This post shows the steps to deploy Power BI desktop using SCCM. Power BI allows end users to visualize and analyze data with better efficiency and understanding. Power BI is a cloud-based business analytics service by Microsoft.

Microsoft Power BI comes with unique dashboards, interactive reports, and compelling visualizations. These help you understand and explore the data in new way. Since this looks very interesting, I would say one has to install and try out this amazing service.

Microsoft also released Power BI template for SCCM. This template when installed and configured shows fancy dashboards displaying various levels of data. I am sure many of you rely on SCCM reporting services to track software installs, get info etc.

Power BI provides detailed information of your SCCM instance. This includes information such as client and server health, malware protection, software updates, and software inventory across your organization. We will discuss more about the Power BI SCCM template in upcoming post. For now let’s see the Power BI Desktop deployment.

What is Power BI Desktop – Power BI Desktop is a free application that you can download and install on your computer. You can download either the .msi file from here or download windows store app. Power BI Desktop connects with Power BI service which then lets you build advanced queries, models, and reports that visualize data. Once you customize your reports, you can finally save and publish your data and reports directly to your Power BI site or save it as local file.

Note – One of the prerequisites for Power BI Desktop is .NET Framework 4.5. Therefore ensure that it is installed on the machine prior to the deployment. The computer must also have internet explorer version 9 or later installed.

How to Deploy Power BI Desktop using SCCM

Let’s look at the steps to deploy Power BI Desktop using SCCM. I have got the Power BI Desktop 64 bit version file and we will package and deploy the same to computers. I have copied over the msi file to sources folder on my SCCM server. Most of all Power BI desktop does not allow installation behavior on a per user basis. So I suggest you to deploy to systems and not to users.

Launch the SCCM console, navigate to Software Library > Application Management. Right click Applications and click Create Application. On the General page choose Manually specify the application information. Click Next.

How to Deploy Power BI Desktop using SCCM

Add some information about the app and click Next. In the next step add more details about the app and specify an icon and click Next.

How to Deploy Power BI Desktop using SCCM Snap2

 

Under Deployment Types, click Add button. Once again select Manually specify the deployment type information and click Next. How to Deploy Power BI Desktop using SCCM Snap3

 

Choose the content location and specify the install and uninstall commands as provided below.

Install program - msiexec /i "PBIDesktop_x64.msi" ACCEPT_EULA=1
Uninstall program - msiexec /x {B9DF5033-C293-4139-A765-DDEB0064D02F} /q

Note that the product code is not the same for all installs. You need to provide the correct product code which could be a different one in your case.

How to Deploy Power BI Desktop using SCCM

Specify the detection method and select setting type as Windows Installer. We use the MSI product code to detect the presence of this application. Specify the product code and click OK.

How to Deploy Power BI Desktop using SCCM

Set the installation behavior to Install for system. Set logon requirement to whether or not a user is logged on. Since we want the deployment to happen silently, set installation program visibility to Hidden. Click Next and complete the remaining steps in wizard. How to Deploy Power BI Desktop using SCCMOn the completion page click Close. How to Deploy Power BI Desktop using SCCM

Power BI Desktop Installation and Uninstallation

The Power BI Desktop application is packaged. Distribute the app content to distribution points and deploy it to device collection. On the client machine wait for the software to appear in Software Center. Select the Power BI Desktop app and click Install. The app installation should work fine as tested in my setup. Examine the appenforce.log file on client machine to monitor installation progress. How to Deploy Power BI Desktop using SCCMI have tested the app uninstalls and it worked well. I hope you give a try and let me know if you encounter any deployment issues in the comments section. How to Deploy Power BI Desktop using SCCM

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Prajwal Desai

Prajwal Desai is a technology expert and 10 time Dual Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) with a focus on Microsoft Intune, SCCM, Windows 365, Enterprise Mobility, and Windows. He is a renowned author, speaker, & community leader, known for sharing his expertise & knowledge through his blog, YouTube, conferences, webinars etc.