DARTS : Power BI File Storage Best Practices

Storing Files in SharePoint Online

Data source files – including PBIX, Excel, and CSV files – should be stored in your department folder on the UMS Power BI HUB SharePoint site in order to take advantage of built-in permissions, controls, auditing, and versioning features. Specifically, there should be no use of c:\user\name\file in Power BI Desktop get data connections as that will fail once it is published to the Power BI Service, or if a colleague tries to refresh the file in Power BI Desktop.  

Please refer to Connect to a Single Data Source file page for detailed instructions on how to connect to these files in Power BI Desktop.

Check-in/Check-out Disabled

This feature allows someone with access to the OneDrive shared folder to download (check-out) a document, edit it, and when ready, upload the changes (check-in). However, the sync function in OneDrive causes the check-in/check-out feature to not work correctly. Do not use the check-in/check-out feature for your synched Power BI files. 

Other File Storage Options

• If a non-SharePoint location is used (which should be the exception rather than the rule) the selected drive should always be encrypted. 
• Use of portable storage media, such as USB drives, should be minimal and done with thoughtfulness. Files should be destroyed on the portable storage media as soon as it is no longer needed. 
• Sending of files through e-mail should be avoided.

Source PBIX Files

As previously mentioned, Power BI authors within functional business units, are to utilize their UMS Power BI hub SharePoint site document libraries, which have built-in versioning enabled, for storage of the original .pbix files. This is very relevant for security because for imported datasets, data is stored directly within the .pbix file. 
You may want to experiment with Power BI templates. A .pbit (template) file can be utilized to retain a data model structure and report structure with no data, thus vastly reducing the file size for an imported dataset.
When highly confidential or sensitive data (such as personally identifiable information, financial data, or employee data) is present within a .pbix file, the location for the electronic file should be highly selective.

Content Exported from the Power BI Service

The ability to export reports is currently enabled for the entire organization. Reports can be exported to PDF or to PowerPoint from the Power BI Service. 
Guidance provided to the user community will indicate that exported reports are to be saved in a secure location. The location should align with personnel who is permitted to see this date. Historical copies should be required only as necessary. 
The same SharePoint site which is utilized for PBIX files and source data is highly recommended.

Content Delivered via Subscription E-Mail

Power BI reports, Paginated reports and dashboards may be delivered via e-mail on a defined schedule for the subscription. This content is delivered within an image embedded in the e-mail, and a .png image attachment or via additional formats supported by paginated reports. 
Guidance provided to the user community will indicate that e-mailed reports are to be:
• Not forwarded to others who are not part of the original subscription. 
• Not forwarded to others who do not have permission to view the data. 
• Deleted if no longer needed.
• Not saved from e-mail unless a need exists (such as retention of historical snapshots). 
• Saved in a secure location, when appropriate, and aligned with personnel who is permitted to see this date.

Content Printed from the Power BI Service

The ability to print reports and dashboards is currently enabled in the tenant settings for the entire organization. 
Printed reports should be considered as convenience records and should be disposed of in accordance to University of Maine System record retention policy. Handling of the printed copies should respect the confidentiality and sensitivity of the information contained in them.