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1. Introduction to Business Intelligence and Power BI

1.3 Components of Power BI

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Quick answer: the short, self-contained version of this lesson is the guide Power BI Desktop vs Service vs Mobile Explained.

Start with a problem

Ruhi hears five product names in her first week: Desktop, Service, Mobile, Report Server and gateway. She cannot tell which one she should open.

Explain simply

Desktop is where you build. The Service (app.powerbi.com) is where you share and refresh. Mobile is for viewing. Report Server is an on-premises portal. The gateway lets the cloud Service reach data inside the office network.

Show the data

Task in the sample project Who Where
Load the CSV and write Total Sales Ravindra ?
Schedule a daily refresh at 07:00 IST Ravindra ?
Zoya checks Kolhapur sales on her phone Zoya ?
Refresh from a SQL Server inside the office Admin ?

About this data: This table uses columns: Task in the sample project, Who, Where. This table uses columns: Desktop. This table uses columns: Service. Values shown are the lesson examples already on this page (not a new dataset).

Fictional sample data. Practice file: visuals_orders_apr_may_2026.csv (source: src/practice/).

Demonstrate

  1. Open Power BI Desktop and build the report from the practice CSV.

    Your result should look like this:

    Desktop
    Total Sales ₹2,100 on a card

  2. Publish to a workspace in the Service and open it in the browser.

    Your result should look like this:

    Service
    Same report and semantic model in the workspace

  3. In the semantic model settings, set Scheduled refresh (07:00 IST).

  4. Zoya installs Power BI Mobile and signs in with her work account.

    Your result should look like this:

    Mobile
    The report opens; Kolhapur ₹450

  5. For a SQL Server inside the office, the admin installs an on-premises data gateway and maps the source.

Show the result

Your result should look like this (fictional sample):

Task Component
Load the CSV and write Total Sales Power BI Desktop
Schedule the 07:00 IST refresh Power BI Service
Zoya views on her phone Power BI Mobile
Refresh from an office SQL Server On-premises data gateway (with the Service)

Explain what happened

Each component handles one stage: build (Desktop), share and refresh (Service), view (Mobile), reach on-premises data (gateway). Report Server replaces the Service only for organisations that must stay on their own servers.

Explore further

  • Report Builder makes paginated (print-ready) reports; Power BI Embedded puts reports inside your own app.

Detailed reference for this lesson:

Component What it is Who uses it
Power BI Desktop Free Windows application used to connect to data, transform it, build the model and design reports. Files are saved as .pbix (or as a Power BI Project, .pbip). Report developers and analysts
Power BI Service The cloud (SaaS) platform at app.powerbi.com. Used to publish, share, schedule refresh, build dashboards and apps. Developers, business users, administrators
Power BI Mobile Apps for Android and iOS (and Windows) for viewing reports and dashboards on the go. Managers and business users
Power BI Report Server An on-premises report portal for organisations that must keep reports inside their own servers. Uses a special version of Desktop optimised for Report Server. Organisations with strict data residency needs
On-premises data gateway A bridge software installed on a machine inside the company network, so the cloud Service can securely refresh or query on-premises data (e.g. a local SQL Server or files on a shared drive). Administrators, developers

Other pieces you will hear about: Power BI Report Builder (for pixel-perfect, printable paginated reports), Power BI Embedded (putting reports inside your own apps) and Power BI Visuals Marketplace (AppSource) for custom visuals.

Data sourcesExcel · CSV
SQL · Web
→
DesktopPower Query
Model · DAX
Report
→
Publishto the
Service
→
ServiceWorkspaces
Refresh · Apps
→
ConsumeBrowser
Mobile · Teams
Figure 1.1 – How the Power BI components work together

Got it? Build in Desktop, share in the Service. Remember just this much; the rest will become clear as we go.

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

Friends, many students mix up Desktop and the Service, and try to build data models in the browser or expect scheduled refresh from Desktop. Remember: you build in Desktop, and you share, refresh and secure in the Service. Keep this split clear in your head from day one. Don't make this mistake!

Fix common mistakes

Wrong result Reason Correction
Looking for scheduled refresh in Desktop Refresh schedules live in the Service Publish, then set the schedule in the semantic model settings
Trying to build the model in the browser Modelling is mainly done in Desktop Build in Desktop, share in the Service
Office SQL refresh fails after publishing No gateway Install and map an on-premises data gateway

Practise independently

Practice task

Match each task to a component: (a) add a slicer to the page, (b) share an app with Rani, (c) refresh a CSV on a shared office drive every morning.

Hints
  • Where do you design? Where do you share? What reaches office files?
Solution

(a) Desktop. (b) Service (apps). (c) Service scheduled refresh plus an on-premises data gateway, because the file is on the office network.

Think like a professional

When something fails, first ask which component it belongs to. Half of all support questions are solved by that one step.

Ravi Sir's Cards for this lesson

The main parts of Power BI. Power BI is not one single screen. New users get confused about where to build and where to share.Revision cardPower BI Desktop vs Power BI Service. Desktop is a free Windows app. The Service is the Power BI website (app.powerbi.com).Comparison cardReport vs Dashboard in Power BI. A report has one or more pages of visuals. A dashboard is a single page in the Service made of tiles pinned from reports.Comparison card

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