For teams like BI Samurai, who manage and work across many different customer tenants, switching between tenants in Microsoft Fabric & Power BI has always been cumbersome. For customers where we have a dedicated user account, the login process varies. It could involve using a VM, VPN, separate browser profiles, incognito sessions, or even a dedicated device provided by the customer. When given guest access to a customer’s tenant, the process is more streamlined. Customers typically provide a direct link to their tenant. We bookmark it or store it elsewhere, and clicking the link logs us in seamlessly.
This is how you can get the direct link to your tenant
But now, Microsoft has introduced the Power BI Tenant Switch—a long-awaited feature that makes logging into different tenants seamless for guest users.
What Is the Power BI Tenant Switch?
The Power BI Tenant Switch allows guest users to easily switch between customer tenants without leaving their current session. This feature is invaluable for people who frequently need to access different tenants while working on various projects.
The experience is very similar to what we already know from other Microsoft tools. This has been possible for ages in the Azure Portal and Microsoft Entra, for example. In Teams, only the new Teams does this in an “OK” way (Yes, we’re still not 100% happy with it..). It was only a matter of time for this to also be allowed in the Power BI Service.
Bring Your Own License: A Major Advantage
One of the benefits of being a guest user is the ability to bring your own Power BI license. The BI Samurai Team can use their existing Power BI Pro or Premium Per User (PPU) licenses across all the customer tenants we’re added to as guests.
This eliminates the need for customers to provide additional Power BI licenses, resulting in cost savings while ensuring (nearly) full access to Power BI’s capabilities.
Learn more about external guest access in Power BI
Key Benefits of Guest user access and the Tenant Switch functionality
- Streamlined Tenant Management: Quickly switch between customer tenants in just a few clicks, improving workflows.
- Time Savings: Avoid the hassle of logging out or using incognito windows, saving valuable minutes daily.
- Cost Savings for Customers: Customers don’t need to provide additional licenses for external users, cutting costs.
- Improved Focus: With fewer technical barriers, the BI Samurai Team can focus on delivering impactful business intelligence solutions.
The Missing Link: Power BI Desktop
While the Power BI Tenant Switch improves workflows in Power BI Service, Power BI Desktop still doesn’t offer this capability. Users must rely on the manual “Sign in to an organization” option to access different tenants. Hopefully, Microsoft will extend this functionality to Desktop soon.
Conclusion
The Power BI Tenant Switch is a very welcome change for the BI Samurai team, saving time and enhancing productivity. With less effort spent navigating between tenants, we can focus more on delivering impactful insights. Here’s hoping Power BI Desktop gets a similar upgrade in the near future!