Updates to org apps (Preview)

Updates to org apps (Preview) – more customization, deployment pipelines, and Git – plus what’s next like new license support and audiences!

We’ve heard a lot of positive feedback on org apps and clear suggestions on what we should build next to meet your organization’s data distribution and consumption needs. With your feedback, we’ve made several updates to org apps and have more in the works. Let’s get right to what’s new and then we’ll cover what’s coming next as we work towards general availability of org apps.

Now available:

• New combined navigation setting for customizing your org apps.
• Git support for org app developers looking for version history.
• Deployment pipelines for staging and testing your org apps across workspaces.

What’s next:

• Support for org apps in Pro workspaces.
• Add paginated reports to org apps, with org app-managed access propagation for semantic models.
• View org apps in Power BI mobile apps.
• Conditionally display content in org apps via audiences.
• Fabric item APIs for creating and modifying org apps.

New and available now in org apps

Introducing new customization options for org apps (Preview) – combined navigation

Make just the right org app, with new navigation options!

We’re enhancing org app customization with the combined navigation setting, giving authors more control over the consumer experience through multiple navigation configurations. Previously, org apps had separate navigation panes for the app and the report. Now, you can choose to show a single pane with report pages within the app navigation pane, eliminating the need for two separate panes. This provides a more streamlined and cohesive user experience.

Covered in the original org apps announcement (Preview), org apps (Preview) offer customization beyond workspace apps, and the new combined navigation option gives you even more to choose from. You can choose to have the org app navigation collapsed, expanded, or turned off by default. For those who prefer visible org app navigation, the combined navigation experience provides additional flexibility and control. Or when a report is in view, you can opt for separate navigation of pages within the report. Explore these configurations to create a unique and tailored experience for different groups within your organization.

This new option of combining the org app navigation and report navigation is like what the previous version of org apps offered, known as workspace apps. Workspace apps provided a unified navigation experience, and the combined navigation experience in org apps builds on that foundation by offering even more customization options. By combining the navigation panes, org app consumers can enjoy a seamless and efficient way to access and interact with data in your org apps that may be familiar to them from workspace apps.

For more information on how you can customize your org apps, from custom branding to navigation settings, check out the Microsoft Learn documentation for Get started with org apps (Preview)

CI/CD for Org Apps (Preview)

Calling all org app developers!

You can now develop, version, and deploy org apps (preview) with Fabric Git integration and deployment pipelines.

• Git allows for easy development and versioning of org apps, enabling developers to manage them based on their preferred method of working and processes.
• Deployment pipelines let you test and deploy org apps confidently, allowing authors and developers to develop, test, and review in staged workspaces before deploying to final production workspaces, with user access managed per org app item in each staged workspace.

Git integration for org apps (continuous integration)

Microsoft Fabric’s Git integration allows org app developers to seamlessly incorporate their development processes, tools, and best practices into Fabric workspace-based development. Setting up Git is simple—just configure the repository and branch details in the workspace settings. Once set up, you can confidently commit org app changes, version, and branch as you iterate on org app items and included items in your workspace.

Git enables org app developers to:

• Backup and version org app items, as well the items included in an org app.
• View version history and revert to previous versions of org apps and included content when needed.
• Collaborate on org apps with others or iterate individually using Git branches.
• Automate or script tasks to streamline your processes.

Deployment pipelines for org apps (continuous deployment)

In org apps (Preview), included items like reports use the source item in the workspace for display, unlike workspace apps that show versioned copies after app updates. Previously, workspace apps allowed report authors to iterate on reports across just two stages without affecting the published copy. Now, with deployment pipelines support for org app items, you can create, manage, and deploy in stages that match your workflow. Unlike workspace apps that support only two stages, org apps with deployment pipelines offer the flexibility to add multiple stages based on your needs.

For example, a four-stage pipeline. After changes have been finalized, Fabric deployment pipelines enable org app authors or developers to automate or manually control the deployment of changes across different workspaces used for 1. development > 2. testing > 3. review > 4. production stages.

Deployment pipelines enable org app authors and developers to:

• Ensure that org apps remain in sync with earlier stages.
• Verify and deploy changes quickly and reliably.
• Use ‘Select related’ to promote included items during deployment.
• Reduce the risk of errors and conflicts from manual interventions or inconsistent configurations.
• Visually compare org apps side by side across distinct stages.
• Ultimately, deliver quality org app experiences to your consumers.

Deployment pipelines empower teams to produce updates in short cycles with high speed, frequency, and consistency, allowing changes to be promoted at any time with a single click. These updates highlight the future of workspace apps being prepared within org apps (preview) by leveraging the power of the Fabric platform. As we work towards the general availability of org apps, we look forward to hearing your feedback and continuing to enhance org apps to meet your consumer distribution and consumption needs.

Learn more about continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) for org apps (Preview): CI/CD for org apps in Fabric (Preview)

Coming next to org apps

Above we covered what’s new and available now in org apps (Preview), here’s what we’re working on next for you in org apps:

New license support

Currently, org apps (Preview) can be created in workspaces licensed under a Fabric or Premium capacity. We are working on support for org apps in Pro workspaces. We’ve heard from many customers that have built Power BI workspace apps in Pro-licensed workspaces, and we look forward to making org apps available to those customers for distributing reporting in your organization.

When support for org apps in Pro-licensed workspaces is released, we will outline the details of what’s supported (create, read, share, etc.) and the corresponding user license needed working with, consuming, and sharing org apps. Stay tuned for a blog post on more details and updated documentation once released.

Support for paginated reports, includes easy access propagation

We’re also working on support for adding paginated reports to your org apps.

And unique to org apps, for those who have access to the org app access will be propagated down to the included paginated report and underlying semantic model informing the paginated report. Same with revocation, if a user loses access to the org app, they will lose their org app-based access to the paginated report and underlying semantic model. We call this ‘access as expected’ and have enjoyed hearing how much easier this has made access management for customers using org apps.

Support for viewing org apps in Power BI mobile apps

Need to access Power BI reports in org apps while not at a computer?

We’re working to bring you org apps (Preview) in Power BI mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Conditionally display content in org apps with audiences, with bulk content management across audiences

When we released audiences for Power BI workspace apps, we heard from customers that:

“Audiences aren’t the same as having multiple apps per workspace”.

When we released org apps (Preview), with the ability to have multiple org apps per workspace, we heard from customers that:

“Multiple org apps per workspace aren’t the same as having audiences like we have in workspace apps.”

You want the best of both an app with audiences and multiple org apps per workspace. So, we’re earnestly working on bringing audiences support to org apps so you can build the unique org apps you need, multiple org apps per workspace, with the added ability to conditionally display content in your org apps to unique groups of users we call ‘audiences’.

With audiences for org apps, you will be able to group content by audiences and, when sharing org apps, assign users and groups to those audiences. Your org app consumers will see content in the org app based on the audiences they’re in.

And, for the first time, for those who have complex org apps with multiple audiences, manage your org app audiences with ease via a bulk management view. Where you can make content visibility decisions across multiple audiences in an org app at once.

APIs for creating and modifying org apps

Last, we’re bringing you the ability to manage your org apps via APIs. For developers needing to script or automate the management of org apps, like adding a report to an org app as new reports are added to a workspace, we will be adding Fabric item CRUD API support for org apps. With CRUD APIs for org apps you can create org app items, get the properties of an org app, delete, update, and list org apps as well as get or update an org app item definition.