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Export Viva Insights data using MGDC

If you want to use and analyze Viva Insights data outside of the Viva Insights app, you can use Microsoft Graph Data Connect (MGDC) to transfer the backend data to Azure. This process allows users to export whatever subset of metrics they want from Viva Insights, which can include both system metrics and customized metrics.

Prerequisite steps

  1. Provide the Tenant ID to the Viva Insights team. The Tenant ID can be found in the Azure portal. Under Azure services, select Microsoft Entra ID, then find the Tenant ID on the Overview page.
  2. The Global Administrator will need to assign the relevant roles for the steps below, if they are not already assigned.

Process overview

Task Role Resources required
1. Create Azure Active Directory Application Application Administrator or Application Developer
2. Provision Storage Account Application Administrator or Application Developer
3. Provision Key Vault and store client secret Application Administrator or Application Developer App secret
4. Enable MGDC for tenant Microsoft Graph Data Connect Administrator or Application Administrator
5. Mark a Viva Insights query for export Insights Analyst
6. Register MGDC application Azure AD Application Owner, with Insights Analyst role Storage account, Azure AD Application
7. Consent to application/dataset Viva Insights Administrator or MGDC Administrator
8. Deploy ARM template Application Administrator or Application Developer, with Insights Analyst role MGDC app, App secret, Container
9. Execute pipeline Application Administrator or Application Developer Data factory
10. Find the output of your extraction Application Administrator or Application Developer Container name

Note

When you export Viva Insights data using MGDC, you won’t incur any additional fees unless you exceed the monthly egress data limit. Each month, you can export data for an analyzed population of up to 20 times your Viva Insights license count. For each license, you can include an employee in up to 20 queries. For example, in a tenant with 100 licenses:

• You can export 20 queries, each with data from 100 unique employees.

• Or, you can export 40 queries, each with data from 50 unique employees.

• Or, you can export 10 queries with data from 150 unique employees each and five queries with 100 unique employees each.

If your tenant exceeds the monthly limit, Microsoft may contact you to review your current needs. These specific limits described are subject to change.

Steps

1. Create Microsoft Entra Application

Applies to: Application Administrator or Application Developer

Follow steps 1-10 outlined here to create your app service principal. Be sure to store the app secret to use in a later step in this process.

2. Provision Storage Account

Applies to: Application Administrator or Application Developer

Follow all steps outlined here to create your Storage Account. To select your region, use these steps.

After you've followed the steps above and your Storage account is set up:

  1. In your Storage account, under Properties, select the link to the right of Blob soft delete.

    Screenshot that shows setting storage properties

  2. Clear Enable soft delete for blobs and Enable soft delete for containers and select Save.

3. Provision Key vault and store client secret

Applies to: Application Administrator or Application Developer

  1. Open a browser and sign in to your Azure portal.

  2. Under Azure services, select Create a resource.

  3. Select Create on the Key Vault resource type and use the following values:

    • Subscription: Select your Azure subscription
    • Resource group: mgdc-app-resource (or select an existing resource group)
    • Key vault name: mgdcdemokeyvault (or you can name and select your own)
    • Region: Select region using these steps.
    • Pricing tier: Standard
    • Days to retain deleted vaults: Default
    • Purge protection: Default

    Screenshot that shows fields for creating a key vault

  4. Select Review + create.

  5. To complete Steps 6 and 7, assign yourself the Key Vault Secrets Officer or Key Vault Administrator role using these instructions.

  6. In the mgdcdemokeyvault Key vault, on the sidebar menu, select Secrets under the Objects section. Select +Generate/Import and use the following values:

    • Upload options: Manual
    • Name: mgdc-app-secret (or you can name and select your own)
    • Secret value: Paste the app secret you stored in Step 1
    • Set activation date: Leave cleared
    • Set expiration date: Leave cleared
    • Enabled: Yes
    • Tags: 0 tags

  7. Select Create.

4. Enable MGDC for tenant

Applies to: Microsoft Graph Data Connect Administrator or Application Administrator

  1. Open a browser and sign in to your Microsoft 365 Admin Portal.

  2. Under Settings, select Org settings. You may have to select Show all to see the Settings option.

  3. Under Services, select Microsoft Graph data connect.

    Screenshot that shows how to enable the MGDC app for the tenant

  4. Select Turn Microsoft Graph Data Connect on or off for your entire organization to enable Data Connect. (Make sure Viva Insights is selected.)

    Screenshot that shows how to turn MGDC on or off

  5. Select Save.

If you have already enabled MGDC, you will need to:

  1. Follow steps 1-3 above.
  2. Clear Turn Microsoft Graph Data Connect on or off for your entire organization to disable Data Connect.
  3. Select Save.
  4. Refresh the page.
  5. Follow steps 3-5 above.

