Instant Insights for Retail

Tech Stack

Microsoft Fabric, EventStream, Lakehouse, Dataflows, Power BI, Power BI Embed API, Azure Service Principles, Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server, .NET, ReactJS

Problem

The client wanted to process his real-time ERP data from multiple customers to a Power BI report included in their own web app effectively sharing his Power BI reports with self service capabilities to external stakeholders.

Solution

1. We provided a custom web app solution made using .NET and ReactJS with a Material UI theme. It allowed the client to self-service Power BI reports from any device using the web app.
2. The web app could be shared with multiple people by the admin. It allowed the admin to create tenants and multiple users within each tenant. The admin could also give custom access to each tenant and user. The identity management was done using Azure Service Principles and OAuth Services.
3. We created multiple Lakehouses in fabric to store the data and dataflows to transform the data.
4. We utilized the capabilities of the Power BI Embed API to allow the safe and easy access of multiple reports.
5. Our solution allowed the client to share reports to external stakeholders without the need for a Power BI Premium License on their side.
6. Using the EventStream the client was able to visualize the data reports in near real-time speed letting him know the latest updates as soon as possible. We also utilized CDC (Change Data Capture) to reflect any changes to the data in real-time.

Impact

1. By using the solution effectively our client is now able to scale his business and keep the external stakeholders well informed by sharing custom reports with them.
2. The web app can be accessed from any device letting the users of the reports to view them anytime anywhere.
3. It also enhances security and control of user data since it is all stored on Azure.
4. By eliminating the need for the Power BI Premium License for each user of the report the client effectively reduced their operational costs by a large margin.
5. The client is able to segregate report views by multiple departments enabling responsibility distribution.
6. The unified data storage and analysis on Microsoft Fabric simplifies maintenance and further improvements.