Power BI Org Apps solve a major distribution pain point: the flood of emails you get after publishing a report, asking:
“Where is this report?” “How do I get access?” “Why can’t I see the latest updates?” Traditionally, organizations have relied on workspace apps to share Power BI content but as your environment grows, these apps can become difficult to manage. Luckily, Power BI Org Apps provide a more scalable, flexible, and customizable solution for distributing content across your organization. In this guide, based on a walkthrough from Guy in a Cube, you’ll learn exactly how to create, configure, and share an Org App complete with branding, navigation customization, and access control.
What Are Power BI Org Apps?
Power BI Org Apps allow you to bundle multiple types of content—including:
- Power BI reports
- Real-time dashboards
- Notebooks
- Paginated reports
…into a single, branded application.
Why Org Apps Are Better Than Traditional Workspace Apps
- Bundle diverse content types in one place
- Create multiple Org Apps from the same workspace
- Share with your entire organization or selected groups
- Auto-updating content users always see the latest version
- Customized navigation, sections, and theming
It’s the next generation of content distribution inside Microsoft Fabric and Power BI.
Step 1: Enable Org Apps in the Admin Portal
Before creating your first Org App, you’ll need to ensure that the feature is enabled for your tenant.
- Go to Settings → Admin Portal
- Search for Org Apps
- Enable it for your entire organization or specific security groups
This is a one-time setup step.
Step 2: Create a New Org App
Once Org Apps are enabled:
- Go to your Power BI workspace
- Select New item
- Choose Org App (Preview) from the options
In the demo, the example app is called “GIAC YouTube Controller” a custom solution for a team member who monitors video comments, analytics, and sentiment.
Step 3: Add Content to the Org App
Your workspace items will appear in a selection list, allowing you to add:
- Reports
- Dashboards
- Notebooks
- Any other supported artifacts
For the example:
- Video analytics report
- Compare videos report
- Real-time dashboard
- Sentiment analysis notebook
With a single click, these items are added to your Org App canvas.
Step 4: Organize Content with Sections
To make your app easier to navigate, structure content using sections:
- Reports
- Notebooks
Then drag and drop items into their respective sections.
This clean, logical layout helps users immediately understand where to find what they need.
Step 5: Add an Overview Page
Overview pages act as the “homepage” of your Org App.
You can:
- Add a header
- Add descriptive text
- Make it the default landing page
- Display thumbnails of app content
This helps new users understand what’s included in the app at a glance.
Step 6: Customize Branding and Appearance
Org Apps allow full visual customization:
You can add:
- A custom logo
- A custom theme color
- Navigation settings, such as:
- Combined vs. separate report/app navigation
- Collapsed or expanded sections
- Whether to show the report pages pane
In the video example, the app uses the signature Guy in a Cube blue.
The result is a professional, polished user experience.
Step 7: Configure Settings and Labels
Inside the app settings:
- Assign a sensitivity label
- Add endorsements
- Add tags for better searchability
These are optional but recommended for governance and discoverability.
Step 8: Add External Links (e.g., YouTube Videos)
Org Apps support embedded external content, making the experience even richer.
You can embed:
- Training videos
- Help documentation
- Internal sites
- External dashboards
In the demo, a YouTube video is embedded to give the user a bit of fun.
Step 9: Publish and Manage Access
Once you’re happy with the structure:
- Click Save
- Select Share or Manage Access
- Add users or groups
You can give users:
- Read access
- Reshare permissions (optional)
This means users like Justin can share the app with their own team members.
Org Apps appear in a user’s Apps section automatically no need for them to manually install the app.
Step 10: End-User Experience
From the user perspective:
- The app appears automatically
- They can open reports immediately
- They can explore notebooks
- They can enjoy any embedded external content
- They always see the latest updates
It’s frictionless distribution at scale.
Why Your Organization Should Use Power BI Org Apps
Power BI Org Apps solve some of the biggest challenges in report distribution:
- No more confusion about where reports are
- No more email chaos after publishing
- No need to maintain multiple workspaces for different audiences
- No manual installs
Instead, you get:
- Centralized, customizable, branded content hubs
- Automatic deployment to users
- Cleaner governance and access control
- Multi-app support from a single workspace
- Better user experience
If you’re managing analytics across teams, this is a game changer.
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