5. Mark a Viva Insights query for export

Applies to: Insights Analyst

Important

Make sure you have the correct Insights Analyst role. Previous users of the legacy Workplace Analytics platform might have the "Analyst" role. To complete this process, you need the "Insights Analyst" role. Use these steps to enable the Insights Analyst role.

  1. Open a browser and sign in to the Viva Insights web app.

  2. To run a new query, in the Create analysis page, select Set up analysis on a Power BI template or custom query. (If you already have query results to export, you can skip this step.)

  3. On the left navigation menu, select Analysis results.

  4. Once query results are available for a new or existing query, select the Azure icon to mark for egress.

    Screenshot that shows marking query results for Egress

  5. Select Export to Azure.

6. Register MGDC application

Applies to: Microsoft Entra Application owner, with Insights Analyst role

Use these steps to register your app with Data Connect.

There are a few unique steps, however, that are specific to this process for dynamic loads. When filling out the registration info page, be sure to use these values:

  • Subscription (required): Select a subscription in the tenant that will be used exclusively to filter the next four sections that relate to data destination configuration.
  • Resource group (required): mgdc-app-resource (or select an existing resource group)
  • Destination type: Select Azure Storage Account
  • Storage Account (required): Select the Azure Storage Account created in Step 2
  • Storage Account Uri (required): Select the Uri in the form: https://[storage account name].dfs.core.windows.net/ (rather than the ...blob.core.windows.net/)
  • Application ID: Select your App service principal from Step 1
  • Publish type: Single-tenant

Also, when you specify the datasets that the app registration needs to query, for a dynamic Viva Insights dataset, the name should be: VivaInsightsDataset_Report_v1_[Viva Insights query name].

Note

If you want to edit properties or datasets associated with the app, use these steps.

Applies to: Viva Insights Administrator and MGDC Administrator (App approver must be different from the app developer)

  1. Open a browser and sign in to your Microsoft 365 Admin Portal.

  2. Under Settings, select Org settings. You may have to select Show all to see the Settings option.

  3. Select the Security & privacy tab.

  4. Select Microsoft Graph Data Connect applications.

    Screenshot that shows steps for consent

  5. Double-click to select the app in the list, verify the dataset and column names, then select Approve.

    Screenshot that shows how to approve the dataset

8. Deploy ARM template

Applies to: Application Administrator or Application Developer, with Insights Analyst role

Use these steps to generate a quick start template to set up the data pipeline. Use these steps to select your region.

9. Execute pipeline

Applies to: Application Administrator or Application Developer

  1. Open a browser window and sign in to your Azure portal.

  2. Search for “Data factories."

  3. Select mgdcdemodatafactory (unless you named your own).

  4. Select Launch studio.

  5. Select the pencil icon on the left.

  6. Under Pipelines, select ExportO365DataEvents.

  7. Select Debug.

    Screenshot that shows how to execute pipeline

  8. If there are any errors on the dataset, they will be specified on the bottom right under Status. To edit the dataset column names and data types, select the [Dataset name] tab at the top. Select the bracket icons on the right. Edit “name” and “type” as needed.

  9. Once the pipeline is complete, data should appear in your Storage account. Select Containers, then datasets as shown below, where the container name is the Pipeline Execution ID.

    Screenshot that shows where data appears in your storage account.

    Note

    If the pipeline execution fails, please save the Activity run ID from the Data Factory pipeline studio, as shown below. This will help our team debug for you.

    Screenshot that shows the Activity run ID

10. Find the output of your extraction

Applies to: Application Administrator or Application Developer

If you would like to find the metadata, go to your Azure portal. In your Storage account, select Containers, then datasets. Then follow the following folder path:

  • Output file

    • /[Pipeline Execution ID] / VivaInsights / [TenantID] / [.gzip file]
    • .gzip file contains the metric output associated with this pipeline execution

    Screenshot that shows the output file

    • The output of exports with additional data sources such as business or survey data is grouped into folders labeled according to each dataset used in the query. For example, queries with survey or business data will have separate folders for HR data, MetricOutput, and survey or business datasets.

  • Metadata

    • /[Pipeline Execution ID] / VivaInsights / [TenantID] / metadata / JobMetadata / metadata.json
    • Metadata.json contains the metadata associated with this pipeline execution

    Screenshot that shows the metadata of the output file

  • If you would like to update the file path, go to Azure portal, then [Your Data factory]. Select Launch studio then VivaInsightsSink, and edit the File path.

    Screenshot that shows how to update the file path

Note

If you want to delete an app registration entry, use these steps. (Applies to Microsoft Entra Application owner with Insights Analyst role)

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