Share Dashboard Email outside domains

[CahabaData]

Have reviewed quite a few Q&As on this but remain uncertain.  Here is scenario: Brand new PBI Service in private email domain let's call it: Sam@A.com

Has trigger a Pro service so is in the initial free Pro PBI Service phase.  Has NOT established as Admin because that requires appending the text to his domain which he hasn't yet been able to accomplish.

Has a test dashboard set up that he can view fine.  Would like to share test dashboard with 2 users in outside domains.  Jim@B.com and Sue@C.com.  The Share process gives the yellow warning that the party is outside the domain - but appears then to allow the email to get sent.

At this point behavior differs: Jim@B.com never receives an email. (tried twice);  Sue@C.com received an email but then isn't allowed to view dashboard.

I am guessing the issue is that it is either the Pro service in the initial free phase is restricted, or because the Admin role has not yet been established.  Advice?

[Seth_C_Bauer]

@CahabaData Have both Jim and Sue signed up and logged in to Power BI before? If a Pro feature was used, Sue needs to sign up for the Pro trial as well, or get a Pro license, which is most likely why she can't see anything.

[CahabaData]

thanks for taking the time Eno;

so if Sam doesn't want to impose "to do" stuff on the others - Sam should get officially set up as the Admin (with the text file at his domain) and add them with licenses?.... or is it a must that they (Jim, Sue) must do a sign up themselves?  The idea as you may probably tell is to make it as painless as possible for Jim/Sue.....  Sam is going to pay for their licenses.  

sorry to have to ask this in forum mode - just can't seem to find a step by step on this in the learning area.......

[Seth_C_Bauer]

@CahabaData Assuming that you (Sam) have access to the datasources for these clients I would suggest a couple things. If all they are doing is consuming reports, you may want to look into Power BI Embedded. This would incur minimal cost to Sam. Jim/Sue could log in to the application and see the reports that belong to them, and this could be extended as well.

It all depends on the type of Service and level of function that Jim/Sue need. It sounds like they belong to seperate domains which complicates things. I don't quite understand the "text file comments"... Unless this refers to Sam being added into the other domain/tenants of Jim and Sue.

This 3rd party reselling isn't completely clear to me yet, outside of getting hooked up with MSFT to create 3rd party content packs, but in those scenarios the data belongs to the 3rd party and they are just extending their offering. Whereas this scenario I read more often in that a BI professional is wanting to keep the model/reports for themselves even though they don't own the data. I think this is the layout that you are talking about, and I'll need to explore it further, but don't see a solution I like at this point.

[CahabaData]

interesting input Eno - once again thanks for the time;

in regard to the 'text file comment': when one initially subscribes to the PBI Pro Service (with no prior or planned O365 account) - and you select the Admin to initially make yourself the admin of this new PBI Service - there is where it requires you to paste a text file to your domain to prove you own the domain.  I probably did not describe that correctly.

in this case I describe now, although I doubt it matters, they are business units of the same company but they do have their own separate email domains.  Sam has all the data and is putting dashboards for others (Jim/Sue) to view.  In the real world there are more than 2 viewers but the idea is the same which is that Sam does everything and minimizes (preferably eliminate) the "to do" for the viewers.  Large organizations do have business units with uniquely separate identities so I would think this scenario is or will be somewhat common. 

The Pro fee per license is not a problem for Sam to manage on behalf of all the viewers.  I think of the embedded feature more for a PBI window involving another application - and nothing like that is in play.  This is really just consolidated financials dashboarding that they want their business unit managers to be able to see.

Right now the user experience is a little odd and I think I'm being charitable toward Microsoft.  If one offers PBI Service, with a Share Dashboard feature - and the new user steps through it - - it either needs to work or it needs to explain why it doesn't (cannot) work.  At the moment neither is happening which is a bad experience.  It does warn you that the email is outside the domain - which is fine.  But then when you continue it gives you a success message.....even though ultimately either the email isn't being sent or the recipient still can't view the dashboard.  If a non-licensee (or potentially it is the outside domain issue) cannot be included in the Share process - - that info should be able to be checked as part of the process so that there is not a misleading success message.  But I'll get off my soapbox on this and I'll bet there actually is documentation on all this - only I haven't found it.

Overall though we try to get this up & running but it has turned into a mystery experience.  Right now it is my thinking that once we get the domain ownership/text file in place and get the first 2 trial viewers their licenses - - that the Dashboard Sharing feature will work to outside email domains....at least my fingers are crossed.......

[CahabaData]

I have not been able to resolve this issue.

Domain (ex ABC.com) has been registered as owned correctly via apply the text file to the DNS.

When attempting to Share dashboard with 2 email addresses of differing private domains than ABC.com (not gmail or public):

 * 1 receives the email notification with an invitation to sign up

 * 1 receives no email notification (this one has its own Power BI Service PRO license in coincidence)

So there are 2 issues unresolved:

a. can one pre-sign up an outside domain invitee in some way so they don't have to go thru that rigamarole

b. why is the second email address not receiving? - and how can this be trouble shot?