Microsoft has unveiled major update to Power BI Premium licensing following the introduction of Microsoft Fabric, a unified data platform. This change consolidates purchase options and phases out Power BI Premium capacity SKU’s.
Key Points:
Transition to Microsoft Fabric : Power BI Premium features will now be integrated into Microsoft Fabric, which merges Power BI, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Azure Data Factory into one platform. This aims to offer greater flexibility and enhanced features.
Timeline:
- New Customers: Starting 1st July 2024, new customers cannot purchase Power BI Premium capacity.
- Existing Customers: Those without an Enterprise Agreement (EA) can renew their Power BI Premium capacity subscriptions until 1st January 2025. After this date, you will have to transition to a suitable Fabric capacity plan.
- Enterprise Agreement Customer: Customer with an EA can continue to renew their Power BI Premium capacity annually until their EA agreement ends. Afterward, you will have to switch to Fabric capacity.
The differences between Power BI Premium Capacity and Microsoft Fabric are:
- Power BI Premium Capacity:
- Capabilities: Include features like paginated reports, AI capabilities, and large model support, with dedicated resources for Power BI workloads.
- Usage: Ideal for organisations needing robust BI tools and consistent performance for Power BI reports and dashboards.
- Licensing: Available in various SKUs (P1, P2, etc), each offering different levels of memory and computing power.
- Microsoft Fabric:
- Focus: A unified data platform integrating various data services, including Power BI, data engineering, data integration, and data science.
- Capabilities: Offers a comprehensive suite of tools for data management, including shared experiences, architecture, governance, compliance, and billing. Supports bursting for temporary additional compute resources during peak loads.
- Usage: Suitability for organisations seeking a holistic data platform for a wide range of data-related tasks beyond just BI.
- Licensing: Fabric capacities can be acquired through trials, Power BI Premium capacities, and dedicated Fabric capacities. It offers flexible pricing and scalable resources.
For more details on Microsoft Fabric SKU’s and pricing, note that the F64 plan is equivalent to the Power BI Premium Capacity P1 Plan. However, the F64 plan costs $8,409.60 per month, compared to the P1 plan’s $4,995 per month. The UK resellers will provide the pricing in GBP which is usually discounted (unless purchased via an EA) from the list prices mentioned.
If you would like more information or to discuss your options, please contact us at [email protected]. Our aim is to help make licensing easier and to help guide you towards the right licensing decisions. The SAM Club are not software resellers with our objective being to save our clients money.
