural workflow without needing to switch to another app. Users should have direct access to in-context insights that help them make decisions based on actual up-to-date facts.

At a minimum, embedded analytics requires data, visualizations, and apps. A common challenge that app developers face is how to visualize data. Developers can build their own visualization option tool or buy a commercially available one.

It might seem tempting to build your own visualization tool, but this option has three strong disadvantages: it's time consuming, expensive, and requires a shift of focus from what app developers typically do. It can be more effective to buy visualizations (as a service) because it offers faster time to market. It's also cost-effective when it uses a robust and comprehensive analytics service.

Power BI embedded analytics

Microsoft Power BI is a leading data-analytics service. Today, many people are familiar with Power BI because they interact with reports in the Power BI service or Power BI mobile apps. Developers can programmatically embed any type of Power BI content in their apps.

Image of a touch device with an app that embeds a Power BI report.

You can embed Power BI content in any app by using an HTML iframe element. Developers rely on web standards, including HTML5 and JavaScript, to achieve embedding and integration with app functionality. Therefore, any internet-connected HTML app can embed Power BI content. Apps can include web apps, mobile apps, and even thick client apps.

Power BI embedded analytics is purpose-built for developers. Client APIs, REST APIs, and SDK resources are available to support different development platforms and languages. Officially, support is available for .NET, .NET Core, JavaScript, and TypeScript.

Tip

To evaluate Power BI embedded analytics, or to fast-track your app development, explore the Embedding setup tool. The tool includes sample .NET solutions that you can download to accelerate Power BI embedding development.

For more information, see Power BI developer samples. Samples are also available for NodeJS, Python, and Java.