Question

How can I combine data from REST APIs with Power BI for real-time reporting?

I’m working on a Power BI dashboard that needs to show real-time data from a third-party service. The data is accessible via a REST API, and I’m trying to integrate this data into Power BI. I’m unsure of the best approach to fetch and refresh the data for real-time reporting without causing performance issues.

How can I combine data from REST APIs with Power BI for real-time reporting, and what are the best practices to ensure efficient data refreshes?

Answer 1

The ability to combine real-time reporting via Power BI with data obtained from REST APIs is possible. However, several techniques must be employed to ensure that data is timely without compromising performance. Here is how it is generally easier to achieve such steps:

Attaching to the REST API: Once an API has been chosen, its data can be added to Power BI by using Power Query in Power BI Designer. There is a "Web" connector in Power Query where one can add the API and its parameters as well. Vary the frequency and time intervals of making requests to the API, as this will impact the refresh rates and performance.

Data Refresh Strategy: Power BI itself doesn't support true "real-time" updates natively for REST API data, but you can simulate near-real-time by configuring frequently scheduled refreshes. Users of Power BI Pro and Premium can enjoy 8 and 48 refreshes in a day for Pro and Premium, respectively. If more is needed, Push Datasets or Streaming Datasets in Power BI may be used for more frequent data updates as these can refresh data almost instantly. Push Datasets needn't be at a fixed frequency but perform well with small to medium-sized data volumes.

Efficiency Tips:

Minimize API requests: Retrieve only relevant data fields and use restrictions if available in API calls. This reduces the amount of data to be transferred and quickens the refresh rate.

Handle Incremental Refreshes Smartly: In the case of large datasets, employ incremental refresh so that only new information is processed instead of the whole dataset. This lightens the burden and improves the speed of processing.

Use Direct Query for Data Sources Hosted On-Premises: Where it is possible to extract API information to an intermediary database such as Azure SQL or SQL Server, Power BI can be configured for Direct Query to render data in real-time without the restrictions caused by the need to refresh the Power BI interface.

Following these, you can successfully bring REST API data into Power BI without lagging on alert updates or compromising the dashboard's performance.